So, a one-star mission. Hunt some beasties, get their guts. 50 minutes to do it. Dead easy, I thought. As it’s an easy one, I thought I’d hunt the aquatic beasties, on the basis that it would give me a bit of practice with the (perfectly adequate) controls. And it was all going fine until the bloody Lagiacrus turned up. Nasty ornery beastie can spot you a mile away and comes straight at you, stunning on the way. So, several frantic minutes later, after much darting between areas trying to evade the damn thing, I finally handed in the mission – with less than a minute to spare :-/
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS)
It appears dem monsters need hunting once again. I was a bit suspicious of how this would play, particularly with regards the camera, but as it happens it controls beautifully and doesn’t require The Claw Of Death like the PSP version did.
So, it’s Monster Hunter – you know how it works. There’s Monsters. And you Hunt them. While upgrading and crafting and so on. It’s still got the learning curve we all know and love from the series, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s also very pretty.
What is completely lacking, though, is standalone online multiplayer in the 3DS version. Given the PSP version (Freedom Unite) had it 5+ years ago, this is pretty bloody unforgivable. On the upside, those of us with a Wii-U (I don’t have one) can transfer saves to and fro between the Wii-U version (which DOES have online) and the 3DS. I don’t know what they omitted the non-local multiplayer. Seems a bit stupid. Still, the upside is it’s given me the reason I needed to buy a Wii-U.
Anyway – it’s a diary, so progress. I’m just starting out. Ganked some Jaggia, collecting some mushrooms.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U)
I’ve had this for a little while now, but for some reason I’ve not made any posts about it. I’d decided to buy the game, expensive as it was (£50!) directly from the Nintendo eShop. I thought it would benefit from always being installed rather than having to find the disc when I wanted to play, and given how much time I ploughed into the Wii version (Monster Hunter Tri) I thought £50 was still going to be value for money.
Either that or I had a funny five minutes.
Sure, I’m generally against the prices of eShop “retail” games, but the cheapest boxed copy I could find at the time was £44, so it wasn’t a massive saving. Then I found, just 24 hours after buying it, that Game did download vouchers for £42.99. Ah well, you live and learn.
How is the game, then? Well, excellent. I had two major issues with the Wii original – the controls (specifically the item selection during battle), and the inability to get certain items unless you played online. MH3U fixes both those problems, with item quick-select on the gamepad, and optional online. As much as I enjoyed it before, it’s far, far more accessible now. Which is A Good Thing.
That’s not all that’s new, though. Capcom have added some new monsters, areas and weapons too. I still went with a Great Sword though, same as before. I did consider trying something else, but only the Great Sword seemed “right” to me. I’m playing as a woman this time though, not that it really makes a difference.
Something I didn’t realise would matter so much is the improvement in the game’s graphics. They’re so much clearer that they make the game substantially easier. Enemies in the distance are more distinct – so you can see their “tells” better, and “gathering” areas (for mushrooms, mining, etc.) are far easier to spot. I even found two “secret” routes in the Deserted Island that I hadn’t seen before simply due to blur.
At the moment, I’m nearing how far in I got with the Wii game. I’ve not reached Tundra yet, but I’m way ahead in the sword improvement and armourcraft stakes – having full sets of both Rhenoplos and Jaggi armour. I never managed a full set of anything in MHT. I’ve not had a go at Barroth yet either, but I have defeated a Great Wroggi and several Arzuros – neither of which were in MHT.
I’m currently trying for full Ludroth armour, and mopping up a few remaining 2* quests and the rest of the 3* quests. Around 20 hours on the clock!