Monster Hunter Rise

[S.C.G]

I played the demo last night, I was plaing each of the missions on and off for a while, starting the the basics tutorial, which went just as expected, getting used to what has been changed and what remains the same in this latest entry in the Monster Hunter series. It seems like a perfect pairing of old Monster Hunter and the new style shown in World, but with its own unique elements, which work well within the game world.

It took a little while, just to customise the HUD, as I prefer it when there's a minimum of information on the screen, I couldn't work out how to get it so that the HUD moreorless disappears, like in Monster Hunter Generations, until you toggle it while running, but I got rid of a few superfluous notifications and 'features' like the quick select wheel which comes up, as the old style item selection works just fine for me.

Both training missions were fine, they outline what to expect from the game pretty well, as for the main missions...

Beginner Quest: Great Izuchi - Standard entry-level Monster Hunter quest, easy enough to get into the combat, use your surroundings, take out some smaller enemies which appear, and generally get a feel for the flow of the game, when the monster reaches a certain amount of damage taken, it seems to use the system from world where it will automatically run to a certain location on the map, this seems to happen two or three times for more standard monsters; defeated it without too much trouble.

Intermediate Quest: Mizutsune -  This quest proved to be a bit more of a challenge, despite having faced Mizutsune many times over in Monster Hunter games before, this new version seems to take a few few more hits, it might be that because it's a demo and that you can't pick anything about your character, plus the weapons seems to be quite low-grade, coupled with the more World-focused combat/damage system. Anyway... I got taken out twice, chased the monster all the way around the map, came into contact with another Izuchi and a Rathian which I got to ride, then decided to run from the Rathian and managed to take out Mizutsune with around seven minutes left on the clock.

It's a great demo, the game seems to be the perfect balance of everything which I'd want from a Monster Hunter game, it's a shame to hear about the online issues, though I'd have thought these would be ironed out before the game comes out, will I be buying the game when it comes out? Quite possible, but it's only the start of January, and the game isn't out until the end of March, so we'll see what happens, I want to say that I'll be getting it, in all likelihood I will, as there isn't really any other game coming out on any other platform which I'm interested in.

Monster Hunter Rise certainly seems to be, at first glance, another solid entry in the Monster Hunter series, and while Generations is the ideal entry point if you want a representation of what the series has mostly been about from the start, with World being a clear intention of where Capcom want to take the series, Rise seems to take the middle path between the two, not going toward either of the previously well-worn paths, but instead forging a new one, which could be just what the series needs.

 

 

[darksnowman]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I would answer you but you aren't talking about Yakuza.  

It's honestly not all that difficult if you have someone who knows what they are doing showing you the ropes and explaining things as you go. Again, another reason why voice chat is important to this game/series.

The gameplay loop in these games is very satisfying, it's a question of whether people can get past the learning curve at the start, which goes a lot faster with others guiding you. 

Feel free to resume the Yakuza chat, don't mind me!

Haha, yeah I definitely need to be taken under someone's wing to get me through the basics and into it. The gameplay loop in Tri didn't really grab me, but again, maybe being shown how to appreciate and enjoy the game instead of thinking "not ANOTHER fishing quest??" or "what do I have to stick a tracker on and button bash to death NOW??" would be good.

[Hero-of-Time]

22 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

Feel free to resume the Yakuza chat, don't mind me!

Haha, yeah I definitely need to be taken under someone's wing to get me through the basics and into it. The gameplay loop in Tri didn't really grab me, but again, maybe being shown how to appreciate and enjoy the game instead of thinking "not ANOTHER fishing quest??" or "what do I have to stick a tracker on and button bash to death NOW??" would be good.

As the series has gone on they have thankfully scaled back on the dull quests, such as delivering bugs and catching fish.

The powderstone delivering quest from the original game is the stuff of legends. Anyone who played it at the time now breaks out in a cold sweat upon a simple mention of it. The series has certainly come a long way since those days.

[Kav]

Everyone is trying out the Hunting Horn right?

I can’t wait to put the demo on and give it a blast, it looks amazing, a great upgrade to the weapon!

[LazyBoy]

I hope to be settled in a my new place by the time this comes out, commit to it for a couple months. 

[Glen-i]

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

So...is this the MH I finally change my main weapon? Any other series stalwarts thinking of doing the same to freshen things up?

I've always been a disciple of the Lance, sine my first foray in 3U, save for a brief go as a switch axe'er in Generations on the 3DS. Can't decide whether to stick or twist, smash my way quickly through the opening parts and be useful to others online by already being proficient...or throw it all away for the bow? I've been desperate to play as an archer since 4U where I started making armour sets etc but never got to the level I wanted on Lance to then switch over.

Haven't got the hang of the wire bug stuff yet but I've really, really noticed a dip in the visuals compared to World on my Xbox. Which is strange for me as I usually couldn't care less about that sort of thing, but it's really struck me how poor it looks in comparison and how World felt like a living, breathing...world! Perhaps it's just the level being a bit grey and green compared to sunsets, lucious water effects and whatever else World had to offer.

