#my first MH was freedom unite

[insctglaive]

Hayate, her Palico, was a childhood friend that she found when joining her parents on a hunt. She saved him from being eaten by a Yian Garuga.

She came from a very prominent hunting family. Her mother used a sword and shield, and her father used a lance.

She is currently a nomad who travels and hunts where she is needed. Her adventure started in Port Tanzia, where she hunted Dire Miralis.

She puts her soul into her hunting and takes a very protective stance toward those she is tasked with protecting.

Chaos is one of the only other hunters she will partner up with. They have worked together enough to practically read the other's mind.

She hates Yian Kut-Ku with a passion.

She speaks to the monsters as she fights them. Things like "Thank you for staying still." "I told you to stop hitting me." "I don't want to see your teeth!"

Zilly became infatuated with Gore Magala while working out of Val Habar. She thoroughly enjoyed their fight! This is also when she switched from dual blades to insect glaive.

Zilly had not come across a monster that she counted as her rival monster. She disliked some monsters more than others and enjoyed fighting many others. Arkveld slapped her down one too many times for her liking. So it became her monster rival.

Zilly isn't in it for the rewards for hunting the monsters; it's a nice little bonus. But she loves hunting. When she sees new monsters, she gets very excited. Studying them, learning their movements, and finding their weak spots. You will never see a bigger smile on her face than when she is hunting.

[czerwonywilk]

one of things i hope for wilds is unlocking new cooking ingredients that change up how cooking cutscene looks because in my first mh game (freedom unite) your food looked different depending on amount of chef felynes you had and unfortunately i dont have screenshots of how it changes according to amount but 5 chef dinner absolutely fucks and i need to cook incredible shit in wilds

[paladincecil]

Took a break from Monster Hunter to try the new atlus game now that it's been completely cracked using the demo with all the dlc and confirmed to be the full experience. I got about an hour into it before getting tired of it and went back to messing about in Monster Hunter Freedom(psp port of mh1) that I decided to start instead of stories 2 xD

So that's 5 mh games on the go now but I think I'll just ditch mh1 for freedom because it has a few QoL changes like a similar control scheme to the rest of the series instead of using the right stick to attack in the og ps2 version and a farm so I don't have to spend 10 minutes gathering materials for 10 potions

I've only really done a couple quests in it atm because I was fighting with control bindings for a good hour trying to get it to accept me changing the d pad to the right stick so I could hav normal camera controls xD

I also downloaded Monster Hunter Freedom Unite(mh2 psp port) and I have my eye on MH3U for the WiiU but the 3ds version was my first experience with the series that I gave up on because I hated the underwater combat but I'd like to at least take a peak at it at some point

There's also the open beta for Wilds in about a week so that'll be high on my list to try out \o/

[ideas-on-paper]

Monster Hunter Tri Diary, Part 4: Hunting for mushrooms

For previous entries, search for #monster hunter tri diary

Disclaimer: Text is paraphrased from my localization and might slightly deviate from the English version.

Moga Village (day)

With the ore I gathered on my last trip to Moga Woods, I finally have enough to make myself a Great Sword. Well, let's get to it - one Iron Sword if you please, dear smith.

And he is really putting in work! He even swings his hammer multiple times! (In 3U, he only swung his hammer once, which was always funny to me since it seemed like he brought the pieces of equipment into existence by just one strike of his "magic hammer".)

Smith: "Take good care of your equipment. Armor is family!" Well, I suppose anyone who's ever played Monster Hunter will know the truth of those words. I'm always very attached to my weapons and armor sets - I ought to, with all the blood, sweat, and time I invested to get them. ^^ (Do you have any idea how long I spent farming for two Rathian Rubies in Freedom Unite just to make myself the complete armor?)

Outfitter: "The new armors were top-notch in my virtual test." I'm sure this speaks for their excellent quality.

Village Chief: "At least you have good lungs... Or so I've heard!" Actually, now that you mention it, the hunters in Monster Hunter Tri are able to hold their breath for a long time. And all of that while attacking, dodging, and doing all sorts of underwater acrobatics. Just what kind of preliminary training do you have to go through to even qualify as a rookie hunter?

Chief, giving me payment: "I had to scrape together the last money from the piggy bank." The Chief has a piggy bank? Actually, if the MH universe has piggy banks, would they look like Poogies? (If they do, can I have one, please? ^^)

Also, the Village Chief mentions subquests for the first time and explains how they work. From what I know, MH Dos also had subquests, but they didn't bring them back until Tri (only to remove them for the following titles and reintroduce them in the fourth gen). Anyway, it's interesting to see where many of the features of modern MH titles originated from.

Item vendor: "Where have you been? We had an agreement that you would come to me daily and I wouldn't have to run after you!" What do you mean? I relentlessly bothered you for extra dialogue the last time, like all other NPCs. That wasn't enough?

Item vendor, trying to sell me Books of Combos: "You have to make space in your item bag, but on the other hand, you don't have to carry around so much garbage. Think of the environment!" Well, at least she's eco-minded, apparently. ^^'

"Household tip: Saps plants are ideal for dusting off shelves." How does that work? Do you just stick the plant to the end of a rod or something?

"Of course, I almost always have to think about you brave hunters. At the thought of armor, air..." Okay, armor I get, but why the hell would think about hunters when thinking of air? (Is it because they always land so elegantly on their feet, even when falling a large distance?) Seriously, this lady is starting to creep me out...

Gossip Lady: "My brother is a hunter in the city!" Oh, that's interesting - that has to mean her brother is working in Loc Lac, right? (Also, this vaguely reminds me of that one lady in Kokoto who also had a brother who was a hunter in the city.)

I think it's kinda cute how the Fishmongress gives you cooking advice (like how to make fish filet and sushi rolls). I haven't tried it out in practice, though.

Meanwhile, the Guild Sweetheart is absolutely over the moon because she finally heard from the Hunter's Guild! Aaaand, my first quest is… to gather mushrooms. Of course - what else would it be? xD (Since the first quests almost always are about gathering mushrooms, this seems to be something like the standard “application” for new hunters.)

"Do they think we aren't capable of ANYTHING?!" It's sweet how she gets mad on my behalf, though. Not to worry - I'm used to the drill. :-)

"Let's just show them that we're doing a good job. And with "we" I mean you!" Of course - I mean, it’s not like there are any other hunters around here.

"There's a big city out in the desert. Of course they have different monsters there! Now you'd like to go there, wouldn't you?" *nods enthusiastically* (Seriously though, I can't wait to finally see Loc Lac with my own eyes. ^^)

Farm Felyne: "Don't just eat meat! Vegetables make shining fur and sharp claws!!" Important advice - be sure to remember it, kids.

Chamberlyne: "Through the window comes a lovely breeze, but you can look inside. You're like a fish in a bowl, even when changing clothes. That could make for a fine scandal." They aren't that big on privacy in Moga, I suppose... (Just... do me a favor and don't tell the item lady anything about it, okay?)

"The sea breeze is pleasant... Unless you're made of iron! I have to polish all metal pieces in the room daily so they don't start rusting." Oh dear, the Felynes really do have the most ungrateful jobs... Listen: I'm gonna earn a bit of money on my first quest, and when I get back, I'm gonna give you a raise for all the hard work you're doing, okay?

Quest: Harvest 'Shroom

I just love the humor of the MH writers right down to the quest names. In this case, the translation didn't quite carry over in my localization, but the English name gave me a good chuckle.

Clan matriarch: "The mushrooms around here are nothing special, but the ones from the Deserted Island are quite good!" Seems like local mushrooms are a bit of an insider's tip among mushroom enjoyers.

