RotR

Well, as it happens I got my Monster Hunter Tri copy. Here’s the unboxing in two fast steps, performed by Emily herself.

Ready for Dissection

Dragon Game Get!

I have managed to snatch 8 hours from my daily chores to put into Monster Hunter Tri and here’s what I’ve gathered on first impressions for this truly beautiful game.

As you all know, I could be considered a veteran, lacking a better word, in Monster Hunter. I’m playing the games from this franchise since 2006 and still have the spark in me, hunting more and more of them monsters. So naturally I was eager to get my hands on this restart of the series, hoping for that spark to turn into a bonfire.

In the Beginning…

After the mandatory Wii system upgrade and the plugging of the Classic Controller Pro, which I recommend for this game out of sheer comfort, I started the game and found myself in Moga Village. Moga Village can be considered the hub of the game, at least for the offline part. You manage your between-quests details here, do your shopping, weapon and armor crafting, information exchange and resource handling. Monster Hunter always had a village from which you started your hunts and Moga is one of the better ones.
It’s reasonably small, you can get everywhere in very short time (it’s nothing more annoying than having to run all the way through Pokke to get something done (MHFU)). Also the chats with the townsfolk are a lot better than in previous games, they actually share interesting info and are worth a smile or two.

Tutorial, for the first time.

Monster Hunter games in general are suffering from the complexity. It’s not Super Mario Bros or Nintendogs, or even God of War. You are thrown in a overwhelming lot of options, todos, quest, areas to explore and more more more. To get a good grasp on what’s going on in this game a kind of tutorial is needed and for the first time a Monster Hunter game delivers one worth that name.
The various townsfolk urge you to a series of exploring quests in the Moga Forest, where you learn to use the environment, how to farm for items and how to fight your first small monsters. You also get to know weapon crafting, resource points and the many spots in the town where you can (and should) actually do something.
It’s a bit lengthy, but it’s executed in a very entertaining manner and therefore even for me as a veteran acceptable.

Moga Forest, Free Roam?

Whoa, free roam? Like GTA? Well, not really. But Moga Forest, the area in which you gather resources, resource points for killing and learn the basics of the game, can be accessed throughout the game for free. It has various environmental conditions (day, night, different monsters appearing) and the gathering points are created depending on this environment, which is new. It’s a fresh and enjoyable break from your usual quest routines, going there and wreaking havoc among them unsuspecting monsters.

Resource Points, what?

Pokke Points, farming points, whatever they have been called, are back as Resource Points. You get them from the Moga Forest or from trading various items to the Village Junior. In exchange for these RPs you can: Expand the farm, send ships on gathering missions, trade with pirates, get your food prepared in the kitchen and some more.
It’s the second currency in Moga besides Zenni and almost as important. In comparison to Pokke Points from MHF2/MHFU their usefulness is much higher, so they feel a lot more like an important game aspect than before.

Small Amount of Content

Compared to MHFU, which was the culmination of all Monster Hunter so far, the content is ridiculously small. For me that was one of the major concerns with the game as I really enjoy those masses of items and weapons and armors. Some call those MHFU stuff fillers, and they are indeed, but they gave you lots of (questionable) options. In MH3 you will be more streamlined in your armor creation, your weapon paths as simply there are not many of them.

Also 18 main monsters compared to what, 35, I’ve forgotten. Then again, many of the main monsters were “color variants” or otherwise similar creatures (like Teosta and Lunastra), so 18 really different beasts is a good thing in itself.

To sum it up: The content of this game pleases me greatly even if less than before.

Difficulty, or lack thereof

I’m not far into the game, so I have no experience on Deviljho, but the fights which were presented to me felt a lot less difficult than their counterparts on the MHF series. Mind you, I can only talk on my behalf, with having more then 1500 hours of experience in the field.
So in my opinion the difficulty is toned down to give newcomers more chances of successful hunting than ever before. On MH or MHF the first Yian Kut Ku was a wall, and don’t bring up the point of Rathalos either.
Qurupeco (the first wyvern type you’re fighting) is so predictable that I’d say even a newbie will get him down on his second try.

Is that good? I think so, yes. It makes the game more accessible for the Wii userbase and it may lead to a wider acceptance of the game itself, even without lock-on and hitpoint display.

The Online

I can’t say much about that at the stage I’m in the game. The single player will keep you occupied for about 20 hours or more, and then (or before if you want) you can start going online and kill mobs with up to three friends. From what I gather and hear the online experience is awesome and surely will be what most players want, do and are going to love. It’s free too!

And it works like a charm, I was online without any problems at all.

Is this Game worth it?

From my veterans point of view: Yes, totally. Ok, I’m a Monster Hunter addict (see RotR’s MH3 Section, which I’ve created on my own and from scratch in endless tiring sessions), but I doubt you will find a game on the Wii with the same amount of style, gameplay, graphics, online, sounds, weapons, armors and monsters. If you are looking for that, instant buy.
The franchise is around since 2004 and Monster Hunter Tri is a fresh restart which totally and completely works out and will pull you in for endless hours to come.

Monster Hunter Tri
(c) CAPCOM, on Nintendo Wii.
A big heartfelt thanks to Nintendo Germany for sending me an Ultimate Hunter’s Edition to review.