The 3DS Game I’m featuring for July 2016 is one that was brought to us by Capcom. The title of the series perfectly sums up what the games are about, and this one is the latest entry in said series to get an international release.
This series is all about slaying a plethora of different beasts and using their body parts to craft new weapons and armour.
As you can see, Monster Hunter Generations is my 3DS Game of the Month. Whilst it was released internationally in July, in Japan it was released on November 28th 2015 under the name Monster Hunter X.
The core gameplay remains the same: hunt monsters, make weapons and armour of said monsters and use new equipment to hunt stronger monsters.
Monster Hunter Generations retains the fourteen different weapon types from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: Great Sword, Long Sword, Sword & Shield, Dual Blades, Hammer, Hunting Horn, Lance, Gunlance, Switch Axe, Charge Blade, Insect Glaive, Light Bowgun, Heavy Bowgun & Bow.
For those curious, I decided to main the Bow from the start, rather than picking it up later as I have done in previous games.
Whilst the weapons are familiar for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate players, Generations introduces Hunting Styles and Hunting Arts.
There are four different Hunting Styles: Guild, Striker, Aerial and Adept. These Hunting Styles can be used with any weapon, giving players a multitude of different ways to hunt monsters.
Guild Style is pretty much the basic combat style that players of the previous games would be most familiar with, along with the addition of two Hunter Arts.
Striker Style allows you to equip three Hunter Arts, but is less technical.
Aerial Style is all about mid-air attacks, thus making this the best option if you want an easier time mounting monsters.
Finally, Adept Style relies on evading monster’s attacks in order to pull off counters.
I’ve mentioned them a few times, but Hunter Arts are pretty much special attacks. As you fight monsters, a bar builds up for an Art and once it is full you can use it. Some skills are for evasion, whilst others are more offensive.
Of course, with a new Monster Hunter game comes new monsters. Particularly of note are the ‘Fated Four’ – those four are Generations‘ signature monsters.
Also new to this game are Deviant Monsters – mutations of monsters from previous games that have evolved into even greater threats.
Whilst the game starts you off in a new village called Bherna, there are three others that you can gain access to fairly early on: Kokoto, Pokke and Yukumo. For long time Monster Hunter players, those names will be familiar; they are villages from past games.
Gathering items is an integral part of any Monster Hunter game, even if it isn’t as thrilling as the actual hunting part. Fortunately, Generations has implemented a couple of things to make life easier: resource points contain more items to gather, and you only need to hold down the A button to continue gathering rather than continuously pressing it. During a quest, you can get a Felyne to deliver items from you inventory into your item box back at the village.
Mentioning a Felyne makes this a good point to talk about the Prowler Mode. Whilst you can have Felyne companions called Palicoes (again, just like in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate), you have the option to play as a Palico.
In Prowler Mode, you no longer need to worry about stamina, and can faint nine times before failing a quest. Gathering items also becomes easier as you don’t need to worry about carrying pickaxes and bug nets with you.
The Prowler Mode was introduced both for new players of the series and as a way of given veteran hunters a new way to experience the game.
You can play the game in single player or multiplayer modes. The latter allows for a mix of Hunters and Prowlers – you could have 2 of each, or maybe even just 4 Prowlers.
Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii was my first proper introduction to the Monster Hunter series, and it’s definitely up there as one of my favourite franchises. I like how the game is all about the player’s skill, as opposed to levels. Sure, you could have a decent weapon and armour, but if you don’t learn how to react to the monster’s movements, you’re going to have a rough time – this makes it very satisfying to progress through. Even more so when you succeed against a monster you’ve been struggling against for a long time.
Rory Muses 