A Friend To All Monsties

HIGH Sublime creature designs.

LOW The age of the target audience.

WTF Stealing monster babies.

For 20 years, Monster Hunter has been one of Capcom’s most successful and enduring franchises. Yet for all its star power, the games themselves have done little to change up the central action role-playing mechanics of hunting kaiju and other beasts in its lush, feudal world.

Little, that is, until Monster Hunter Stories took it into the arena of monster-taming turn-based RPGs, ala Pokemon or Shin Megami Tensei. Having put some time into Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, I can say it doesn’t take the genre to any new heights, but it does make for a solid entry into an overly saturated genre with just enough of its own character to stand out. 

For starters, MHS2 does a commendable job of replicating the core cycle of the mainline series — gear up and murder monsters using a wide array of tricks in the hope of harvesting some drops to forge or upgrade weapons and armor. Rinse and repeat with increasingly threatening beasts. 

Although mainline Monster Hunter is hardly blood-soaked, this one’s also more family friendly — the protagonist’s talking cat sidekick is only too willing to give the ol’ “Believe in yourself!” between bouts of pining for donuts. Given the genre, it’s clear this title was targeted towards a younger audience with an appropriately-attuned difficulty (AKA, pretty easy.)

The jovial tone carries through the rather serious — although not particularly grim — storyline. A mysterious evil is driving monsters to unnatural rage amid a prophecy foretelling destruction across the world. The player’s avatar must collect monsters and advance their skill as a Monster Rider to save their idyllic island home from these treacherous threats.

It’s not a particularly compelling plot, and characters lack the kind of depth that could give it more oomph, but as is the case with this genre especially, the story and questlines really aren’t important — what matters is the collecting and battling. In this, Wings of Ruin makes a strong case for itself.

Pulling from decades of material, it features some of the series’ iconic, sublime and oftentimes just badass creatures as potential partners — delightfully referred to as “Monsties.” Part of the franchise’s success is due to its memorable designs, here re-imagined in a more cartoony and vibrant graphic style. Rathalos, Tigrex, Nargacuga and more are here, along with weapons and armors that mirror them. 

Then there’s the manner in which they’re “caught.” Players enter dens — sometimes spawned when a monster fought in the wild retreats — and steal eggs to raise as their own. There is something intrinsically funny (and awful) about pulling an egg from a nest and watching the player goofily carry it out with both hands to go hatch and fight with — or, in another dark turn that never reaches the tonal surface, sacrifice it to boost the stats of another Monstie.

Stat lines are relatively straightforward — speed, crit rate, attack, defense — with some elemental flavor. There’s a neat gene mechanic where monsters try to line up certain attributes to make a bingo but this isn’t a system that needs a complex Excel spreadsheet to min-max a build. 

Similarly, combat is simple without ever being dull. It boils down to a rock-paper-scissors system of power, speed or technical attacks coupled with choice of the type of weapon (slash, pierce, or blunt). Correctly guessing which type to use against a wild monster will yield bigger rewards in damage and charging up a kinship meter, used for flashy skills and eventually to ride the player’s Monstie for a big damage finisher

On the technical side, I never ran into any issues. This release is a port of a previous Switch version, and the while graphics are nothing to particularly herald, Capcom has followed the original hardware’s limitations (and Nintendo’s ethos) in crafting an enjoyable experience, rather than anything particularly pretty.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin isn’t a shining exemplar of the monster taming genre, but it does successfully mesh the iconic aesthetics of its mainline counterpart with no-fat collect and battle systems that are as easy to approach as they are satisfying to master.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Capcom and Marvelous and published by Capcom. It is currently available on PS4, PC and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 12 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E and contains Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence and Mild Language. The official description reads as follows: This is a role-playing game in which players assume the role of a monster rider on a quest to protect a mysterious egg. Players explore a fantasy world, complete quests, interact with characters, and battle fantastical creatures (e.g., dragons, dinosaurs, giant insects) in turn-based combat. Players can select various weapon attacks (e.g., sword slashes, arrow strikes, oversized-pistol shots) and monster attacks (e.g., flame breathe, dash attack) from a menu to defeat enemy creatures. Battles can be frenetic, accompanied by explosions and screen-shaking effects. During monster tracking, players can collect monster dung; players also encounter a creature that emits a brown flatulence attack. The word “hell” appears in the game.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized.  Audio cues for NPCs and enemies do not have a visual component onscreen. This game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers partially remappable controls. Action mapping for buttons on the controller can be changed.