I'm gonna attempt to deduce some things about MH society from the quest descriptions: In this case, the quest giver is a clan matriarch, which means that somewhere in the MH world, there are people who are organized in clan-centered societies. I imagine there are various indigenous cultures, and by themselves, they are all autonomous peoples and tribes. However, the Guild acts as a middleman if they want to hire foreign hunters to do jobs for them. (Since the Guild’s network is pretty extensive, that would also give them a lot of control.)

Btw, the Moga Woods are dubbed "Deserted Island" in all Guild quests. I suppose this is probably the official name for the region they agreed upon, so it's used in all Guild documents. It's kind of funny if you think about it, though; I wonder if the Guild envoys just came here, took one look at everything, and said "Well, this is pretty deserted. So, "Deserted Island" it is!" However, to the people who actually live here, this isn't just a "deserted" island - it's their home, and the environment that sustains their daily life.

If you want to go hunting in the Moga Woods, you have to go to the right, to the path that leads out of the village. If you accept a quest, however, you have to go to the left, down the pier. This implies you leave for the Guild quests by boat. Nice detail.

The base camp has an integrated stove, by the looks of it.

Guild Sweetheart: "Since the camp is in tip-top shape again, nothing speaks against the profession of the hunter. An absolutely crisis-proof job!" Yes, I can imagine that. (In fact, I'd say there's probably more work for hunters in times of crisis than under normal circumstances.)

But before we go hunting monsters, the Sweetheart gives us the quest (heh) to hunt for the "three elusive wonders" of the base camp: the blue box, the red box, and the bed. Good thing I have a lot of experience with that.

As usual, we got the standard supplies in the blue box: first-aid meds, rations, mini-whetstones... and paintballs. (You know, paintballs? Those things you have to throw onto a monster so you don't lose it if it runs away? Because there's no such thing as, say, a lamp with bugs that points you in the right direction.)

Guild Sweetheart when finding the red box: "Oh, you're good at this!" Yeah, right? Almost as I've done this before.

When you select the red box, it actually shows you a list of stuff you can deliver. In case of a gathering quest, you have to hand in the items for the subquests (unlike in 4U, you can actually have two subquest in Tri) and the main quest separately. I have to say, I kinda like this since you can't accidentally deliver the items for the main quest first, and lock yourself out of the rewards for the subquests that way.

Sweetheart: "Yes, that's a bed! Your furniture-hunting skills are unmatched, hunter!" You know, where I live, there's literally a furniture store whose name translates to "furniture hunter". I must say, I had to chuckle a bit about that. xD

"If you sleep in the bed, your health is restored and any poison is cured. You wake up feeling as if you were born anew!" I wish my bed had a feature like this.

Also, there are two separate options when selecting the bed: take a nap and finish via subquest. So, instead of hitting the sack immediately as usual, you have to press confirm again to take your all-curing nap.

Btw, there's a small boat at the pier in the base camp. I suppose this is how you get here? (Presuming you don't start out from Moga Village, but from somewhere else.)

Okay, let's get down to business. The way to get Ripened Mushrooms is basically to wait until the Altaroth go to the gathering spots, let them pick up the mushrooms, and then kill them. You get the Ripened Mushrooms as shiny drops.

NOOOO, one Altaroth got away! :( (Seriously, you have to be quick about killing them; the hole where they spawn/despawn isn't too far away.)

Sweetheart: "That's one of those Unique Mushrooms! I should know, since I like mushrooms a lot." Well, why didn't you say so sooner? I would've brought you some mushrooms instead of a molid.

Okay, Ripened Mushrooms are delivered, extra reward from subquest A is in the bag - now for the rest.

Other than attacking them, snatching away their gathering spots makes Altaroth really pissed.

You get Dragon Toadstools from the gathering spots with the blue mushrooms. A bit surprising to find them on the very first map, since they’re usually an item you get a little later (e.g. in desert/volcano areas).

Btw, you can tell apart gathering spots by their color in Tri: From orange/reddish you get ordinary stuff, while the blue gathering spots give you rare items.

The mushroom gathering spots respawn fast. In fact, I probably have enough mushrooms from just area 2 to finish the quest, both sub and main.

I got a Waterblock Seed near the waterfall. Fitting I guess, and yet another one of the elemental berries.

I'm gonna deliver the Choice Mushroom for subquest B, and then I'll go to a few other areas to gather some stuff. A bit of a pity you can't deliver non-quest related account items to the red box. This actually makes me kind of miss 4U's auto-delivery; you automatically dropped all account items you held into the box, so you could go back and pick up more. (I guess each system has its perks.)

Also, you get lots of additional supplies from the subquests. I guess I could've left my own potions and steaks at home. xD

There are maaany ore gathering spots in the cave.

And here I go having to throw away all the free meds and rations again. xD (It's always the same when I'm at full capacity; I tend to get rid of the account items because you don't keep them anyway.)

And here we have our first Machalite Ore! Wohoo! (I'm never, ever gonna not appreciate Machalite Ore again after MH1.)

So, Earth Crystals are "crystallized microbes". I suppose that means the MH world has quite advanced microscopes. (Because otherwise, they wouldn't even know microbes exist.) Also, Earth Crystals are "prized as an abrasive when forging weapons". I wonder what gives them such good abrasive properties?

Godbug: "An insect said to live 1000 years—but no one's lived long enough to prove it." Are you sure about that? Wyverians get pretty old if I remember correctly. Also, couldn't you just hold it in a terrarium or something and keep tabs on its age?

The Sharqs are tougher than ordinary fish. I tried to stab them with a harpoon several times before realizing I have to weaken them first so I can harpoon them. (I believe I can very faintly remember having the same experience back in 3U; guess I'm a bit out of practice. xD) You can easily see when you've weakened them enough though, since they start "limping" afterwards.

Underwater combat with a Great Sword definitely takes some time getting used to. I just spent about two minutes killing a single Sharq. It looked a bit like a very clumsy waltz, for the lack of a better term.

You can carve Immunizers from the Sharqs. Curious, since that's an item you normally have to combine; actually, I could do that with the Dragon Toadstools I found. (There was this rumor once that sharks are immune to cancer. I wonder if this is kind of inspired by that?)

Anyway, I got some nice booty from my extended gathering tour: Ore, bugs, and way more stuff than I could carry. Time to return and deliver those mushrooms I've kept in my pockets the whole time.

Moga Village (night)

Guild Sweetheart: "How did you like the Guild rules? Did you think they were very annoying? I know, I know... That slowly approaching time limit; you faint three times and are already considered too weak. Just cruel!" Haha, don't worry - I'm used to it. :-)

"People admire hunters precisely because they can deal with absolutely anything!" Well, given what kind of bullshit the old MH games like to throw at you, I can confirm that if you've been through that, nothing can shock you.

On a more serious note, I love the irony of the hunters being seen as something like folk heroes who slay the "big, bad monsters", but in reality, they're just mercenaries who get paid to slaughter wild animals. Really good example of how "heroes" often aren't determined by morality or good deeds, but popular opinion.

"You could also do the monster guts first." Ah yes, peacefully carving the innards of harmless Epioth - what could possibly go wrong? (If only the Lagiacrus wasn't interested in taking a bite…)

"I love Giggi because they're so slippery. I could just... Oh dear, what are you thinking of me now?" Well... I wasn't exactly expecting a lewd joke, if that's what you mean. xD Though remembering the Guildmarm from MH4U, it seems like many of the Guild receptionists have a thing for weird monsters.

"Employees of the Guild are provided three sets of this uniform. But they're really slow to dry... This one is starting to get icky." Oh dear... I can't imagine the humid climate of Moga exactly helps with that.

Gossip Lady: "Monster guts are sooo delicious! And it never hurts to have something in your stomach!... Okay, that one really was a liiittle gross." I love how of the queen of word games got disgusted by her own joke. xD

"The Chief has a son, right? So he must've had a wife once. I wonder what Mrs. Chief was like..." Well... maybe we'll hear about that at some point. (I believe I remember that she was killed by a tsunami, though I don't recall if that's actually brought up in the game.)

