Part 4: Problems and Tri
Just because Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is one of the best titles I’ve played in recent years, doesn’t mean it’s clear of any problems. I don’t think anything is wrong with the game design itself, but the lack of a decent tutorial to ease new players limits it’s appeal. I’ve seen many people who gave up when coming across the easiest ‘boss’ monster in the game, the Yian Kut Ku. Although the wyvern itself isn’t hard to fight, the lack of a proper tutorial hurts most gamers from overcoming the challenge.
Of course I do think there is some intentional design here, I distinctly remember a quote from Capcom saying the game design is focused around communication. They want people to figure out the mechanics and strategies with other hunters. Internet FAQs as well as Youtube videos are a good resource to learning about the game, it’s the sort of game that requires that you look into the deep end of the pool before plunging in (Demon’s Souls has a similar idea, world/character tendencies and other secrets require that you either discuss or research the game for the full experience).
I admit it is part of the appeal of the game, I enjoyed watching and learning strategies in Youtube before a fight, and FAQs are pretty much a requirement for crafting as well as understanding how to get the rarer carves. It gives the game long legs, an ongoing interest to the community that surrounds it.
I’m sure there are enough players in the US for Capcom to constantly try to push the franchise towards a larger success, but the problem is the online infrastructure, or lack thereof. The PSP’s Adhoc multiplayer makes sense in countries such as Japan, where the population is much more dense. People meeting up to play games is much more common and actually preferred. It‘s impossible to create such a setting in the US, where online play is the preferred method to play with other people.
Thanks to the recently released Adhoc Party, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite can be played online through the PS3. But this option requires a PSP and a PS3 (the PS3 must have a hardwired internet connection as well). It’s easy for anyone to miss one of those on the check list, making Monster Hunter mostly a single player affair. As an example, I’m a HR8 (multiplayer end-game) ranked hunter purely through solo-play. Sure I have pride in my accomplishments in completing missions that were meant for 4 players, but I’d prefer hunting together with other people.
Speaking of online infrastructure, Capcom is finally planning on releasing Monster Hunter Tri outside of Japan. It’s going to be on the Nintendo Wii, and will have a proper online multiplayer. However, I doubt the sales of the franchise will rise beyond a niche level for several reasons.
First and foremost, it’s on the Wii. Now before any Wii owners cry foul, I’m not saying the Wii is a bad platform for the game itself, Monster Hunter games were on the PS2 and then on the PSP, the Wii is more than capable of pushing the franchise forward. The problem is that Capcom relied on the Japanese market to decide the platform, ignoring the global trend of the Wii.
As many of you know, hardcore games on the Wii just don’t sell, the general Wii audience just doesn’t seem to be interested in them. Considering that the Monster Hunter franchise has only shown niche success even around enthusiast gamers, this spells doom for the title already.
On a related note, changing the platform has a possibility of alienating the existing Monster Hunter fans. I’ve already read enough forum posts where people feel betrayed by Capcom’s move away from the Playstation platform, while others don’t own a Wii and have no plans on buying one for a single game. And as someone who doesn’t own a Wii, and can’t afford one at the moment, I’m also regretfully considering skipping the franchise this time around.
Another problem is that it’s still a daunting game for newcomers, probably even more so than Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. New underwater mechanics aside, a lot of the monsters in the game seem to be tougher. Capcom has promised that the game will ease in newbie hunters better than the previous titles, but it has yet to be seen.
It’s all rather unfortunate considering that the game looks to be the best in the franchise ( I’ve carefully studied almost every single monster hunt on Youtube, if that amounts to anything). While it’s lacking in overall content compared to Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, which had at least 3 prior iterations to improve and build upon, the success in the Japanese market guarantees a sequel.
My understanding is that Capcom is going for a strong market push for Monster Hunter Tri in the US. In that case, I believe the Wii bundle released in Japan would almost be necessary in creating buzz around the title. At least it might convince Monster Hunter enthusiasts to purchase the title along with a Wii. Hell, I doubt that I could resist that, even if it means I need to pay it off over several months. It’s probably wishful thinking on my part however.
Going back to the beginning, anyone who enjoyed Demon’s Souls and owns a PSP should definitely try Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Demon’s Souls follows along a lot of what makes Monster Hunter great while adding it’s own unique twists. But I strongly contend that the level of depth and polish of Freedom Unite is incomparable, despite it being limited to the PSP hardware.
Even if you don‘t touch multiplayer, the lengthy single player content alone is worth the purchase. The appeal of Monster Hunter is that all missions usually take around 20 to 30 minutes at a time, with a maximum time limit of 50 minutes. I played the game in small chunks everyday for nearly half a year, eventually clocking over 300 hours of play time (single player takes around 100 hours to finish). It’s like a World of Warcraft addiction except you can just play for half an hour and turn it off.
The future is bright for Monster Hunter. Capcom developed Monster Hunter Tri from the ground up, rejuvenating the franchise and bringing it up to a whole new level of polish. As with the PSP iterations, Tri somehow manages to bring out the best of it’s platform. Hopefully it can achieve the following it deserves as well.
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Go to Part 1: Souls and Inspirations
Go to Part 2: Loot and Monsters
Go to Part 3: Environments and Music
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