Capcom started releasing overview videos showing off the new features and returning weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds. The first two to drop include a look at how the Greatsword will play in this entry alongside a video on the new Focus Mode mechanic.

The Monster Hunter Wilds trailer about Focus Mode outlines its use as a precision tool for hunters looking to target the weak spots that emerge as you strike the same monster part repeatedly. It locks the player character onto the monster to make aiming and guarding easier. It also highlights weak spots and enables special Focus Strikes, which appear unique to different weapons.

You can see the video on Focus Mode here:

While Focus Mode is an entirely new addition, the Greatsword is a returning weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds. The trailer goes over the traditional big, but slow, style of the sword that is able to knock monsters out of their attack animations if timed right. However, the video also shows an increased focus on guarding and a possible new counter attack, as well as how the special Focus Strike can target multiple weak spots with a lengthy slash.

You can watch the Monster Hunter Wilds Greatsword Overview video below:

In July 2024, Capcom and Urakita celebrated Monster Hunter's 20th anniversary by unveiling wooden tankards based on those seen in the game. In June 2024, Capcom released a new trailer for Wilds that featured a winding, snake-like monster called the Balahara.

Monster Hunter Wilds is expected to launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S sometime in 2025.

The post New Monster Hunter Wilds Videos show the Greatsword and Focus Mode appeared first on Siliconera.

Monster Hunter Wilds arrives at an interesting time, one when the franchise is caught between the popular Monster Hunter Worlds and the more recent Monster Hunter Rise, with players wondering where the newest entry will fall when it comes to old and new features. A bevy of new trailer deep-dives is starting to answer…

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Back in 2018, Monster Hunter World’s immediate success propelled the game, and the Monster Hunter franchise, into the global spotlight. Its lush maps, deep combat, and memorable monsters helped it become one of Capcom’s most successful projects ever. Today, millions of players now eagerly await 2025’s follow-up, Monster Hunter Wilds.

New footage from State of Play and Summer Game Fest has given players lots to dissect, from new monsters and abilities to harsh, dynamic weather. But a recent hands-off presentation during Summer Game Fest allowed me to see live gameplay, and crucially how the game’s new features impact the experience.

Play Video

In just those 30 minutes of demo gameplay, I saw several things that got me stoked for Wilds. The new map is much more detailed, particularly regarding verticality. Some maps in World were pretty dense and could overlap or even turn back on themselves. Perfect for a monster’s den, but sometimes confusing for players. This time around, between the map and new UI elements that tell you which direction the target monster is (and how far away they are), it’s much easier to keep track of your targets.

The target monster was the Doshaguma, new to Monster Hunter Wilds. In Wilds, players can select a monster on their map and begin a quest by engaging that monster in combat out in the field (Capcom did not confirm other ways players can begin quests, or other quest types in the game). Upon that first hit, an incredible piece of music swells to usher in the quest with full orchestral might and a driving, dramatic sense of conflict. As the hunt goes on, the sand leviathan Balahara appears with a deep pit that pulled Doshaguma down. They brawl in a classic Turf War scrap, with smaller monsters scurrying all around. Chaotic and intense, and about to escalate even further.

Not long into the battle, an imposing wall of dust and sand forms on the horizon. It soon blankets the area with a blue/black darkness, illuminated by stray lightning strikes. These weather events change which monsters may appear on the map, including a mysterious new Apex creature that fires lightning right out of its head.

Immediately following the demo, I was able to speak with the game’s leadership trio for more on what I just saw: Series Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, Director Yuya Tokuda, and Art Director/Executive Director Kaname Fujioka.

PlayStation Blog: Monster Hunter World was a huge success when it launched in 2018. How did its unprecedented success inform your approach to Monster Hunter Wilds?