Still, 90% certain I'll be picking it up and once again sinking hundreds of hours into it. My main MH accomplice (a real life friend) is expecting his second child when this comes out, and doesn't have a Switch either, so I'll be hoping to be an active N-E Hunter as much as possible, like the glory days of 3U 😎

[Mokong]

19 hours ago, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

So...is this the MH I finally change my main weapon? Any other series stalwarts thinking of doing the same to freshen things up?

Sticking with my Switchaxe as a main, but I always have a few sets of other weapons depending on what kind of build I'm looking for.

I tried out the Hunting Horn over the weekend, love how fast it is compared to what it used to be. The simplicity of no longer having to remember various note combinations to play a buff tune is great.... I always had a couple of HH sets if I wanted to act support and just buff the rest of the group. The changes encourage a HH player to get more stuck in with attacking while still being able to buff others  

Need to give a few other weapons a test in the Demo, but also trying to not over do play time on the Demo before the main game arrives. (Sent a request for some holidays at work for release day and the Monday after  )

Still not got the hang of climbing with the wirebug... though I'm sure in the main game there'll be some armour skills that will allow increase usage or faster cool down times which will probably help.

Using it in combat though I love. Love using it to jump above a monster so can get an aerial attack in as you fall down. And the slikbind moves are pretty cool.

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

Yeah I'm wondering if I should stick with the lance to start with, means I can hit the ground running when it comes to online play and getting quests done and decent armour sets unlocked...the eternal dilemma! I also know that in 4U, Generations, Generations Ultimate and World I've told myself I'll build up a few different sets...and invariably only stick to lance 😂 guess I could whet the appetite by firing World back up and playing with the Bow on that one, start building up my knowledge so I'm not too far behind 🤷‍♂️

I always remember playing with you a few time on 3U, @Mokong, you specifically pointed out that rolling when blast blighted from the Brachydios would shake it off 😎 passing down the knowledge! 

[Glen-i]

I doubt I'll be moving away from the Sword & Shield, especially with adept style dodging being left in Generations. But with this game supporting Gyro controlled aiming, I'll probably be dabbling with the Light Bowgun more often.

Good gyro controls will be an insane buff to those ranged weapons!

[Dufniall]

Especially in low rank I like to try out a lot of different weapons. The only one that never really clicked is the Great Sword, and I'm not a big fan of the Gun Lance and Charge Blade. Higher up I usually use Lance, Switch Axe or Hammer.

I tried the Hammer in the demo but it feels slower than in Generations! But reading that the Horn feels faster and doesn't use the notes anymore makes me want to try that again for multiplayer. Also feel like I should give ranged a proper go so maybe go for a Bow. And offline it'll probably be Lance and Switch Axe.

[Hero-of-Time]

If I buy the game I'll be sticking with the LS. It's served me well all these years and I prefer rolling and dodging to blocking. 

I wonder what the future plans are for this game? Past entries and World all featured substantial free DLC in the form of quests and  items and I'm hoping Capcom don't try to chase the dollar and start making these things paid DLC.

[darksnowman]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I wonder what the future plans are for this game? Past entries and World all featured substantial free DLC in the form of quests and  items and I'm hoping Capcom don't try to chase the dollar and start making these things paid DLC.

With the existence of the deluxe edition and its "recommended DLC", they could well be laying the foundations for paid DLC or a mixture of free updates and paid? Have they said what (if anything) is locked behind the launch day amiibo?

Edited January 12, 2021 by darksnowman

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

With the existence of the deluxe edition and its "recommended DLC", they could well be laying the foundations for paid DLC or a mixture of free updates and paid? Have they said what (if anything) is locked behind the launch day amiibo?

I've not looked into what the amiibo do. There was paid DLC in World but thankfully it was just some cosmetics and gestures.

[RedShell]

On 10/01/2021 at 9:28 PM, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

So...is this the MH I finally change my main weapon? Any other series stalwarts thinking of doing the same to freshen things up?

Wasn't planning to, but having now spent some time with the Insect Glaive I'm thinking I will!

Messed about with that weapon type briefly in a previous MH game and hated it, but in Rise I'm kind of loving it. Reckon it'll take me quite some time to master (especially after spending so much time using the hammer) but combined with Wirebugs you can basically fly with this thing! It also has a very neat trick up it's sleeve that feels like it'll be particularly useful in this version of MH:

Going to fire up MH World in a bit, take it for a spin on that.

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

Interesting that most of you will pretty much stick, I think I've found a solution to my issue: going to start my 'main' go with lance but have a secondary character save file (I know some do it but I never have) as a bow wielder and play through the game with my girlfriend as that one, so I'm not just steam rolling through monsters and we'll both learn too.