In the most sibling kind of way, the two brothers are now holding a Goldenfish fishing competition. Incidentally, each of them tells you one of the ingredients for the Goldenfish bait (Firefly + Snakebee Larva), and the little brother - who is quite the bookworm, apparently - says he's read that the Goldenfish are found in Area 10. Well, thanks boys - that's gonna be quite helpful for the Goldenfish quest later. (Once again, I appreciate how they incorporated gameplay tips in such an entertaining and creative way.)

Little brother: "Supposedly, there are fish you can only catch if you weaken them with a normal weapon." Yes, I already had the pleasure of that experience. xD (Would've been nice to know beforehand, but oh well.)

Btw, one thing I find really cute is how the villagers occasionally remark on the time. They'll say stuff like "Isn't it getting late?" and "Isn't it bedtime already?" when it's night, or "Remember to take a break!" I guess this is a little fourth wall break to remind you to take breaks from time to time. xD (Similar to the little heads-up when you start up MH4U.)

Smith: "There's a trick how to use whetstones. You have to put your heart into it!" I just love how invested the smith is in his work - he really is an artisan with body and soul. ^^

I could already make myself one part of the Jaggi armor (the vambraces), but since I don't desperately need the defense and would rather keep my other skills, I'll wait for now.

Farm Felyne: "The import costs are so high that our farm is more important than ever." Note: It's a good idea to produce life-essential goods (like food) yourself in case of rising import costs or supply shortages.

Okay, so the Head Farmer tells me they have a problem with Jaggi rooting out the harvest. I've got one question, though: Why should Jaggi - carnivores - have any interest in digging up vegetables? That seems very strange...

But the Head Farmer seems to be convinced it'll make the Felynes feel more safe. Well, alright then - if there's the potential that we'll get an additional Felyne (and thus, and additional farming slot), let's go take care of it, shall we?

To be continued

[anime-grimmy-art]

#8 of MH-tober - Fav Pseudo-Wyvern

Ngl, there was no debate to be had. I only recently started liking Barioth and Narga is nothing special tbh, but I share so many memories with Tigrex. Him being the first real block I had in Freedom Unite (and him scaring the shit outta me), to him being super appealing to me design wise.  I recently played through MH stories again and out of nowhere I got a Brute Tigrex. I called him Butch and I love him to pieces. 

I also just love his sound design so much. My fav is in Iceborne, when he’s worn out and he just does the lil’ chomp chomp. It’s weirdly cute and I love it

[dragonkingteo]

Hey I gotta say I love this blog As my first game of monster hunter was 4u I despise teostra's fight but love his design and theme now that I'm playing world I loved them even more(I still haven't fought Luna yet but I heard a lot of people don't like her)

{{ Hi! Thanks a ton!! I met Teostra and Lunastra for the first time in MH Freedom Unite, and I’m impressed by how they evolved until World (for instance the supernova didn’t exist in MHFU). Lunastra has gotten really different and harder, but that’s why I find her new design so good! ;3 }}

[jiveyusc]

IDSN 540 Unit 3 - Creative Problem Solving Interviews

NAME: CW

INDUSTRY: Advertising/Marketing - ECD

SUMMARY: CW’s approach to generating ideas starts with digging deep into the subject and dissecting the problem into its deepest form to develop the right solution. By doing this, he finds that his ideas start to flow freely and automatically giving him the ability to process each idea effectively. 

When the creative ideas start to bottleneck, he finds that digging into the subject matter more, he’s able to break through and get the ideas flowing again. In this stage, he finds inspiration in seeing how others have found connections and layers to similar types of challenges. It reminded me of what Kirby Ferguson said about “remixing” ideas to create your own. CW immerses himself in the subject in order to find a new way to find a solution. Similar to what Eric Ernest said, CW finds a way to make an existing solution better.

With that said, obstacles still occur in CW’s process. Fatigue, overthinking, other projects, and even unused ideas can inhibit the creative process. When he’s in this stage, it’s best for him to walk away, clear his mind, and try to work out the issues away from his work environment. 

In terms of a specific process, he doesn’t seem to follow a single set of rules because of the various types of problems he needs to solve for. In his words, his process is like jazz ands there is no systematic way that he applies to his problem-solving skillset. He takes a piece from each and applies it ad hoc. 

NAME: MH

INDUSTRY: Advertising/Marketing - UX/UI Researcher

SUMMARY: MH’s first step is to conduct research. From conducting interviews with stakeholders, running usability tests, scrubbing online information, and analyzing user feedback, she puts herself in a position where her ideas are data-driven. For her, this idea process puts her in the best possible decision to create solutions to problems that haven’t been solved before. Her focus is on the user, not what a client’s motive is. It’s no doubt a delicate balance, but when she shares her insights and brings her clients into the process, her ideas get green lit more so than not. 

MH also applies what Eric Ernest discussed as well, by thinking about ways to improve existing solutions. Any time she runs into an issue with an existing app, or service, she makes a note of it and builds out solutions that would equate to a better user experience for that particular digital experience, regardless if she’s associated with that company or not. This helps her stay fresh and think about ways solve problems outside of her day-to-day. 

Obstacles for her include getting people to apply new ideas and processes. She finds that people have a hard time changing their ways, which makes finding new solutions harder than they need to be by not evolving. To combat this, she likes to bring people into the process. By giving them ownership and a little insight, they feel more empowered to go against their original instincts. This helps create trust between her and other cross-disciplinary teams. 

Her process is completely revolved around brainstorming, which occurs after the research has been conducted. The knowledge gathered helps free her mind into thinking about how to solve those problems. From brainstorming comes prototyping leading to iterations into the final product/solution. This process continue to repeat based on quantitative data being generated. 

NAME: SH

INDUSTRY: Musician - Guitar/vocals

SUMMARY: SH finds inspiration for ideas in multiple mediums. It can come from a song he’s heard, a movie he’s watched, or even on a walk. When this spark ignites his creativity, his next step is to grab a guitar and write. He’s constantly iterating to create the best version of his song. This process can take 30 minutes or a year. It just depends on when he feels his creative vision is realized. 

The biggest obstacle he faces is filling out the entire piece of music. He can create a great sense of feel for one portion of the song but if the other parts on there or they don’t necessarily match his vision, he finds it difficult to come back to that original idea. Certain parts make sense but the sum isn’t right. When this occurs, he steps away from it until he can naturally come back and apply a fresh perspective to solve the problem. He’s found a lot of success by removing himself when he runs into a block. 

His process is all about bursts of focus with a foundation of daydreaming. This process helps him apply the best use of his mental strength. He’s able to apply tunnel vision to write his parts, but his process also allows him freedom to daydream and step away to optimize clarity. 

LEARNINGS: I find that I have similarities in each of these processes. I’m dedicated to research. I find that the foundation for my creative thinking is based on what others have done in the past and learning from their methods. I in turn take the best ingredients and apply a new perspective to solve a separate (but sometimes related) problem. I relate to CW and MH so much. Getting intimate with the subject allows me to generate the best ideas. However, I respect SH’s approach of hyper focus time in conjunction with daydreaming. Being able to step away has produced a lot of great ideas on my end as well. 

I run into similar obstacles that each of my subjects discussed. I need to remind myself that there sometimes is a knowledge gap with team members and clients. If I take MH’s approach to bring them into the process, I might see better results. If I run into a road block, I need to take a step back like CW and SH. 

I’m excited to evolve my own processes based on understanding how my peers approach creative thinking and overcoming obstacles. 

[like-a-clock]

Games

My first consolle was a green game boy color, that I bought 21 years ago (omg. Really: OMG) with Pokémon yellow version.

I'm so in love with the Pokémon brand. I never stop to play with their games.