Ryozo Tsujimoto: What we did for World, both the base game and the expansion, really impacted Monster Hunter Wilds. Our approach to keeping players continuously interested in World helped us learn what players wanted to see in the future. That doesn’t just mean things we wanted to improve within the game, but also how we release information to players, and how to ease them into the game as well.

Speaking of easing players into the game, Monster Hunter Wilds features a lot of quality-of-life improvements. For example, the map seemed much more detailed and useful to navigate. Things like tracking quests and monsters, where items are located, and the great sense of verticality to the map. Any other new things that returning players could look forward to?

Yuya Tokuda: You’ve picked up on how much easier it is now to get to monsters, and finding monsters on the map. We received feedback that they were kind of difficult to get to sometimes, especially in maps that are very vertical where you have lots of different geographical elements. And, with the introduction of the Seikret, it’s easier for players to figure out where to go, and where to find monsters on the field.

In terms of things we improved on, one example is that it’s much easier now to select items. We really put an eye to giving more options for players with different kinds of item preferences, because selecting and navigating through items was something that can be difficult in the moment of a hunt. But hopefully, by giving players more options and more customization, we’ve improved this experience for returning players.

The phrase “living breathing ecosystem” was used to describe Monster Hunter World. The maps were large and full of life, you could get monsters tangled in vines, creatures would interact with each other, and so on. How are you expanding on that idea, and make it feel even bigger and more interactive? 

Kaname Fujioka: We’re focusing on designing monster herd behaviors that are really tuned to each environment and their ecology. So, we want to have well designed, detailed monster behavior as they move in these larger packs. How the player interacts with them during their hunt is our first little step there toward enhancing the livable, beautiful environment.

I noticed in the demo, the hunter used both the Great Sword and Heavy Bowgun. So you’re able to take two weapons into a quest now. Previously a player would have to commit to a weapon, take it into a quest, that’s your weapon. How did this change come about for Wilds?

Yuya Tokuda:  One of the big things about Wilds is that the environments themselves are so much more dynamic and adaptable. Things are changing so often, and even the monsters that are available to hunt can change moment to moment. It was important for us to give players the ability to adapt to that, and switch their own kind of playstyles. So they can carry different weapons, or the same weapons but with different elements for those kinds of situations. We’re really designing the game around allowing players to adapt to the environment.

Focus Mode and wounds are new for Wilds. Can you talk a bit about how these work, and how / when a player might want to engage with these systems?

Yuya Tokuda: So, you don’t need to be in Focus Mode to create wounds. Attacking the monster naturally causes damage or wounds to happen. As long as you’re attacking the wounds, you’ll be doing more damage to the monster.

Entering Focus Mode does highlight monster wounds so you can target them a lot easier, and there are special attacks you can perform in Focus Mode that do more damage to wounds. But, Focus Mode isn’t really just for targeting wounds.

A cursor that appears on the screen allows you to aim your attacks and also to aim your other moves like guarding and blocking attacks. The real merit of Focus Mode is to help players in their positioning and their distancing from monsters, so that even players who are maybe not as experienced with action games, or games similar to Monster Hunter, have an easier time honing in their attacks.

To wrap, if you could say anything to Monster Hunter World players who were really into it, but maybe they fell off years ago and they’re curious about Wilds, what would that be?

Ryozo Tsujimoto: We’re really just trying to make an amazing game for everyone. We hope Wilds is going to be the experience that tops anything before in the Monster Hunter series, and really gaming in general.

Yuya Tokuda: For players that didn’t gel with the action [of World], we’re planning a really thorough support system for players to learn about the game and play it from start to finish. We’re hoping that allows players to experience the best that Wilds has to offer.

The hunt begins when Monster Hunter Wilds comes to PS5 next year.

Back in 2018, Monster Hunter World’s immediate success propelled the game, and the Monster Hunter franchise, into the global spotlight. Its lush maps, deep combat, and memorable monsters helped it become one of Capcom’s most successful projects ever. Today, millions of players now eagerly await 2025’s follow-up, Monster Hunter Wilds.

New footage from State of Play and Summer Game Fest has given players lots to dissect, from new monsters and abilities to harsh, dynamic weather. But a recent hands-off presentation during Summer Game Fest allowed me to see live gameplay, and crucially how the game’s new features impact the experience.

