Monster Hunter Rise: Demo Discussion

[vanguard333]

The demo for Monster Hunter Rise released recently. What do you think of it?

 

As someone who has never played a Monster Hunter game before (aside from the MH Stories demo), I have to say that the combat took quite a bit of getting used to. I chose sword-&-shield, figuring it would probably be the most beginner-friendly, and it probably is, but I am really not finding the combat very intuitive.

I will say that the wirebug is really cool; I especially liked being able to take control of a monster (though the controls for that felt rather awkward, but I think that's intentional since you are forcibly puppeteering something a lot larger and stronger than you). 

[Fabulously Olivier]

The controls are going to be one of my biggest sticking points, and the game seems to lack comprehensive rebinds. What fucking alien maps consumables to Y? Almost every game uses that as an attack button. That feels terrible transitioning from my DW games especially, even when the longsword is meant to basically encapsulate the musuo playstyle.

[FlyingKitsune]

As someone who's only played MHGU and MH4U (and Monster Hunter Stories I guess),  the controls are the same as always. I'm still getting used to the wire bugs though. I almost never used it in the fights, and I should probably learn to start using it considering the entire game centers around it. Otherwise, it's pretty neat. The voices slightly surprise me, though that might be because I haven't played MHW. Also, wyvern riding is awesome. Looks like Stories is no longer just a spinoff eh?

[Ottservia]

As a somewhat veteran hunter who started with 3 ultimate and has sunk hundreds of hours into every game since, I gotta say rise is looking pretty promising. The wire bug is essentially kind of a mix between the mounting mechanics from older titles and the slinger from world. This game in general just kind of feels like a combination of new and old world monster hunter. It has pretty much all the quality of life and mechanical improvements(at least so far) introduced in world like slopes, faster gathering, open world maps, etc. but it still kind of feels like old monster hunter. It's a hard feeling to explain unless you've played both world and mhgu/4u. Going back to the wire bug, I'm curious to see if this will replace will replace the traditional mounting system from older titles or if they're both gonna be thing. I haven't watched too many of the trailers. If it does replace traditional mounting then R.I.P Insect Glaive I guess. Man The insect Glaive really needs a buff. It's been getting progressively worse since it's introduction in 4U. Though my main weapon of the charge blade plays the same as it kind of does in world which I am grateful for considering the nerf it got back in MHGU. I still need some more practice with the wire bug though. I'm still not quite used to it.

[vanguard333]

By the way, I have a question that I guess is more about the series in general but I'll ask it here since playing the demo made me think of it: what exactly is the context behind the Monster Hunting?

Let me clarify; by this, I guess I mean, is there anything the hunting is building towards? Is there a reason for hunting monsters beyond just for the sake of it? Don't get me wrong; I don't think the game needs it. A little context goes a long way, but games don't always need it. I just like to know I'm working towards something; I've never been a fan of just getting better and better gear until I have the best gear... only to have nothing left to use it on; it's the reason loot-based games and MMOs don't appeal to me. One thing that helps obviously is a bit of context, like a compelling world to explore or narrative to experience. 

Obviously; I'm not asking for a compelling narrative experience from Capcom of all companies... wait; what am I saying? My first Capcom games were the Megaman Battle Network games; I think I can ask for a compelling narrative from Capcom. But, to be clear, I'm not asking for it here. Obviously, if I'm looking for narrative, there's literally a spin-off titled Monster Hunter Stories. But I find it interesting how the trailers give the village quite a bit of attention, and the demo's main menu uses the scene of the quest giver singing, and I'm just left wondering, "How much does this series use the world and characters?"

Does that make sense? Or is my attempt to clarify what I'm asking just more confusing?

[Zanarkin]

58 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

By the way, I have a question that I guess is more about the series in general but I'll ask it here since playing the demo made me think of it: what exactly is the context behind the Monster Hunting?

Let me clarify; by this, I guess I mean, is there anything the hunting is building towards? Is there a reason for hunting monsters beyond just for the sake of it? Don't get me wrong; I don't think the game needs it. A little context goes a long way, but games don't always need it. I just like to know I'm working towards something; I've never been a fan of just getting better and better gear until I have the best gear... only to have nothing left to use it on; it's the reason loot-based games and MMOs don't appeal to me. One thing that helps obviously is a bit of context, like a compelling world to explore or narrative to experience. 