After Pokémon yellow, I played Pokémon crystal, Pokémon sapphire, Pokémon platinum, white, X, moon, ultramoon, and now shield.

I really like their spin off too! I adore Pokémon Conquest: the game, the fan art, OST.. It's an amazing game!

Other spin off I played were the mistery dungeon series, Pokémon ranger and the original Snap.

Another game series I'm in, is Monster Hunter. My first version was Monster Hunter tri for the Nintendo wii. After that I played Monster hunter freedom unite (it's sooooo amaaaaziiiing!!!), monster hunter 3U, MH 4, MH generation and the generation unite.

I recently downloaded the demo of Monster Hunter Rise. I find it has a magical atmosphere, which catches the eye and renews the passion for this title.

On my switch (lite) I had Animal crossing. Omg, it's so cute and relaxing! The villagers are unique and wow!! Wow!!

I also have Doraemon story of season. So relaxing too! And Doraemon is so heartwarming.

[shinfuransan]

I have yet to build this armor...and the hammer...and the bow...and HOLY SHIT I HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING WITH NARGACUGA!!?? 😱😱😱 *shame on me!!*  (*μ_μ)

Yet looking at it brings so much (more painful - less happy) memories from MH Freedom Unite [PSP]. Possibly the first armor I genuinely wanted and literally/figuratively bled for. 

Nargacuga will always be one of my top fav monsters. Next to thunder puppy Zinogre and Tiggy.

[writtenaboutshinee]

Choi Minho’s Interview in Military Manpower Magazine Vol 95, Winter 2019/2020 Issue

Compilation of various translations of Minho’s interview:

- Military manpower administration magazine -

(Slightly edited by writtenaboutshinee for readability. Original translation here.)

.

Q. Do you often say hello to SHINee members?

Minho: When I was a trainee, I expected a letter from the members, but no one sent me. (laughs) These days we can use cell phones after work hours, so I often talk to the members. We talk about talking to members on the phone often and going out on vacation.

Minho: "I told Corporal Lee Jinki, who is currently performing in a musical performance, that I would definitely go to/really like to go to the musical, and Private Kim Kibum, who is serving in the military in Seoul, that I would like to see him. We stick together and stay apart, I think my affection for the members has grown bigger."

"As a member of the global idol group SHINee, Choi Minho, who spent his busy days as an actor who gave dreams and hopes to many people. Now, he is spending shining days defending his country with young South Koreans in the Marine Corps. Before joining the military, Private First Class Choi Min-ho wrote on his SNS, "I will always do my best to give you positive and good energy without disappointing you." As he promised, Private First Class Choi Minho is delivering unlimited positive energy to his colleagues and other senior and junior soldiers. On Nov. 15, i met with Private Choi Minho, who is defending the justice and freedom of the Republic of Korea, at the 1st Marine Division located in Pohang."

- It's been 7 months since you joined the army. How is your life in the Marine Corps?

MH: Now that I think about it, seven months has passed so quickly. With the help of all the seniors, colleagues, and successors, I think I was able to adapt to the Marine Corps in good health.

- Is there any special reason to support the Marine Corps?

Minho: I was thinking about where to play the role of defending the Republic of Korea rather than as a special occasion, and I thought that the Marine Corps would be a great asset to me, so I applied for it. And I joined the army at a later age than my peers, but I was confident that I would keep up with my young friends."

- What if you could show off some Marines?

Minho: The Marine Corps is different from the rest of the army, so it's the main mission of landing operations. In particular, my company is a unit that parachutes down from the sky to engage in combat as well as sea and land.”

It is the Marine Corps that gathers the most passionate and strong physically fit.

- So far, during your military service, when was your memorable moment or your proud moment?

Minho: The first two moments that come to mind. One was the moment when I finished the whole process and put a red name tag on my right breast. I was deeply moved by the time I had to work with my friends to wear this name tag. The other was when I first dropped off after receiving an airlift. When I came down the parachute, I still have a vivid feeling of training.

Do you have any suggestions that young people who are thinking of applying for the Marine Corps and should know about this and be prepared?

Minho: Personally, I just want to tell you that you need to prepare two things. As you all know, the first is strength and the second is energy. [...] I want to tell you that you need to be passionate and have the strength to support that idea to come to the Marines.

In the movie "Jangsari: Forgotten Heroes" released before joining the army, he played the central character Choi Sung-pil. What did you think about during the filming?

Minho: When I was shooting the movie, I actually felt like I was having a fight. Especially, when filming a scene, I felt like I was in a real war zone. Also, I realized once again that many people who spoke very hard to protect the Republic of Korea during the filming of the movie. At their sacrifice, I didn't forget that I was here, and I promised to work really hard in the military.

The Marine Corps could confirm that the commitment was not wrong.

- Lastly, please say something for your fans who always support.

Minho: "Thank you for your love and support. I read your letter every week. Every letter is a warm consolation and a great help. I have about a year left until the end of my military service. Please wait until the day we return in good shape. Thank you."

Translated by maiiese_TMJH on Twitter.

.

EXCERPTS BY OTHER TRANSLATORS:

In one of the new pictures of Minho featured in the magazine, there was one where a cloth label on his uniform was visible, which read, “안되면 될 때까지" meaning “Make the impossible possible”. Cr: 5hineonyou on Twitter.

Q: what should those who want to apply for marines be prepared with?

Personally there are only 2 things u should prepare - physical & mental fitness. There's a saying in the marines "Make the impossible possible". even if your mental strength is still lacking but by having a passionate mindset to make it possible, i think you will achieve a good result. Also by having a good physical fitness to support that mindset, you'll be able to join the Marine Corps.

- Choi Minho Military Manpower Magazine Vol 95 -

Translated by 5hineonyou on Twitter.

Q: Do the SHINee member and yourself check up in each other often in the military? Minho: In my heart, I was anticipating letters sent by my members during my training period but no one sent any to me (laughs) Nowadays, we are allowed to use our phones after our daily working time and I would often talk to my members on the phone and would suggest for us to match our vacations dates. I told corporal Lee Jinki who is doing a musical right now that I would go and watch his shows and I also told private Kim Kibum for us to meet up if I go to Seoul. It’s for sure that when we got separated after to have always been together, our affection heart for our members gets larger”

191231 MINHO on Ministry Manpower Administration Magazine Winter Issue

Translated by iheartshinee_ on Twitter.

Q: Lastly, please say a word to your fans that is supporting you no matter when.

Minho: To the fans I love who always stand by me and giving me support. Sincerely thank you. Without missing any, I am reading the letters you guys sent every week. Every single letter gives me warm comfort and they bring me so much strength. There’s approximately 1 year left for my military service period, I shall end my military life healthily till the very end. Please wait for a little till the day we meet again through a good side of me. Thank you.

191231 MINHO on Ministry Manpower Administration Magazine Winter Issue

Translated by iheartshinee_ on Twitter.

[freyaloi]

Finally! After several hours of trial and error, strategizing and multiple attempts, I finally beat Arch Tempered Nergigante! \o/ And more importantly I managed him solo. (YOUR GAMMA PANTS ARE MINE!!!)

AT Nergi is designed for multiple people, so there’s no SP bonus. 

And now some tips for pc players (also for console players if you need it but pc got AT-nergi later than you guys). 

*This is not ye’oldie Nergi, Pointless practicing on his tempered version as he is much faster and has new moves as well as behaviour. He also has the highest health of all the AT Elders save for Xeno and Zorah so be prepared for a long fight.

Bring max potions if your not already and make sure to have their crafting bound to your radial menu, You are going to need them!!!!!! (SAVE ITEM LOADOUTS FOR THIS FIGHT! The less time you spend faffing with items, the more time you have to fight him! You may need every second of that 50min, I timed out on my first attempt.)

