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demonfox38 · 3 years ago

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Competed(ish) - Monster Hunter Rise

In life, there are times Where you must slay other beasts To protect your own.

Haiku time, bitches.

So, "Monster Hunter" games. I've heard good things about them, but I've personally struggled to cut into them. I first experimented with the series back in the early 2010s with a copy of "Monster Hunter Tri" through my GameFly subscription. (It seems like they're still operational, which is quite surprising to me!) Long story short, I didn't have the time or patience to get into it through my rental period, so I bounced out of the series. Given a scratched track record, what helped me stick through "Monster Hunter Rise"? Was it just having the time to explore the games, or did this game latch onto some inner weeaboo hook?

Hey. Sometimes, it's just about making sure I make the most out of $65.00 USD.

"Monster Hunter Rise" is Capcom's 2021 release of its "Monster Hunter" series in which you…well. Hunt monsters. Pretty obvious, right? This game takes place in Kamura Village, an idyllic Japanese town known for its weapon forging and sweet shops. You, the newest village hunter/idiot, are charged with helping to defend the village from being overrun by monsters. That's it. Nothing deep. Just you, your yokels, and your various animals driving other animals away.

Look. I'm gonna be honest. This isn't a game you play for plot or deep characters. You're here to do the "Shadow of the Colossus" thing, but without the artsy veneer. And good luck doing that!

To say this game is abstruse is an understatement. I mean, it tries to teach you about your game loop and your weapon usage, but damned if I didn't have to spend an hour or two on YouTube just to get my bearings. There's a lot you have to manage. Your equipment. Your buddies. Their equipment. The needs of the people. Your stamina. Your health. Your maps. What monster's going where. What's it doing? Why's it doing that? How should I kill it? And that's just going solo! (No, I didn't do multiplayer. I was feeling cheap. Also, my modem and router were dying a slow death. That's been fun to fix over a holiday weekend…)

I did enjoy the game's attempt at making the game feel like a multiplayer title, even when I was playing alone. The inclusion of Palicoes (cats with human-equivalent intelligence) and Palamutes (knife-wielding dog mounts) is particularly helpful. Palamutes, while not as technical as Palicoes, did give me a break while traversing the terrain and provided some additional speed with item usage in battle. The right kind of Palico can save your ass. Personally, I was fondest of those with Healing and Gathering personality sets. I think Fighting types also have their uses, but I struggled to see the help that Assist or Bombing types provided. But, I'm sure every player has their favored type.

Outside of "Shadow of the Colossus," the other game I kept thinking of while playing was "Devil May Cry." Why? Well, they're produced by the same company, for one. But, for another? I expected a game with such a pedigree like "Monster Hunter" to feel a little more elegant and polished when I started it. Instead, I was lucky to understand battle pacing, never-the-less combos. "Devil May Cry" is a game series where I start feeling like a pro and end feeling like a pro, but with a few more tools under my belt. With "Monster Hunter Rise", I started feeling like a clod and ended without a drop of sweat on my brow. Such development can be frustrating, especially if you don't have the time or any real reason to commit to the game. But, there can be fun in figuring out, "Hey, I can do this!" or "Well, I can abuse this terrain/endemic life to gain an advantage."

Really, really could have used a better targeting system, though. Sometimes, it felt better not to use it at all.

While it did take me some time to feel like I was competent at anything in game, I think my first turning point was fighting Aknosom, a fire-spitting crane. I finally slowed down enough to learn its movements, guard against its attacks, then smack it around when it was done acting up. Additionally, it helped teach me about the importance of stopping to heal status effects, as well as how to kite around it to recover the most health possible while keeping engaged in battle. Groan it up, but it's certainly analogous to a "Dark Souls" experience. Easier, but similar.