Obviously; I'm not asking for a compelling narrative experience from Capcom of all companies... wait; what am I saying? My first Capcom games were the Megaman Battle Network games; I think I can ask for a compelling narrative from Capcom. But, to be clear, I'm not asking for it here. Obviously, if I'm looking for narrative, there's literally a spin-off titled Monster Hunter Stories. But I find it interesting how the trailers give the village quite a bit of attention, and the demo's main menu uses the scene of the quest giver singing, and I'm just left wondering, "How much does this series use the world and characters?"

Does that make sense? Or is my attempt to clarify what I'm asking just more confusing?

In previous games there is often a narrative where the hunting of monsters is done towards finding out what the cause of some event or series of events are [i.e. a very strong monster causing earthquakes]. And a lot of the hunts are in the way of preparing you for it or helping you investigate.

[Ottservia]

1 hour ago, vanguard333 said:

By the way, I have a question that I guess is more about the series in general but I'll ask it here since playing the demo made me think of it: what exactly is the context behind the Monster Hunting?

Let me clarify; by this, I guess I mean, is there anything the hunting is building towards? Is there a reason for hunting monsters beyond just for the sake of it? Don't get me wrong; I don't think the game needs it. A little context goes a long way, but games don't always need it. I just like to know I'm working towards something; I've never been a fan of just getting better and better gear until I have the best gear... only to have nothing left to use it on; it's the reason loot-based games and MMOs don't appeal to me. One thing that helps obviously is a bit of context, like a compelling world to explore or narrative to experience. 

Obviously; I'm not asking for a compelling narrative experience from Capcom of all companies... wait; what am I saying? My first Capcom games were the Megaman Battle Network games; I think I can ask for a compelling narrative from Capcom. But, to be clear, I'm not asking for it here. Obviously, if I'm looking for narrative, there's literally a spin-off titled Monster Hunter Stories. But I find it interesting how the trailers give the village quite a bit of attention, and the demo's main menu uses the scene of the quest giver singing, and I'm just left wondering, "How much does this series use the world and characters?"

Does that make sense? Or is my attempt to clarify what I'm asking just more confusing?

Thematically Monster Hunter has always been a series about humans and nature being able to coexist. Like Zanarkin said, a lot of the stories and flavor text are usually in regards to finding out why a series of unnatural phenomena is happening resulting in monsters having unnatural behaviorial patterns and such. In 4U it was about finding out the secret of the frenzy virus which caused monsters to go berserk. Generations was about the evolution of both monsters and hunters. How monsters known as deviants survived their encounters with hunters and have grown stronger as a result. World revolved around the elder dragons and their migration to the new world and how the unnatural upsurge of energy was causing an inbalance in nature. 
 

Then there’s the whole lore of monster hunter that tells of an ancient kingdom who abused nature. They hunted elder dragons for nothing more than sport and power lust. Their sin gave birth to Fatalis the king of all monsters who decimated the entire civilization in no more than a single night.

[null]

As someone who played the GenU demo and didn't like it, I'm really enjoying Rise. Everything feels fluid while having a solid sense of rhythm with each action. I love the QoL additions like healing while moving, as well as how the maps don't have loading times. As some of my biggest sticking points with GenU, the change is appreciated. All the new mechanics feel really fun to play around with as well.

I have yet to take down Mizutsune on my own, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the online multiplayer hunts. I can see myself spending more time online than in single player, actually. I've already pre-ordered it based on my experience with the demo, and I look forward to playing the full game in March.

[vanguard333]

30 minutes ago, Zanarkin said:

In previous games there is often a narrative where the hunting of monsters is done towards finding out what the cause of some event or series of events are [i.e. a very strong monster causing earthquakes]. And a lot of the hunts are in the way of preparing you for it or helping you investigate.

12 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

Thematically Monster Hunter has always been a series about humans and nature being able to coexist. Like Zanarkin said, a lot of the stories and flavor text are usually in regards to finding out why a series of unnatural phenomena is happening resulting in monsters having unnatural behaviorial patterns and such. In 4U it was about finding out the secret of the frenzy virus which caused monsters to go berserk. Generations was about the evolution of both monsters and hunters. How monsters known as deviants survived their encounters with hunters and have grown stronger as a result. World revolved around the elder dragons and their migration to the new world and how the unnatural upsurge of energy was causing an inbalance in nature. 
 

