All armor Monster Hunter 4

February 10, 2015 . 12:31pm

introduces a lot of big changes to the series, from the weapons you use to the way hunts feel, but there’s a ton to discover beyond those fundamental differences. Some of these changes make the game more fun and some are just plain interesting to take note of. Below are a list of smaller changes and observations we recorded while playing the game.

Jack:

• Jack: I’m personally quite happy that Felynes are back as your hunting buddies. Nothing against Cha-Cha and Kayamba—I just think the Felynes are more iconic to the series and a perhaps a bit more adorable. Although, their puns can occasionally be a-paw-ling. [Ishaan: Insert Tigrex scream]

• Speaking of puns, the dialogue is absolutely stuffed full of them. My favorites are probably Rad-alos, and Bad-asarios.

• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Pro Tip #1: In the starting area of the game, the Ancestral Steppes, a good strategy is to take the First-Aid Meds provided by the equipment box at the start and combining them with Honey found on the far end of Area 1. You’ll have to pass by the area every time regardless, so why not treat yourself to some better healing items?

• Underwater gameplay is completely absent from 4 Ultimate. I don’t miss it. Not even a little. Even if some of the monsters like Ceadeus were pretty cool.

• That said, the underwater monsters’ spirits live on. Not only can you trade for parts of the missing monsters via the Wycoon, but I also managed to spot a Plesioth while playing a fishing mini-game with the Felynes.

• Introduction cut-scenes for the monsters are the best they’ve ever been now that they’re in-engine and feature your actual hunter. They give off a very Metroid-y feel now, adding in a sense of isolation and overwhelming odds. Actually seeing your hunter have to fend off attacks in cutscenes got me way more personally invested in the upcoming fight in a way that simply wasn’t present before.

• Maybe I’m just bad with fake money, but I’ve consistently run out of zenny more often in 4 Ultimate than I ever have in a previous Monster Hunter game. I’ve consistently splurged on armor sets and the like only to realize that I didn’t have enough left over to take the next quest.

• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Pro Tip #2: If you happen to catch yourself being completely broke for some reason and desperately need a pick axe, a free one will occasionally spawn in the second town of the game.

• I really enjoy that you can go to a bunch of different towns as you progress through the story. There are a few differences between them, too, such as the fact that Rusted equipment can only be polished in Harth and Talismans can only be melded in Cathar. Each new place also adds a little more personality to the Monster Hunter world.

• Mounting a monster has some interesting multiplayer implications. When someone gets on a monster, everyone else needs to avoid attacking it or else they might accidentally knock their comrade off. This can create some unique downtime where everyone briefly gets to sit back, use items, and enjoy the spectacle until the monster goes down.