Jason Hidalgo

jhidalgo@rgj.com

Technobubble covers games, gadgets, technology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason Hidalgo’s shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgo

It was nearly a decade ago when I first caught the monster hunting bug.

Admittedly, the beginning was quite rough. There I was, hunting the first “boss” type creature in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite as I ran into the Giadrome during my first Urgent Quest deep within the Snowy Mountains. I still remember sitting in my living room dumbfounded as I stared at my PSP screen after my hunter fainted the first time.

“Wait, is this supposed to be the weakest boss in this game?” I thought to myself, the pride I built up from conquering many action games through the years shredded to pieces.

“How is this even possible?”

It was a feeling I haven’t felt since playing games like Battletoads, the first Ninja Gaiden on the NES, and Contra III: The Alien Wars. There I was, staring at a huge wall that felt impossible to scale. It’s a wall that anybody who plays a Monster Hunter game for the first time eventually runs into. Some walk away in a huff while cursing the game’s seemingly cumbersome controls and vowing to never play it again. Others, however, persevere until something clicks and they manage to scale that wall. By the time Monster Hunter Tri rolled in I was able to solo Alatreon online with a light bowgun. For someone who struggled mightily with a Giadrome, it’s the kind of growth that makes you appreciate each and every single wall that the series constantly throws your way. It’s also a big reason why Monster Hunter fans love the game as much as they do, with some folks such as myself even importing the Japanese version in order to play it early.

This brings us to the latest incarnation in the franchise, “Monster Hunter Generations.” A celebration of the entire series, Generations — also known as Monster Hunter X in Japan — throws in several touches that fans of the series can appreciate. This includes familiar village hubs such as Kokoto, Pokke and Yukumo. The game also features appearances by characters from various entries in the series.

Even as it celebrates the series’ past, however, the game introduces arguably the biggest mechanical changes in the series to date. It’s a risky proposition as the balance of the core Monster Hunter fighting mechanics is the key reason for its appeal among fans. Adding the ability to mount monsters in Monster Hunter 4 — something I really enjoy, by the way — was a huge source of consternation at first among some folks who worried that it would make the game too easy. Now you have Generations adding special moves known as Hunter Arts and not one, not two, but three new hunting styles on top of the traditional Guild Style controls.

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The new Hunter Arts, which require you to fill up a meter during hunts before you can use them, are quite plentiful in number and utility. A few can be used universally but the bulk are specific to a certain weapon and typically can be leveled up. You have offensive arts such as the Great Sword’s damaging Brimstone Slash or the Hammer’s Spinning Meteor, for example. Others are more defensive such as Castle Walls or the escape-friendly Absolute Evasion. You have more utilitarian arts such as Heal Gain or the Insect Glaive’s Extract Hunter as well.

Adding to the big changes are Hunting Styles, which affect the actual combat in the game. These include Striker Style, which typically has a simpler moveset but allows you to pick three Hunter Arts and build up your special move meter faster. Aerial Style changes your dodge to a longer hopping roll that lets you bounce off of foes, Palicoes and even certain enemy attacks to get airborne and launch a leaping strike that can make mounting a monster possible. Adept Style lets experienced hunters perform an upgraded evasion when dodging at the last minute, allowing for “Insta-Moves” right after. Otherwise, traditionalists can opt for the classic Guild Style, which also lets you pick two Hunter Arts.

The new Hunting Styles add an extra layer of strategy that makes it feel like you’re playing entirely new games when you switch. Add 14 weapons to the mix and you have a breadth of gameplay options that extends the gameplay quite extensively. Pick Aerial Style and the Insect Glaive, for example, and your hunter turns into an agile, offensive acrobat that rules the air. Adept Style, meanwhile, allows Light Bowgun users to constantly pump out damage thanks to auto reload while also providing Heavy Bowgun users with improved mobility and sieging. If you’ve been playing Monster Hunter for years, the new styles are a much welcome breath of fresh air that brings new life to the series’ classic combat. The weapons themselves also get some tweaks, with the oft-maligned Sword and Shield getting a much needed boost in the form of oils. Depending on the oil you use, you can either greatly raise affinity, increase the rate you can exhaust monsters or get a Mind’s Eye effect that prevents your weapon from bouncing. For Insect Glaive users, leveling up Kinsects is also a much more streamlined process compared to the previous game.

