I have to add that he did (and is doing) a tremendous job, data being served as JSON object so you could, technically, use his provided data and do your own tomfoolery with it.

Awesome job!

So the amount of new things, maintenance and general innovation has grinded to a gruesome stop. And because of that I’m now looking for individuals with solid technical background on the issues of PHP, Javascript (jQuery) and DHTML and, more important, spare time which allows for tasks to be accomplished. If your train of thought leaves the mainstream once in a while it would be even better. GIMP / Photoshop skills are a nice addition.

Your mission would be, at first under my guidance, to develop the tools further, fix possible errors and create new gizmos at your leisure. There’s no timeline for RotR tools, so you are not working under pressure, but you should allocate some time for it if you decide to help me out.

You’ll get access to most of the background areas of RotR and a quick rundown on how it is designed currently, also an email adress to be used.

There’s no money to be earned, only internet fame, if there’s any at all. I’m doing the stuff because I enjoy doing it and so should you or it will be a very short enterprise.

If you feel that this appeals to you, send me a short application (who are you, your coding experience) and I’ll get back to you.

Mail to: Fresh at reign-of-the-rathalos.com

But I'm not dead?

No Sir, I’m not dead yet. I’m buried in work and daily chores right now, but I have not forgotten about my little pet page. In fact I’m moderating the MH3 section daily, as it is kinda busy with 5-15 comments each day.

If you have something to say about RotR or have an idea what I should do next (when I get some spare time to invest), you let me know, right?

Now after what seems an eternity he finally gave up finished that thing.

So if you want to jump into the pinnacle of Monster Hunter once more (pinnacle as in thousands of weapons and armors), grab that PDF file here, print all it’s 424 pages, duplex, and take it as your nightly leisure read until you know ALL of it. Report back here then.

You want?

So take a break, make a snapshot of your game box and send it along with your nametag or something unique to the email adress mentioned here. If you are lucky you’ll get a nice package flying your way.

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.