Then there’s the whole lore of monster hunter that tells of an ancient kingdom who abused nature. They hunted elder dragons for nothing more than sport and power lust. Their sin gave birth to Fatalis the king of all monsters who decimated the entire civilization in no more than a single night.

I see. Thanks for the info.

I can kind-of see what you're talking about, with the trailers bringing up the "Rampage", where for mysterious reasons, the monsters seemingly all get infected with some sort of malice and attack the village all at once, with the village barely surviving the last one. That could really work as context; the key thing there for how effective it is would then be whether or not the game manages to make me, as the player, care about the village and its inhabitants, as characters and not just as vendors, by the time the rampage happens. 

Again; the game doesn't have to be story-heavy to achieve this. I wouldn't call Link's Awakening a plot-heavy game, and it still does a great job making the player grow to care about the island's inhabitants, so when the twist comes, it's easy to feel as torn as Link is. 

[Ottservia]

47 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

I see. Thanks for the info.

I can kind-of see what you're talking about, with the trailers bringing up the "Rampage", where for mysterious reasons, the monsters seemingly all get infected with some sort of malice and attack the village all at once, with the village barely surviving the last one. That could really work as context; the key thing there for how effective it is would then be whether or not the game manages to make me, as the player, care about the village and its inhabitants, as characters and not just as vendors, by the time the rampage happens. 

Again; the game doesn't have to be story-heavy to achieve this. I wouldn't call Link's Awakening a plot-heavy game, and it still does a great job making the player grow to care about the island's inhabitants, so when the twist comes, it's easy to feel as torn as Link is. 

Listen if you’re going into monster hunter and expecting compelling characters for you to care about and get attached too then I suggest playing another game cause you’re not gonna get that here. Hell most of the characters don’t even have names. What makes monster hunter what it is are the monsters and the world surrounding them. The characters and story are secondary to that. Monster Hunter is special because of the personal narratives you and your friends make for yourselves. You know a timely dodge or use of a life powder to save your teammate. Mounting the monster at just the right time. Piling bombs on a sleeping monster in order end the hunt with a bang. Or using the dragonator at just the right time as proof of a hero blares in the background. Getting that one super rare material you’ve been grinding hours for so that you can finally finish that weapon or armor piece. It’s about that kind of high you get after finally overcoming a monster that has been giving you nothing but trouble by gaining a better understanding of the monster’s attacks and patterns. That is monster hunter. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Ottservia

[vanguard333]

30 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

Listen if you’re going into monster hunter and expecting compelling characters for you to care about and get attached too then I suggest playing another game cause you’re not gonna get that here. Hell most of the characters don’t even have names. What makes monster hunter what it is are the monsters and the world surrounding them. The characters and story are secondary to that. Monster Hunter is special because of the personal narratives you and your friends make for yourselves. You know a timely dodge or use of a life powder to save your teammate. Mounting the monster at just the right time. Piling bombs on a sleeping monster in order end the hunt with a bang. Or using the dragonator at just the right time as proof of a hero blares in the background. Getting that one super rare material you’ve been grinding hours for so that you can finally finish that weapon or armor piece. It’s about that kind of high you get after finally overcoming a monster that has been giving you nothing but trouble by gaining a better understanding of the monster’s attacks and patterns. That is monster hunter. 

Oh; to be clear, I'm not going in expecting that. Definitely not. I'm well aware that the core of the game is the catharsis of fighting big monsters that are hard to fight and all that. 

[Ottservia]

24 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

Oh; to be clear, I'm not going in expecting that. Definitely not. I'm well aware that the core of the game is the catharsis of fighting big monsters that are hard to fight and all that. 

I’m just saying don’t go into the game expecting to care about any of the characters. You more than likely won’t. They mostly just exist to give exposition and to act as vendors to get items. Only rarely will you get characters worth caring about in these games. If nothing else, you’ll find yourself caring more about the monsters and their personalities rather than the human characters.

Edited January 10, 2021 by Ottservia

[vanguard333]

4 hours ago, Ottservia said:

I’m just saying don’t go into the game expecting to care about any of the characters. You more than likely won’t. They mostly just exist to give exposition and to act as vendors to get items. Only rarely will you get characters worth caring about in these games. If nothing else, you’ll find yourself caring more about the monsters and their personalities rather than the human characters.

I see. Odd then that the story mode (rampage) is seemingly going for, "The village is under attack!" but as I said, that's perfectly fine. I just wanted to know.