If you are going melee, Survival skills are highly recommended. (Health augments, health jewels, recovery jewels, defence jewels etc..) If you don’t, his little slaps will do ridiculous damage, and his other proper moves will oneshot. Gunners and bow users, Avoid getting hit as much as possible. Almost all of his attacks are oneshots, even his little nudges. Even with Maxed upgraded armor. 

Try do as much Damage as you can to him in his first two rooms as he goes ballistic come room 3. (like most elders he follows a set path but it has been changed for this quest)

He starts in the crystal drop room. Use sleep on him and try get him to sleep underneath those droppable crystals for double damage. If he’s out of range, sleep bomb him. But make sure to drop those crystals on him regardless.

DO NOT MOUNT HIM UNTILL AFTER HIS TURF WAR IN ROOM 2

He rapidly becomes immune to status effects so plan ahead what you are going to use. You can get away with 2 for sure, maybe 3 at the most if you are lucky. He can be flashed 3 times too. (Flashes are inadvisable if you are melee, unless you are desperate for breathing room.)

From room 3 onwards he is basically constantly enraged and uses his new move A LOT. Stay on your toes, do not get greedy with your attacks.

He has two types of dive bombs now, the old one we’re used to and his new one which does as much damage but is quicker and has very little warning, and he does both a lot. His spikes grow back much faster and are much harder to break, so no chain knock downs or filching.

Once he’s in his 4th room, try pull him to the room with the lava jet if you can, the more free damage the better.

DO NOT fight him in his final nest area. Bomb him when he sleeps and pull him out of there to the previous room. Keep fighting as normal until he returns to sleep. Bomb him again. Rinse and repeat. If you’ve made it this far, then I'm sure you don’t want to die to the stalactites falling in that room, and it’s incredibly cramped.

All in all Take it slow and steady. He should be dropping pods by the 4th room. If not, just keep plugging at him until he retreats. This fight is a careful balance of balls and caution. There’s very few openings, so you have to take the chance and go for them, but get greedy and you will be punished.

He is incredibly tough, you will be defeated multiple times most likely, but do not give up. Keep at it, take a break if you need one. Use everything you have learnt until now, be it with your team mates or solo. But don’t give up, keep at it and you will beat him. Practice and patience is key.

As tough as he was, I really enjoyed that fight. Gave me the same rush and sense of accomplishment that soloing my way through most of G-rank in Freedom Unite and 4U did. Something I feel has been missing in Monster hunter world. (no I've not beaten behemoth yet because fuck that noise, though I will finish his story missions because i’m sick of THAT music. I don’t like those cross over monsters with their unavoidable insta-death mechanics. While they were neat ideas,  they make poor MH creatures IMO.)

Either way, I’m super hyped for Iceborne now, and looking forward to seeing what they do with it!

[ideas-on-paper]

Monster Hunter Tri Diary, Part 3: Cave exploration & Swimming lessons

For previous entries, search for #monster hunter tri diary

Disclaimer: Text is paraphrased from my localization and might slightly deviate from the English version.

Moga Woods (day)

Village Chief: "Looking for Iron Ore, aren't you? Good thing I don’t have to bother with that task anymore. It's nice to be the Chief..." Look, I know I'm the one who's doing the dirty work here, but you don't have to make it that obvious, okay?

"You're not going to see much inside the cave unless you have the eyes of a Felyne." So, Felynes have night vision - logical enough, since they're basically bipedal cats. (With a trait like this, I’m willing to bet there are Felyne mineworkers in the MH universe. Not that job prospects for Felynes are already bad enough…)

"You can't bring torches into the city. Fire regulations." Well, I guess that's understandable considering the village consists pretty much entirely of wooden huts. (But then again, there literally are large torches in the village, so…)

"Infusions of powdered Kelbi Horn work wonders on tummy-aches. It's a local secret!" A miracle cure for stomach aches? Why can't this exist in real life... (Still, if they can administer infusions, that must mean medicine is quite advanced in the MH universe...)

Village Chief when entering the cave: "What did I tell you? Pitch-dark." No kidding. I was kind of forewarned about this, but the caves in MH Tri are very dark. (I imagine fighting Gigginox is going to be really fun in this game...)

You know what’s an absolute bane? If you’re in a dark cave, it's a very bright day, and your completely blinded by the light coming through the window. Even with almost completely closed blinds, I can see absolutely nothing, despite using a torch.

Well, at least I managed to find the Felyne encampment in the cave (or rather, I accidentally stumbled upon it xD).

Yaaay, Giggis... I'm so NOT happy to see you... (Well, at least it's a good opportunity to get some Giggi materials.)

Fighting and carrying a torch at the same time is kinda tricky. You can draw your weapon while carrying a torch, but when you press the button for putting it away, you extinguish the torch first, and then sheath your weapon after pressing again. Might be easier to handle if it was the other way around (sheath weapon -> extinguish torch).

I guess this is why they adjusted the brightness of the caves in 3U so you can see without torches. (Although this makes the torches kinda pointless.) The atmosphere is nice, but fighting while carrying torches is a bit troublesome.

After blindly running in circles for five minutes, I finally found a single ore deposit to mine. (Man, exploring caves in Tri is hardcore...)

Following the relief of finally seeing daylight again, I took a short detour to the base camp. I was interested to see if things looked better by now, but nope - the camp is still in the same-run down state as before. Well, I guess the villagers are just people too - you can't expect everything to repair itself as soon as you hand over the materials (like, you know, in a video game).

Also, another REALLY handy feature I just discovered is that you can display additional information on the status screens. If you press B on the Wiimote while opening the status menu, little question marks pop up in front of every skill, and you can hover over them to get a more detailed description of what that skill does and how many points you need to unlock the different tiers. (I don't think Freedom Unite had this; I always wished you could somehow display that info.)

Chief: "My wise ancestors said: The life of the village is tied to the land around it. They were right." Well, I have to agree on that - it’s easy to forget in our modern world, but ultimately, our survival is dependent on the environment.

Moga Village (day)

Chief's Son: "I used to break all my bones to get ore for the smith!" I suppose I should count myself lucky that I'm still in one piece, then... ^^' (But given how dark these caves are, I can imagine there's a lot of potential to fall flat on your face.)

Blacksmith: "Now, look at this Iron Ore. That's quality! Maybe not the best quality, but no rookie dug this up." Well, they did say he was hard to please. xD I reckon this is probably the closest thing to a compliment we're gonna get from him.

Chief's Son: "The smith liked you? Well, that’s surprising! Normally, the old geezer has trouble getting used to new faces." That's one more reason to feel honored, I guess...

Village Chief: "Well, if this isn’t a story to tell your grandkids! Of all ores in the region... you were able to find the exact kind that the smith LIKES?!" Man, you're almost making it sound like I'm the chosen one or something. ^^'

"We're making good progress rebuilding the base camp." Really? Last time I checked, it didn't really look like that to me.

"You're more stubborn than a Kelbi in heat!" Not sure if that says more about me or the Kelbi's mating behavior... ^^'

And now he just tells me to go take swimming lessons and thrusts a few harpoons into my hands. Well, I guess that's what we're doing, then.

Guild Sweetheart: "You're already back with the ore? You machine! What are they feeding you with?" Well, I told I'd be right back, didn't I? ^^

"Speaking of which, the Guild machine has a few loose screws. You'll never guess what they sent me this time. Absolutely NOTHING! Who would've thought?" Truly, wonders of bureaucracy...

"I'm burning for the hunt. Not that I can hunt. Not even beans. But I'm good at cheering!" Well, you have the spot as my No. 1 emotional supporter, I can tell you that much. ^^

The shy kid just gave me a free bug net he made himself, saying "I think I did a pretty good job with the net". And then he just hands me a Mega Bugnet. Kid, that's more than just a pretty good job - that's literally the best bug net in the game.