Additionally, of the pre-credit matches, I enjoyed fighting Barioth, Khezu (who is still a songless fight, by the way!), Somnacanth, Bishaten, and Magnamalo (the pre-credit final boss.) While they all had their own status effects, I found it easy enough to avoid their more irksome attacks by being aggressive with rolling and keeping close and to their backs/sides. Also, I enjoyed using wirebugs to zip in and smack them on the face when they had finished their attacks. Those little goobers are great! Takes a hot minute to use them smoothly, but man, when you can, it makes punishing so much quicker.

The hunts I tended to avoid the most were those that had creatures with poisoning capabilities. Seriously, poison sucks in this game. Keep antidotes stapled to your ass at all times. I also had some difficulties with heavily plated dragons, but I suspect using a hammer would have mitigated that. Something to test another time, I suppose.

Also, I can't say I got too much into the Rampage side of this game. I mean, it's okay? It's a Tower Defense mode. Nothing too taxing. However, I didn't feel the need to grind for a different reward set. What I saw was just improvement stickers to slap on pre-existing equipment. It seems like the kind of thing that would have unique rewards associated with it, but I didn't see anything that compelled me to stick with it outside of a couple of experimental battles. I'm sure it will eventually offer something unique. Just didn't need it.

I think the best I can do with this evaluation is help you get a step into the game, should you want to play it. And really, it's mostly about the play. If you're looking for a novel story, unique characters, decent voice acting, or the next video game soundtrack to get stuck in your head, this isn't really the game for you. (Although, "Cold Blues and Flaming Reds" is a banger!) It's really just about fighting cool monsters and attempting to be cool while doing it.

So, here! First, take my hunting prep loop:

Gather items earned from quests/subquests from the previous hunt.

The quest maiden in the town (Hinoa; shrine maiden sitting around and eating dango) gives you single player quests. Her sister in the hub (Minoto) gives group assignments.

Manufacture new weapons and/or armor for your character.

You'll be looking for an old, grumpy dude who's hunched over (Hamon).

Most of the stuff you can get for weapon creation will get dropped for you somewhere between 1-5 kills of that monster's set. At least, that was what it felt like for me. Khezu equipment took the longest to get, but I think I just had some bad luck there.

Try to use the tree page as much as possible to determine what you'd like and what you need to make. This helped me visualize when I needed to recreate a weapon to get something new through a unique branch. Icons with arrows over them can be reversed to a previous state. Icons with a treasure box on them indicates that you've got this particular weapon in storage.

You can make upgrades to armor and weapons as well, if you'd like! I didn't find it necessary, but some people may want to beef up their stats.

Manufacture Palico/Palamute weapons and armor from scrap and/or unneeded materials.

This'll be the kitty to Hamon's right (your left, if you're facing Hamon.)

You can trade for scraps in the event that you have some piece of a monster that you don't anticipate on using. But really, really make sure you don't need an item before you scrap it. I learned that the hard way regarding Electro Sac scrapping.

Hire at least 1 new Palico or Palamute until a total of 15 is reached. (It'll help you with a subquest later on.)

You'll do this from the Buddy Plaza, which is in the exit opposite of the hub area. Find the kid in the forest playing with a puppy (Iori).

I personally had 2 of each Palico personality type, but you can pick whatever you'd like. Really, really get some healers, though!

Check Palico/Palamute training progress.

It'll be another Palico by Iori (without a hood).

Check Meowcenary progress.

I can't say I really needed the items from this, but it did help me make some unique pet armor!

This will be the Palico in the blue robes and hood by Iori. You won't see him for a bit, though.

If possible, reassign lowest-leveled companions to training duty, then highest to Meowcenary tasks.

Don't interrupt the Meowcenary tasks, at the very least.

If it's been 5+ hunts since you last checked, climb up a tree in the Buddy Plaza to check the Cahoot's nest. If there's two golden eggs, take them.

Create, purchase, and restock items.

Honestly, I only bought trap-making materials from the shop (umbrella dude with a seal taped to his face by the name of Kagero.)

Pet/feed the Cahoot.

Okay, this is optional, and the rewards it triggers can be a pain in the ass to bag. But, pet the owl anyway, idiot.

