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Best of the Wii: Monster Hunter Tri

by James Dawson, Josh Max, and Neal Ronaghan - September 5, 2012, 7:25 am EDT
Total comments: 3

Three hunters unite to praise one of the Wii's best.

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To coincide with its placement as one of the best third-party games in our Best of the Wii feature, Neal, James, and Josh get together to discuss the merits of Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri.

Be sure to stick around all month as we post (and podcast) about the rest of the Wii's best games!

This segment was edited by Nate Andrews.

Talkback

geoSeptember 05, 2012

Can I use this as a place to gush about monster hunter?  Because dammit, people should play monster hunter.  Why?  Because I want more monster hunter!  If more westerners play monster hunter, we'll get MORE MONSTER HUNTER.

Do you like loot?
Do you like character customization (through your gear)?
Do you like epic boss battles?
Do you like Co-op gameplay?
Do you like crafting?
Do you like challenging games?

If you like *ANY* of those things, and I mean *ANY*, please please give monster hunter a try!

Aside from people just not even trying monster hunter, I think the people who tried it and gave up on it never made it past the 'hump'.  The game is not friendly to beginners.  Anyone who has played a dota-style game or dark souls/demon's souls knows the same feeling.  Learning the gameplay mechanics and waiting for the game to 'click' takes a really long time, like 5-10 hours depending on how fast you learn or your skill.  I know that sound like a long time to play a game that you don't find fun, or you don't 'get', but trust me, once you 'get' it, it'll change your world.  It's so very hard to explain this to someone who hasn't made it past the hump. 

My brother was convinced to play it by his friend, and fell in love, and tried for over a year to convince me to play it.  I tried the PSP demo and HATED it.  The gameplay was sluggish, you couldn't lock on to enemies, so I missed almost every swing.  I didnt understand any of the items or the map, or what the point was (I killed a monster, so what?).  The demo is a TERRIBLE demonstration of the game.  Imagine playing a final fantasy demo that only features a boss fight (no setup for the boss fight, no conclusion).  It wouldn't make sense, and you'd be missing the rest of the game.  Do not try the demo (unless you want a feel for the mechanics), because it will not give you a feel for what the game TRULY is.  The game is so so much more.  If you've ever done a major boss fight in an MMO you'll have a similar feel for what this game is like, but this game requires so much more skill and teamwork that it feels infinitely more rewarding when you kill a giant t-rex dragon! 

Just please, please, please, give this game a try.  The psp ones are dirt cheap if you own a psp, and the wii one is phenomenal if you can play online with a friend.  Be prepared to sink in at least 5 hours into the game.  Let it take you for a ride.  Do *NOT* skip any of the tutorial stuff.  Try out *ALL* the different weapons.  See which one fits your gameplay style best.  One you make it past the hump you will NEVER go back.  It's an amazing game that you can just crack open for an hour or two, and come back to it later.  Or, you can have all-night gameplay sessions with friends that you'll never forget.  It has all the benefits of an MMO with hardly any of the drawbacks (it's free to play! Being offline for 6 months won't mean you're too far behind in gear to enjoy yourself, etc). 

It's an amazing game, and more people should play it.  I'm selfish, and I want capcom to localize more of them.  So the more of you that play it, the more likely capcom will localize it.

If you want to learn more about it, try the 8-4 play podcast from a couple years back about monster hunter in japan.  You won't regret it.  They do a much better job of explaining why it's so good. 

ejamerSeptember 05, 2012

The demo was a very poor showing. If you are familiar with the series already, it worked ok... but if you are familiar with the series already then you don't really need a demo.


Capcom should've included video of an experienced player taking down the monster that would unlock if/when you failed, so new gamers could see what combat was supposed to look like instead of just being thrown into battle.


Capcom also should've let you make a simple save file for the demo where your character/weapon is selected and then maintained while presented with the three challenges sequentially. Giving predetermined (probably exaggerated) loot after each battle so that you could craft improved armor before the next fight would help - because let's be honest, loot and crafting are HUGE parts of this game and ignoring that aspect in the demo really reduces any sense of accomplishment you get from playing.

ROiDSSeptember 05, 2012

I'm with you, geo. The series is great if you get pass the learning curve. Monster Hunter is a game like no other. The game gives you a great sense of accomplishment when you take down giant monsters. Hunting for monsters is one thing, but there's more to it than that.

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