Play Video

In just those 30 minutes of demo gameplay, I saw several things that got me stoked for Wilds. The new map is much more detailed, particularly regarding verticality. Some maps in World were pretty dense and could overlap or even turn back on themselves. Perfect for a monster’s den, but sometimes confusing for players. This time around, between the map and new UI elements that tell you which direction the target monster is (and how far away they are), it’s much easier to keep track of your targets.

The target monster was the Doshaguma, new to Monster Hunter Wilds. In Wilds, players can select a monster on their map and begin a quest by engaging that monster in combat out in the field (Capcom did not confirm other ways players can begin quests, or other quest types in the game). Upon that first hit, an incredible piece of music swells to usher in the quest with full orchestral might and a driving, dramatic sense of conflict. As the hunt goes on, the sand leviathan Balahara appears with a deep pit that pulled Doshaguma down. They brawl in a classic Turf War scrap, with smaller monsters scurrying all around. Chaotic and intense, and about to escalate even further.

Not long into the battle, an imposing wall of dust and sand forms on the horizon. It soon blankets the area with a blue/black darkness, illuminated by stray lightning strikes. These weather events change which monsters may appear on the map, including a mysterious new Apex creature that fires lightning right out of its head.

Immediately following the demo, I was able to speak with the game’s leadership trio for more on what I just saw: Series Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, Director Yuya Tokuda, and Art Director/Executive Director Kaname Fujioka.

PlayStation Blog: Monster Hunter World was a huge success when it launched in 2018. How did its unprecedented success inform your approach to Monster Hunter Wilds?

Ryozo Tsujimoto: What we did for World, both the base game and the expansion, really impacted Monster Hunter Wilds. Our approach to keeping players continuously interested in World helped us learn what players wanted to see in the future. That doesn’t just mean things we wanted to improve within the game, but also how we release information to players, and how to ease them into the game as well.

Speaking of easing players into the game, Monster Hunter Wilds features a lot of quality-of-life improvements. For example, the map seemed much more detailed and useful to navigate. Things like tracking quests and monsters, where items are located, and the great sense of verticality to the map. Any other new things that returning players could look forward to?

Yuya Tokuda: You’ve picked up on how much easier it is now to get to monsters, and finding monsters on the map. We received feedback that they were kind of difficult to get to sometimes, especially in maps that are very vertical where you have lots of different geographical elements. And, with the introduction of the Seikret, it’s easier for players to figure out where to go, and where to find monsters on the field.

In terms of things we improved on, one example is that it’s much easier now to select items. We really put an eye to giving more options for players with different kinds of item preferences, because selecting and navigating through items was something that can be difficult in the moment of a hunt. But hopefully, by giving players more options and more customization, we’ve improved this experience for returning players.

The phrase “living breathing ecosystem” was used to describe Monster Hunter World. The maps were large and full of life, you could get monsters tangled in vines, creatures would interact with each other, and so on. How are you expanding on that idea, and make it feel even bigger and more interactive? 

Kaname Fujioka: We’re focusing on designing monster herd behaviors that are really tuned to each environment and their ecology. So, we want to have well designed, detailed monster behavior as they move in these larger packs. How the player interacts with them during their hunt is our first little step there toward enhancing the livable, beautiful environment.

I noticed in the demo, the hunter used both the Great Sword and Heavy Bowgun. So you’re able to take two weapons into a quest now. Previously a player would have to commit to a weapon, take it into a quest, that’s your weapon. How did this change come about for Wilds?

Yuya Tokuda:  One of the big things about Wilds is that the environments themselves are so much more dynamic and adaptable. Things are changing so often, and even the monsters that are available to hunt can change moment to moment. It was important for us to give players the ability to adapt to that, and switch their own kind of playstyles. So they can carry different weapons, or the same weapons but with different elements for those kinds of situations. We’re really designing the game around allowing players to adapt to the environment.

Focus Mode and wounds are new for Wilds. Can you talk a bit about how these work, and how / when a player might want to engage with these systems?

Yuya Tokuda: So, you don’t need to be in Focus Mode to create wounds. Attacking the monster naturally causes damage or wounds to happen. As long as you’re attacking the wounds, you’ll be doing more damage to the monster.