You can call your owl by dicking around with your D pad.

Accept your quest of choice and subquests from one of the quest maidens.

Cook Motley Mix.

You can do this in the multiplayer hub or in Kamura proper, but I just go to the Kamura proper location. You're looking for a green-clothed gal (Yomogi.) Sit at her counter to her left.

You can cook on the battlefield, but you might as well have the dango lady/Palicoes make your food for you. You can get bonus tickets to improve your Bunny Dango's stats this way!

Eat Bunny Dango.

There are multiple pages of dango you can buy, so don't feel like you need to stick on the first page.

If you see a dango about training your buddies, get that! Might as well help your dudes out, right?

Also—I know the dango lady rants about my character just eating meat and fish, but really. Dango's not healthy. There really should have been some sort of alternative customizable foodstuff for this. Like, I dunno. Sushi?

Depart.

As for control tips:

Don't rush your inputs. Flailing around will leave you open to getting batted across a field.

Try a lance as soon as the game will let you. I recommend this weapon for newbies because its combo system is simple. It's X X X for low attacks, A A A for upper attacks, and R to guard. Learn to target certain body parts using this, and you can handle pretty much any other weapon afterwards. I wouldn't stick to it forever, but it's good for grounding yourself.

Cut off tails; bash in heads. I can especially recommend using great swords for the tail chopping. It'll give you something additional to harvest!

Use items on your Palamute to gain mobility while vulnerable. This is particularly helpful with sharpening your sword or healing up! Press A when you're near your dog to get on it. Press B to dismount.

Rations/steaks heal stamina. Stamina helps you move and attack quickly. It's the yellow bar. Under the green bar. Which is your health. I hope you saw that one, at the very least.

You can auto-craft some items. Absolutely set this up for potions and antidotes. You want that shit ready to go as soon as you touch its base items.

Sheathing your weapon is Y. Using your selected item is also Y. Make sure you know what state you're in when you hit Y (i.e., weapon in or out.)

To select your items: Hold L, then tap Y or A to scroll left or right through the item wheel. Release L on the item you want. Tap Y to use it. This seriously was a pain in the ass for me to learn, so I'm putting it down here. (You can use the L + a control stick to use an item, but I always ended up using stuff accidentally that way.)

Use wirebugs to zip in and hit monsters. It's a bit putzy to do (ZL + ZR while your weapon is sheathed, then X to hit the monster.) But, nailing this will help you lower their defenses against being ridden and get in a good combo starter.

Hold the minus button to warp. There's no penalty for doing this, so get yourself back to your base and restock. You can't do this while you're in active combat, however.

Your time remaining is the clock in the upper-left corner. Try to keep your monster kills in under 15 minutes. You can usually bag three monsters in a go, but it's up to you whether or not the fight is worth it.

Put some time in the Training Arena. It's past the Buddy Plaza, which is the exit past the armor shop. It's a free place to practice comboing, so take your time here to figure out how you'd like to move going forward.

Honestly, you may want to wait a few months for this game's price to drop down and for updates to settle. It's a hot property as of writing this very second (Memorial Day weekend of 2021), but with that heat comes a financial cost. If you've got a buddy who's really biting to play, then go for it. If you're a people person, you might really like the multiplayer! Otherwise, it may be difficult to feel like you're getting the most out of this game.

However, the value of this game really can't be captured in video or audio, as much as I relied on videos to get into it. It's not an Hour One enjoyment, either. It's more about hitting Hour Twenty and finding out that you've become this brutal, beautiful acrobat, despite everything standing in your way. But, "Devil May Cry" takes less work, and "Shadow of the Colossus" scratches that arty itch more, so take the pride I have in my progress with a grain of salt.

Also, I very much hurt myself playing "Devil May Cry 3" and "Shadow of the Colossus." (Don't force yourself to fight bosses for and hour and a half straight, kids.) At least I didn't hurt myself playing "Monster Hunter Rise!" Just battered my dignity for a bit.

#post game evaluation #monster hunter rise

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