And the first of the Felynes is back on the farm! Nice - now we can finally cultivate stuff. (You have no idea how much I appreciate that feature after playing MH1.)

Felyne: "Veggies! Veggies! VEGGIES!! Food is more than just meat!" Well, you're not wrong about that. (The contrast is kinda funny, though - on one hand, we have the Chief’s Son and the Holy Grail of the barbecue, and then there’s this kitty who literally says “meat isn’t everything”. xD)

Still, I'm a bit surprised that Felynes are even able to eat vegetables (since they're basically cats, which are pure carnivores). And they apparently even need it to stay healthy, given that the Felyne says a lot of them switched to organic during the "health surge" a while back. Makes me wonder if they evolved differently...

"We're not using any chemicals or additives on the Moga Village farm! We would NEVER use pesticides made from Giggi extract!" Interesting fact that Giggi extract is used to make pesticides. (Also, sounds like the food industry in MH has much of the same issues as ours.)

Also, it's super cute that the Felyne calls the Chief's Son his "cub". xD

And then the Felyne just asks me "Would you like to give me a new name?" Like... Don't you have a name? Why do you want me to give you a new one? Are Felynes just fine with their employer changing their name to whatever they wish? Is it normal for them to be treated like pets? (Man, the implications are starting to get REALLY unpleasant...)

Btw, one of the names you can choose for the Felyne is Uber. Like, the company? I mean, Uber was founded in 2009, which is the same year MH Tri was released, so... ^^'

Also, the Felyne names are all male, as opposed to the Poogie where you could choose between male and female names. I take it the Felyne is canonically male, then.

"Felynes like to be clean, but I feel young digging in the dirt." Well, at least he seems to like his job...

Head Farmer: "The farm belongs to the village, but I can leave some land to you since you're protecting us and all that." I guess that means the farm is a bit bigger than what you see of it in the game (after all, the rice fields have to be somewhere).

"It's nice on the farm if you don't have to work." Yeah, I thought you’re not gonna do much of the heavy lifting, old man. You better don't exploit your farm hands, though - if you do, you bet I’m gonna call the Felyne Workers Rights Agency.

Moga Woods (night)

Anyway, returning to the Moga Woods, we're in for a nighttime swimming lesson with Juni-- I mean, the Chief's Son. As practice for underwater hunting, he wants us to catch a Molid. (Fun fact, btw: The common mola is literally called moonfish in most European languages. Get it? Catching a moonfish in the moonlight?)

Also, he is of the opinion that it would make "a great gift for the quest gal". I... believe there was something about the sea people bringing their lovers shells and other sea items as gifts, but I'm not exactly sure how he got the idea that the two of us are dating. xD (Also, since I'm playing a female hunter, does that mean the Moga Sweetheart likes women, too?)

At night, there are Melynx in Area 3. That reminds me of an interesting theory I once read about these kleptomaniac kitties - or rather, supposedly kleptomaniac. Kleptomania is a compulsive disorder to steal things, but in the Felyne camps, the Melynx are just as peaceful as the normal Felynes. Therefore, the author of the old MH Lore blog assumed that the Melynx were essentially organized raiding parties of the Felynes living in the wild. Considering that the stolen goods are brought to the Felyne camps where you can pick them up again, I think that's quite plausible.

On my way, I took a quick detour to the cave of everlasting darkness to collect some more ore. I'm not sure why, but I seem to have a bit of trouble with mining while carrying a torch. I know I pulled it off before, but for some reason, I'm just putting the torch out first despite holding R. Eh...

Also, I found out what happens if you hit monsters with a torch. If you hit the Giggis a few times, they'll bury themselves into the floor and disappear. If you give the Jaggis a bonk on the head, they'll leave the area. Of course, that means you'll be missing out on any potential carves, but at least you can keep the small monsters at bay if you just want to gather stuff. (Now, if I could actually use my pickaxe while carrying a torch...)

One thing that's kind of hilarious in Monster Hunter is that no matter how far you fall down, you never take a single point of fall damage. It’s part of the “normal craziness” you just get used to over time, but thinking about it, I wonder if there's any kind of in-lore explanation for it. Do the hunters wear inlays made from some kind of special material that softens the fall or something?

You know what's funny? That the underwater areas are actually brighter at night than anything above the surface. (I guess that's because they only made one 3D model for the underwater areas, including lighting and everything.)

The Molids actually look a bit different from our real-world common mola (the main difference being the longer fins). Makes me wonder if this is the general rule in the MH universe - all of our real world animals also exist there, but they look a bit different from what we’re used to.

Chief's Son: "If you keep going like this, you may have the honor of calling me Junior one day." Ahhh... So Junior is his nickname among friends and family... I see, I see.

There's this cave in area 12 that you can only access from underwater, where Bnahabras are swarming around a carcass. Their monster list entry says that they lay their eggs in carrion. So, given their lore, that’s actually quite a neat detail.

Also, you can gather bones from the carcass - although there's still rotten skin and flesh on it. Gross! You might wanna wash that stuff...

I've been using Iron Pickaxes so far because I didn't want to waste the Mega Pickaxe the smith gave me, but turns out that all I got to mine with the Mega Pickaxe were two ore deposits (not even that, since it broke before I could gather everything from the second). A bit disappointing, but the smith did say this was his old pickaxe - no wonder it gave out so soon.

Luckily, I remembered that you can make an Iron Pickaxe out of iron ore and a bone, which I happened to have on me.

I like how much effort they put into the physics of underwater combat. The blood effects appear blurred underwater, and if you kill a monster close to the surface, the body will actually float around. Really nice details!

Alright, let's get back to the village and see what the Guild Sweetheart thinks about our little "gift". (Not sure what's so attractive about Big Fins, but I guess we'll soon find out...)

To be continued

[spearxwind]

oh nice which games do you have??

first one i had was mh portable 3rd which is my absolute fav to this day i think. that one i have completely finished. i wiped the floor with amatsu w the dual blades after someone told me i wouldnt be able to kill it w such a ridiculously short range weapon BUT I DID 

second one i got was mh freedom unite at the game store 2nd hand for like... 5 bucks. i never finished it cause the controls were way worse and i needed them to be more accurate to play. also the khezu is hell and i hope they go extinct

last one i have is the mh generations that came out for the 3ds that i honestly havent finished cause of depression and stress there aint no way around that. all my hype to play games has just gone honestly but hey maybe ill finish it someday cause i love it a lot. i just need the hunting fever back lmfao. i did clock in 45h of gameplay in like 3 days when i got it soalso mcfucking hate the developers for making gore magala feelers so hard to get. let me have my stupid ass edgy armor

[stygianknight]

It’s 7am, I haven’t slept yet, but I just had an epiphany.

Alright, alright, we’re all super conflicted and divided in the Monster Hunter fandom, but hear me out.

After days of being really frustrated with Capcom, I can finally see how this all came to be. I finally understand why MHWorld is coming to every console but Switch and why MHXX is still TBA.

According to Dengeki, Monster Hunter World (which is confirmed to be MH5) has been in development for FOUR YEARS.

This is important. Yes, we all know that MH sells best on portables, especially in Japan. But let’s look at the franchise’s history:

Monster Hunter - PS2

Monster Hunter G - PS2 (and then Wii)

Monster Hunter Freedom - PSP

Monster Hunter (2) Dos - PS2

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 - PSP

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite - PSP

Monster Hunter (3) Tri - Wii

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd - PSP (and then HD port on PS3)

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - 3DS (and then HD port on Wii U)

Monster Hunter 4 - 3DS

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - 3DS

Monster Hunter Generations - 3DS

Monster Hunter XX - 3DS (and then HD port on Switch)

Monster Hunter World - PS4/XBONE/PC

Notice how aside from their overwhelming success on portable devices, every new generation expect 4th started on a home console. 