Entering Focus Mode does highlight monster wounds so you can target them a lot easier, and there are special attacks you can perform in Focus Mode that do more damage to wounds. But, Focus Mode isn’t really just for targeting wounds.

A cursor that appears on the screen allows you to aim your attacks and also to aim your other moves like guarding and blocking attacks. The real merit of Focus Mode is to help players in their positioning and their distancing from monsters, so that even players who are maybe not as experienced with action games, or games similar to Monster Hunter, have an easier time honing in their attacks.

To wrap, if you could say anything to Monster Hunter World players who were really into it, but maybe they fell off years ago and they’re curious about Wilds, what would that be?

Ryozo Tsujimoto: We’re really just trying to make an amazing game for everyone. We hope Wilds is going to be the experience that tops anything before in the Monster Hunter series, and really gaming in general.

Yuya Tokuda: For players that didn’t gel with the action [of World], we’re planning a really thorough support system for players to learn about the game and play it from start to finish. We’re hoping that allows players to experience the best that Wilds has to offer.

The hunt begins when Monster Hunter Wilds comes to PS5 next year.

Square Enix and Applibot announced the first FFVII Ever Crisis Monster Hunter banner is live in-game alongside the event, with Cloud and Zack being the first characters featured. We can get Glavenus and Zinogre equipment from them, if RNG is on our sides, until July 2, 2024.

In the case of Cloud, people can get the Monster Hunter Glavenus Sword and Armor in FFVII Ever Crisis. The sword features the Fierce Charged Slash C. Ability that deals non-elemental physical dmaage to one enemy, reduces their physical defense, and increases Cloud’s physical attack if his HP is over 50%. The armor boosts his PATK and has the Physical Ability Mastery that increases his physical ability power when his command gauge is maxed out.

As for Zack, his Monster Hunter FFVII Ever Crisis equipment items are the Zinogre Sword and Armor. The sword has the Lightning Edge C. Ability. That deals lightning physical damage and multiplies that when Zack’s health is over 70%. His armor boosts lightning damage with Levinblade Arcanum and has the Boost Phys. Ability Pot. ability that increases damage when the command gauge is maxed out. 

Here are the official images for both the weapons and the armor:

FFVII Ever Crisis is available for the PC and mobile devices, and the Cloud and Zack Monster Hunter banner will appear until July 2, 2024. Square Enix also noted these items will only ever be in this banner, but reruns could happen. 

The post First FFVII Ever Crisis Monster Hunter Banner Gives Cloud and Zack Armor appeared first on Siliconera.

The next highly anticipated title in Capcom’s Monster Hunter series has finally reappeared at PlayStation’s recent State of Play showcase. The upcoming RPG, called Monster Hunter Wilds, appears to borrow elements from both Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter Rise, melding them into an even greater, and more…

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As part of the ongoing celebration of the 20th anniversary of Monster Hunter, Capcom announced an Anniversary Program will air on March 12, 2024. However, fans expecting news about the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds will be disappointed, as the company confirmed there will be no news or announcements on the game.

While not a new game like many may have been hoping, the announcement did state that the program will reveal the top 10 winners of the 20th Anniversary Hunter's Choice vote which took place in 2023. The monsters that ranked 11-20 will be revealed gradually on Twitter in the days leading up to the event, beginning with the Crimson Glow Valstrax that placed 20th in the poll.

You can find the announcement and statement tweets below:

Recently, Capcom and Pasela announced the permanent opening of a Monster Hunter-themed bar in Osaka, while Monster Hunter and Resident Evil themed shirts also appeared via Amazon's Merch on Demand website.

Meanwhile, Monster Hunter Wilds was announced during the The Game Awards ceremony in December 2023. However, new Capcom hasn't fully revealed the title.

The Monster Hunter Anniversary Program will air on Tusday, March 12, 2024, at 4am PDT, 6am EST or 11am GMT. Monster Hunter Wilds is scheduled for release in 2025 for PC, Xbox Series X, and PS5.

The post Monster Hunter Anniversary Program Announced, Won’t Include Wilds appeared first on Siliconera.