Fired up World myself this evening just to prat about in Astera, almost feel like I'm not quite ready to give up on World yet. Also I can't quite place it but have they tinkered with the camera perspective to make World seem bigger? The whole world just looks so much bigger than Rise, again perhaps the graphical fidelity plays a part but it looks like alot more sky on show on in World. Or perhaps I'm seeing things that aren't there...🤷‍♂️

[darksnowman]

Just did the beginner quest three times, and fainted just the twice.  First time as the Dual Blades character, the Wyvern got involved and somehow, with no effort on my part other than hammering X and A for all I was worth, I ended up with it as my mount. Nothing fancy ensued and it wasn't long until I was being stretchered back to the starting area. Would be good to know what happened so I can do it on purpose sometime. LOL. After tracking it down again I used the stun weapon, the pitfall, the barrels, the healing items, a whetstone or two, and eventually completed the quest. The dual blades user has potential.

Then I went again with the Insect Glaive character because the unconventional idea of commanding insects caught my attention. Once loaded in I sneaked around a bit, found the Great Izuchi and the Wyvern sniffing round each other and engaging in a bit of handbags in the water area to the left of the map, and watched them until the Wyvern took off. I got stuck into the Izuchi (aka spamming in a panic) ZR and it went down really quickly. The insect glaive user has potential.

Thirdly, the Gunlance character because I fancied trying out the ammo from the item box. Yeah, that didn't happen, so who is the ammo for? Anyway, I fainted with this character but took the Izuchi down fast, so the gunlance must really pack a punch (if you get in close and button mash like I did). The gunlance has user has potential.

Is there any depth to this? There, must be, right? If there is, how/ where do you find the character moves? Will there be combat tutorials in the full game? It's been handy to have the pop-up reminders about the wirebug because I keep forgetting to Spider-man out of the way--is there some way of turning on similar kinds of noob reminders for combat prompts? Is there any type of lock-on or Z-targetting or does Monster Hunter still think it¡s above that? How do you check the time remaining on the mission? Can you toggle it on so it's displayed at all times? Will the arrow pointing to the quest target be there in the full game?

[Kav]

11 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I've not looked into what the amiibo do. There was paid DLC in World but thankfully it was just some cosmetics and gestures.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

@darksnowman there is definitely depth to the game. The demo is there to just ease players in and the charging in approach won't really work in the main game, especially in higher rank quests. Beasties end up packing quite a punch and so it's more about picking your moments and just trying to survive rather than going all in.

In terms of tutorials, honestly it's probably best to just watch ones that get put on YouTube by Gajin Hunter or Akkrez (probably spelt that wrong). Both of these guys usually show you how to play using each weapon and often dish out tips and tricks that aren't really well known by the masses.

The time remaining is usually on a clock at the top corner of the screen. In past games if you opened up the menu and checked the quest info you would get to see a proper countdown. Outside of special hunts, you should never really be in danger of running out of time. The game gives players a warning on the screen when they hit the final 5 minute mark.

[Dufniall]

8 hours ago, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

Fired up World myself this evening just to prat about in Astera, almost feel like I'm not quite ready to give up on World yet. Also I can't quite place it but have they tinkered with the camera perspective to make World seem bigger? The whole world just looks so much bigger than Rise, again perhaps the graphical fidelity plays a part but it looks like alot more sky on show on in World. Or perhaps I'm seeing things that aren't there...🤷‍♂️

I read a preview where they were arguing that it is due to the option to play handheld. On the 3DS, the camera was even more zoomed in, needed to show plenty of the monster on the smaller screen. With World being a console/PC game, they could zoom out more as the player would be using a big screen anyway. And Rise's camera sits somewhere in between.

[darksnowman]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

In terms of tutorials, honestly it's probably best to just watch ones that get put on YouTube by Gajin Hunter or Akkrez (probably spelt that wrong). Both of these guys usually show you how to play using each weapon and often dish out tips and tricks that aren't really well known by the masses.

All righty, will do! I thought there might have been something in-game I wasn't finding/ triggering. I'd been going around the map (which is why I was worried about time being a factor) to see if there was a training area with static objects to whale on. But that's cool, I'll check online for general combat pointers before spending more of the remaining credits on the demo. 

[Hero-of-Time]

22 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

All righty, will do! I thought there might have been something in-game I wasn't finding/ triggering. I'd been going around the map (which is why I was worried about time being a factor) to see if there was a training area with static objects to whale on. But that's cool, I'll check online for general combat pointers before spending more of the remaining credits on the demo. 

In past games there has been a training area for you to get to grips with weapons but I think it's best to either watch a video on how to use a weapon you're interested in or just pick a low ranked mission and kill some of the easy creatures in order for you to get a feel for things. 

[RedShell]

Definitely going with droopy ears for my Palamute.  

[S.C.G]

Monster Hunter Rise Edition Nintendo Switch to be released alongside the game

Branded accessories too, including a Pro Controller.

Full press release, and link to the original Tweet.

Check the article on the main page.

[Glen-i]

It's a nice enough dock, but I feel like it would've been nicer if it didn't have those small icons all over it. Just the gold pictures.

Less is more and all that.