Barbecuing, crafting potions, having fun fishing, catching dinosaurs and pouncing on dragons… You guys guessed it already! Monster Hunter is back with a completely new title for 3DS: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. While Japan had all the luck in 2013 they also had an earlier form of the game to take care of, it is now finally up to us. Is Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate the ultimate Monster Hunter in 3DS? We looked into it in advance just for you!
Flashy Graphics
An adventurer sneaks up on a dragon along with his trusty Palico. If the sample notices them, they have to run for their lives, on the plains and along steep mountain walls. A smart move lets the dragon momentarily waiver allowing a second Hunter to strike and when a black beast appears, the fun only grows bigger.
The insanely nice intro of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate perfectly shows what to expect in the game in terms of game play elements and, despite the fact that the intro is qualitatively better, you get a taste of the very sublime-looking 3D movies in the game. It is clear that Capcom really has gone out of their way to achieve the impossible for the graphics. Not only is the intro razor sharp, also the game world itself is incredibly detailed. That should also be if you like to be able to recognize the different creatures at first look if you are looking for herbs, or mushrooms and you can detect them without tools as a search function. The environments suck you right into the game and get better in 3D. The monsters look great and with 4 Ultimate as the game from the series with most different types of small and large monsters ever, this makes the whole thing even more beautiful.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prcQT5om1dA]
A strange point about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is, however that the 3D effect during the movies cannot be turned off. The 3D-‘force’ remains on each 3DS the same on the settings. We are a bit curious about the results on the 2DS. Also the loading times at startup and shutdown of the game are noticeably longer than at most other games, so you get the idea that the game sometimes unjustly gets jammed.
Well filled Character Creation
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate has a very extensive character creation for a handheld game with such a large amount of content. Not only can you choose between a male or a female main character and your skin color, face eye color, makeup/hair, hair style, voice and customize clothing. For those of us who fear that female characters maybe get just that little bit too measured outfits would be exposed, as we often see in games, there is good news. All the outfits in the character creation and these that you can craft throughout the game for both female and male characters are exactly the same and equally functional. From beginning, you can also customize your very first Palico already, but here are the options, although they’re still quite expandable but much more limited.
All rounder
As we are used to from Monster Hunter, your character doesn’t grow according to level, but rather together with your skills and armor. The stronger the monsters are that you take down, the better you can make your gear. Crafting is important in this game. Fortunately, the whole craft system is very easy to use and even useful. Currently sitting without potions? No worries! You can make potions just on the spot with the resources that are around you. Amor can be repaired back at a local blacksmith, but also the upgrades are simple to be carry out by just applying new materials and see what the options are that may appear. Each option corresponds to which items you are running short on to craft a particular item, making you always focused on searching for better outfits.
Your character is a real Jack of all trades. From swords to gun laces, the Hunter knows how to get away with anything. But what weapon is better in your hand? There are a lot of possibilities, each with their own upgrades and custom skills making it surely it worth it to get out to test the different types. The Palico you can recruit, helps you in battles. Any cat that you add to your team , you can place active or passive. Active Palico’s fight at your side and respond in-game according to their classes. A healer can remove your poisoned state for you while support for example can place traps. How you use your Palico and amour it, depends again on you, even though these cats can reasonable level up.
Een versitile job
The job of a Hunter offers a lot of variety. While the game at the beginning places you on a sand sea ferry in a fight against the giant Mohrain Dah’ren in an attempt to save the traveling sand sea metropolis and the world famous shopping center Val Habar and rescue , you should actually start your adventure as a Hunter first. As a Hunter you work for your van and the guild, but you also get regular jobs offered by people you encounter and you may even swap guild missions with your friends.
Missions range from gathering ingredients to finish it off or catching huge beasts. How to tackle the missions and in what order you want to do them, entirely depends on yourself, but very often does a little bit of preparation really does miracles. Is your quest fishing for sushi fish? Take, for example, have sushi-bait in home to rail in the fish a lot faster. Or are you a beast on the heels again and again in a cave that disappears and is thereby incapable of following? Shoot a ball of paint at it so she, wherever she might pop up, but indicated on the map.
It can be a whole adjustment if you are used to games that only ask you to attack and every now and then an item can be consumed in order to keep your HP high. It also pays well to know the folder in which your mission is. Where are the nests? Where are rocks? Which places are good to launch yourself on top of a monster? Job descriptions and in-game help is given very often with only a few hints and it is up to you and your knowledge of the local area to find your prey or a mission very well. The fact that the info is just that little bit on the vague side, however, is no downside. It provokes a thirst for the knowledge from within you that will make you better at tuning in on your environment and you have an extra reason to contact your friends, especially hunting the larger quickly becomes more fun with another Hunter.
The hunt on the great samples, are either very very frustrating or very very epic, depending on your own skills and preparation. Each boss had their own ingenious strategies whereby you too of course cannot stay behind. It is not at all strange when you are almost hunting for an hour on monsters to suddenly fall on a problem that you have never experienced before and because of that thereby come towards either the end of your time or you are through all your re-spawns back and a mission failed. These are moments that you drive through this game. The frustration pushes you to do better and to seek solutions, what Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate of course makes incredibly fun.
Camera camera camera
We played the game on a Nintendo 3DS XL and encountered some problems with the camera. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is made clear with two analog/thumb/c-sticks to play and if you’re not a Circle Pad Pro or a new 3DS, the rotation of the camera can sometimes feel a bit jerkily. The camera control happens through your d-pad and since that is just below the thumb-stick, you dare now and then to ever lose precision by movement like to exchange it for a better camera. Happy offers Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate in-game help in the form of a second d-pad that appears on your touch screen and that way offers assistance with the camera placement. Once you’re used to your touch screen to consult instead of the real d-pad this, downside however is negligible.
Conclusion
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the ultimate Monster Hunter game for the 3DS. The multiplayer plays good and is incredibly fun, crafting runs good, the quests don’t constantly hold you by the hand and the fact that you have to think forward, only makes it better. The beasts chasing, look just as fantastic as the world and with the challenging time battles, you can call the hunt certainly not boring. This is the 3D and the fact that you are now on your environment can climb really to your finger licking.
Of course there are some drawback to the game. The startup and shutdown time are just too long to be comfortable and the Palico’s that you drag along, meowing so often that it looks like they constantly walk around with an empty stomach. Also the camera control is somewhat rigid, but this last is rather a point that you should be able to see just by playing.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is clearly a must for anyone who loves missions where you both use your instincts if you must follow and head for those looking for those looking for a game where the craft finally has a place it deserves. The game was released on the 14th of February this year.
Info:
Title: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Genre: Action RPG
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Nintendo (Europa)
Rating: 90/100