MH4 was an outlier, most likely because of financial reasons. This is not the first time Capcom chose to develop on a cheaper console. Tri was originally in development for PS3 but went to the Wii instead because development costs were way too high for the PS3 at the time. 

Since MHWorld started development four years ago, the same time MH4 was also in development, it’s likely that they did not have the resources to create this behemoth of a game on the current gen consoles. However, they weren’t going to stop their annual release momentum for an expensive console title, so they continued to develop on the the 3DS for cheap (and a massive profit) until they were ready to reveal the next generation of MH on a console.

The Switch is arguably the most perfect home for Monster Hunter. Finally, a device that caters to both fans who prefer playing on the go and at home. HOWEVER, it’s also so new. Like, it literally came out three months ago to the public. Since MHWorld has been in development for four years, then it’s incredibly understandable as to why it’s not on Switch, which should be capable enough to run the game with minimal graphical downgrades, but they haven’t had the time to port it. 

Capcom are testing the waters with releasing the HD port of MHXX on Switch, which already sold out everywhere in Japan months prior to its August release date. MHXX is already success on Switch. Monster Hunter can thrive on the device. And if history serves as any indicator, the game that will succeed World (most likely its G-Rank counterpart) in 2019 will be on a portable device. Because that’s where the money is in Japan. And the only portable device that can run World is the Switch. 

AND with the massive focus on a worldwide release, which is arguably the one thing Monster Hunter fans bitch about all the time, it explains why MHXX got the short end of the stick with its localization. 

MHXX’s situation is a HUGE shame and disappointment for the dedicated fanbase on both 3DS and Switch, but there is still some hope for it to be localized soon, especially with the success of the previous 3DS titles. 

But the jump to PS4/XBONE/PC after its massive dominance on 3DS is less unusual now that we know how long they have been working on the game. This is not the first time Capcom starts a new generation on a console, and it surely will not be the last.

But instead of sulking, be excited for the future of Monster Hunter. Because, mark my words, Monster Hunter will return on the Switch and if World is a success, then we will finally never worry about those dreaded year long localization periods again.

[captaincresto]

5 days left to Monster Hunter World so I want to do a little countdown showcasing the play times of my other MH games starting with the very first I got to play; Freedom Unite. Just LOOK at those hours. #Capcom #psp #monsterhunter #mh #mhfu #throwback

[thelongestdamnreviews]

God Eater Resurrection

I bought God Eater Resurrection with God Eater 2 Rage Burst off of Gamestop for about $18 some time ago.  I decided to do every mission up until the grand finale, so I clocked in almost 39 hours to get to the end of the God Eater content, 67 total hours to get to the end of the God Eater Burst content, and about 84 hours to get through God Eater Resurrection's content.  I used a controller the entire time, and I stuck with Short Blade/Assault Gun/Tower Shield for most of my playthrough.  I didn't do multiplayer at all, so this is all based on going it solo with the AI to help me. 

Not the most robust but you can actually finely edit hair colors at least.

Life on Earth in the 2070s sucks.  The world's population has been decimated by the arrival of Aragami, violent beasts with an insatiable hunger, and they're immune to conventional weaponry.  The only way we've been able to fight back is to develop weapons using Aragami cells--God Arcs--and injecting the cells into compatible people so they can control the God Arcs--the titular God Eaters.  You're a New-Type God Eater capable of using a weapon that can shift between gun and sword form.  Will you be worth a damn or will you just be dinner?

No, they weren't bombed.  They were eaten.  Aragami eat everything.

I haven't played much of Monster Hunter (Freedom Unite on PSP ages ago and not for long at that) so I can't make many comparisons between the two series.  This is the third iteration of the game and I think it was actually made after Rage Burst so I'm technically playing them out of order, but whatever.  God Eater has an actual storyline and there are cutscenes and tropey anime characters and so on, and the anime influence carries over into the gameplay.  You can zip around enemies in short bursts, you can double jump in your super mode, there's a super mode even!  Your scrawny teenager is able to carry massive weapons with no difficulty and you're able to get beat up by monsters the size of houses without even a bruise.  The animeness might turn off some people but I didn't mind it.  There are actually very few animated cutscenes, with the game instead going for in-engine ones from the looks of it, so that was a pretty nice touch. 

Gee, thanks guys.  

You have options when it comes to gear, and the options really open up the further you advance.  Pick from six different melee weapons (three of which hail from GE2), pick from four different guns, and three different types of shields to make your character's loadout.  You're later able to find Abandoned God Arcs after battle that allow you to install their generic skills to matching types (Abandoned Assault Guns only work with Assault Guns, etc.) and you can fit and stack those with skills the gear already came with.  Because your Defense value is tied solely to your shield, you're able to wear anything you like to combat, provided it's unlocked and you have the materials to make it.  Want to wear a bikini set to the snowy temple area?  Knock yourself out! 

Your equipment has three physical elements and four elemental elements for offense, and of course the Aragami have their own resistances and weaknesses to all seven.  The handy Database will tell you the elemental weaknesses, but to learn the physical effectiveness, you need to look up the wiki.  Shields defend against only the four elementals and naturally Aragami use none or one or several.  It makes sense to take the best elements for what the next mission will pit you against, but then you may not have essential skills on the most effective gear.  The stuff I used the most was Divine element, but the skills helped with getting materials so the tradeoff was worth it to me. 

Nice to have side-by-side comparisons too. 

Unique to this game is Devouring, or literally taking a bite out of the enemy to power yourself up and enter Burst mode.  While in Burst mode, your stats increase for a while and you gain Aragami Bullets that you can either fire back at enemies or pass to your allies to induce Burst into them.  Because the animation is relatively slow and you get nothing if you get knocked out of it, there's some strategy in knowing when's best to take a bite.  You're later given different methods of Devouring through Predator Styles such as a quick dash->bite->backdash, an airdash that carries you through the enemy, or a quick slash that can combo with itself for example.  Each different Predator Style has its own stats for how much of the Burst gauge it fills on a successful Devour, how many Aragami Bullets you earn, and which rank Control Units you can use with it.  Control Units buff you even further in specific ways, set to one of the five ways you Devour.  So you could for example have an Air Devour that carries you through the enemy and makes you immune to status effects when you take a bite, but you can't have that same Air Devour regenerate your HP slowly because its rank is too low for that Control Unit. 

It sounds pretty complex on paper, but the game thankfully slowly introduces these new concepts as you advance through the difficulty tiers. 

Since you have a fancy gun, the game's decided you haven't had enough options and has a Bullet Editor feature.  I stuck with honestly simple bullets but you're able to make some pretty ridiculous combos if you have the patience (or just read the wiki).  There's a testing dummy right in the interface so you can quickly give it a test run, but you're able to adjust things like angles the bullet exits the barrel, timing (does this effect trigger on impact, or seconds after, etc.), and where in the order of things it lies.  You have to edit basic bullets bought at the shopkeeper, but some of them can give you ideas, like Rocket Shell: Blaze being a simple combo of a Homing shot with a Bomb explosion on impact. 

You'll get comfortable with the firing range pretty quick unless you hate ranged combat for some reason.  

Your allies are able to be customized too.  While everyone has their default passive skills, everyone also has four slots that you can set any skill you buy with their AP, such as HP Up II or Enemy Calm I, and this somewhat makes up for being unable to alter their equipment.  Most characters are Old-Types and are stuck either with a melee plus shield or gun only, but you eventually encounter other New-Types who can pass Aragami Bullets to you to enable Burst Lv2 or Lv3, and you are able to fire leveled-up versions of the Aragami Bullets back at the monsters too.  The story missions usually lock your team so you're somewhat encouraged to level everyone, but you can take any combination of three in most free missions.  Problem is that during the story, certain characters are removed from duty for story reasons and you still can't take them along for free missions. 

It's funny now but she actually has skills that make her hit allies with her flamethrower bullets.  