Despite not being a “G” or “U” game that typically denotes extended features, Generations still features a large amount of content. In addition to the aforementioned combat options, the game adds extras such as Prowler Mode, which lets you go on hunts as "the 15th weapon" a Palico. That’s right, you can now control a cat like a hunter to take on the game's stable of monsters either with other fellow Palicoes or even human hunters. Besides the ability to burrow in a pinch, cats come with their own set of combos and skills that turn them into tiny hunting terrors. While they are not able to use your hunter’s items, they come with advantages such as pickaxes and bug nets that don’t break, making them great for gathering. Load your cat with the various Boomerang skills and it becomes a tiny terror even against Deviant monsters. You also have side stuff like Meownster Hunter mode, which lets you play a mini-game as you send out cats to gather or tackle big monsters. There are a ton of side missions known as Village Requests that can be unlocked by clearing quests and talking to the various folks in the villages as well.

Naturally, the star of each Monster Hunter game are the monsters and Generations does not disappoint in that aspect. Great Maccao is arguably the most mechanically interesting of the minor lizard bosses to date thanks to its unconventional moves. Then you’ve got a new collection of big baddies joining older monsters to keep things interesting. Monsters such as Gammoth, Mizutsune and Astalos are visually compelling and continue the game’s tradition of pumping out awesome-looking creatures. Glavenus is also an imposing and well-designed beast that will likely serve as the first wall for Monster Hunter veterans. In addition to excellent attack range and closing ability that makes it a menace from medium to even long distances, Generations’ mascot is also a sight to behold as it sends sparks flying after it licks then sharpens its tail with its teeth. In addition to several new creatures, the game also adds Deviant monsters that require special permits to hunt. These foes are tougher than regular monsters but can reward you with rare gear that, while they don’t have slots, come with pretty powerful skill combinations. Needless to say, content is not an issue with Generations and there’s a reason the the official Japanese guidebook for the game has bigger dimensions as well as 1,088 pages — the most I’ve seen for an official guide for the series.

Although Generations adds a lot of new content, it does take out expeditions from the previous game. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of expeditions but I can see some folks decrying their loss. Meownster Hunter, not to be confused with the fun Prowler mode, also isn’t as enjoyable as the Palico hunting game from Monster Hunter 4U. Given the added mechanics from the new Hunting Styles, I wish the included tutorial was more fleshed out as it doesn’t do nearly enough to help new hunters really understand the key mechanics behind each weapon and style. It’s fine for the most rudimentary basics but could be a lot better. Anyway, I just wish it went the extra mile the same way Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator did with its tutorial. I also feel that most quests can be too easy with a full party. As with past games, I still think that two-member online quests provide the best hunting experience in terms of balancing difficulty. The Adept Mode hunting style, meanwhile, can be borderline game-breaking for folks who master the timing for its special evasion, especially when used with weapons such as the Bow, for example.

All that being said, Monster Hunter Generations is more than worthy as a new entry in the action series. In addition to the breadth of new content and mechanics, I especially like how everything is much more streamlined, whether it be how materials are acquired or even the ability to substitute different mats when crafting gear. Whether you’re a veteran looking for a fresh experience or a newcomer interested in trying the game out, I heartily recommend joining this new hunt.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Monster Hunter Generations does an excellent job in honoring the past while welcoming the new, thanks to a slew of new hunting styles and mechanics as well as a wealth of content that will keep players occupied for hours and hours upon hours. Folks who don’t get the hang of its technical combat will likely continue to wonder what the fuss is all about. For those who give its monsters the attention and respect they demand in order to do well, however, Monster Hunter Generations’ newly polished gameplay hits it out of the ballpark once more.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

4.75 out of 5 Cost: $39.99, 3DS

$39.99, 3DS Official site: http://game.capcom.com/manual/MH_Gen

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