Maps are relatively small compared to what I remember of MH and there are only six real maps so you'll learn the layouts pretty quickly.  There are still lettered zones but since the map is one wide area instead of several small blocks, there are no loading screens once the mission starts.  Calling up the map will show where all of the Aragami are, with the mission-critical targets being red dots with crosshairs and the riff-raff being smaller red dots.  Some Aragami are noted to have exceptional sight or hearing, so there is some strategy in trying to take out specific targets first before you wind up aggroing the entire map. 

You can't hit your allies in melee, but you can with your gun if shoot when they're in the way (and they can do you the same!).  At least nobody loses HP in either case.  You're able to make healing bullets so you can help your friends out when they start getting beat up, and the ones with guns can learn skills to do the same when you get hurt.  I don't think I saw the AI heal other AI allies, though.  When anyone's HP hits zero, they drop out of Burst and they lose Endurance, and when they run out of Endurance, they're removed from the mission entirely.  You're given several seconds to go administer Link Aid by giving your HP to them, but if they 'bleed out' they'll lose more Endurance and respawn at the mission start.  At least the AI will try to revive the others then too, and there are several skills that affect how reviving works like sending the downed ally into Burst or boosting attack power for several seconds. 

I took more pictures of events than gameplay or UI, so here, have some fanservice.  

Combat's pretty simple.  Aragami telegraph their attacks, so you have to mind your own attacks to slip between them.  There are specific body parts you can hit to inflict more or less damage, and you can break off parts to get materials after combat and to create weak points.  They build up hatred as they get damaged and when they reach a certain point, they 'activate' and enter an enraged state, attacking faster and sometimes gaining new attacks entirely.  Sometimes they become more vulnerable to status effects when angered, so you can use their rage to your advantage. 

Wounded Aragami will retreat to resource points and these never change location, so you should pick up materials while you're moving to engage or during battle if you're so inclined.  Several maps have monster-only shortcuts clearly designed to bleed away your Burst meter, but that can be a blessing when you're overwhelmed and need your own breather.  When the monsters die, Devour them one last time to get their drops (but no Burst gauge).  When the last target dies, you're given a short scene of its death throes and you're given 40 seconds to pick up any materials on the field before the game kicks you to the results screen, or you can Return to Base early. 

After the battle, you're able to pick a bonus based on what passive skills your team has.  Kota for example has Get Consumable Items, so picking his card means that you'll get restoratives after the mission.  Soma has Bond Break Rewards Up, so any monster parts you broke off will have a few extras on the results screen, and so on.  The fifth member of your team sits on Backup duty and they learn all of these post-combat skills since they don't actually fight on the frontlines with you.  You'll then be given a letter rating, a review of everyone's Endurance, time taken, number of Incapacitations, and then the rewards as well as the extra credit rewards such as "break 3+ bonds" or "finish under 5 min".  You're able to check the rates of rewards at the mission counter before you leave, too.  

You usually only get to pick one card, so choose wisely.  There's also a chance that you'll get a short bonding scene with you and the selected character, but there are no relationship values so they're just nice little scenes and nothing more.  

Okay, so that's features.  What did I think? 

I had a blast with the game.  Story wasn't the greatest but it helped bind the game together better than "oh, here's a monster, go kill it pls" and it didn't grate on me any.  Combat was really fast-paced with the gear I took and I still found myself getting the crap beat out of me because I'd play a little too recklessly.  Difficulty-wise, the game was just about middle-of-the-road.  A team of four against a single target was usually nothing but the hairiest fights were against multiple targets.  You get sent flying with a majority of attacks and that breaks up your rhythm and positioning and can break a Burst chain at the worst of times.  I never had anyone run out of Endurance and the maps all have a generous 30 or 40 minute timer, with my longest fight being a bit more than 20 minutes because I had to run it with one AI ally and the monster had ridiculous offensive power, so I actually played it safe for a change. 

What's that?  You wanted another bonding scene screencap?  You're lucky I'm glad to oblige.  

There aren't many Aragami, even taking into account the 'Fallen' types that use different elements.  This can be good or bad since you have fewer patterns to learn in exchange for less variety, but later missions tended to keep things interesting by upping the number of targets or making you fight different species together.  Perhaps that's one way to get you to try different gear without you going back to a prior difficulty tier. 

The God Eater base game content covers Difficulty 1 through 6, God Eater Burst 7 through 10, and Resurrection 11 through 13, with an extra Difficulty 14 of challenges, an actual Challenge tier, and then the two Predator Pack tiers for postgame.  There are a lot of missions though you can probably run through the game pretty quickly if you stick to just the story missions with the white outlines.  Probably better to do story missions and then whatever extras just for the drops you need, right? 

I don't really have much to say about the audio.  Music was all right, though the music during the short scenes that sometimes pop up when you pick a character's card had really loud music despite my settings for some reason.  Maps had an ambient audio track and then another track that kicked in when you entered combat, I think.  Voice work was fine but you'll run into repetitive lines pretty early in.  The game at least lets you set what category is voiced and comes up in text, one or the other, or not at all, so things like weak Aragami status or the notice about your Burst timer running low, things like that.  I left it all on because why not.  The second operator you unlock had some serious issues, like citing an Aragami dead when it was just knocked down, and cutting herself off when addressing another character to address you.  "Alisa--Alpha One, you're taking a beating out there!" and all.  Pretty jarring.  And during the last last mission of the story proper, your silent protagonist talks and mine had the voice of the legion working for her because her voice was joined with several others, which I'm pretty sure isn't supposed to happen.  Weird that was the only place it did. 

I still think it's weird to have your protagonist be pretty vocal in combat with even voiced lines, but then be mostly silent for the story.  

Controls were mostly fine, and I wound up assigning Guard to LT and Devour to RT to get around the button combo (that still works anyway).  I had a good degree of difficulty with the camera.  It always felt like it was just too close, which made fighting multiple monsters at once pretty dangerous.  I might've set the camera swing speed wrong but I had ridiculous vertical movement despite all settings being on Slowest, so sometimes I'd aim way up high when using my gun.  And using the gun was a bit of a chore too because of how the Aragami are positioned in the world.  You need to aim up for most monsters to hit specific points and that sets your camera low to the ground, so you'll be blinded by the grass on the plains map.  And I had an issue with the particles generated when you spam shots like I did.  Even with setting the particles graphics option to as low as I could go, I'd still end up in a fog.  Kinda dangerous when you need to see the enemy to know when to get the hell out of Dodge.  

I can't see shit; can you?  The visual indicator explosion for when you hit an Aragami weak point is nice, but then it also obscures your view...

The game randomly didn't recognize my controller on startup too, happening no more than seven times of the probably hundred times I started it up.  It's happened to other people and the solution is apparently to sleep your computer and plug the controller back in when you wake it up.  Just a minor annoyance, but other people had serious issues like the game only booting to a black screen. 

The AI did okay as backup but I guess the idea was to give you decent allies to make playing with other humans that much more significant.  Because Aragami Bullets can only be equipped to Y, I wound up keeping some form of heal bullet on X so I'd be able to spam heal shots anytime to keep people from going face-down in the dirt.  They'd rarely get out of the way of obviously-telegraphed attacks like the Borg Camlainn's tail spin, but at the same time they'd actually keep their shields up if they couldn't get out of the way with some others. 

But yeah.  I had a lot of fun with the game and there are several missions if you're crazy like me.  Lots of options too and I imagine no two people are going to have the exact same loadout when they finish the game, and that's pretty cool even though it relies on random rolls for the Abandoned God Arcs.  I only had to repeat a couple of missions to grind out drops, but then given I hit every other mission, that's probably not applicable for the typical player.  I'm looking forward to the sequel when I get around to it!  

Sorry little girl, you've just caused Undertale to happen.