Monster Hunter Generations

Monster Hunter Generations
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom
Director(s) Yasunori Ichinose[1]
Producer(s) Shintaro Kojima[1]
Composer(s) Reo Uratani
Series Monster Hunter
Platform(s) Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)

Generations/X

  • JP: November 28, 2015
  • NA: July 15, 2016
  • EU: July 15, 2016
  • AUS: July 16, 2016

XX

  • JP: March 18, 2017
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Monster Hunter Generations is an action role-playing video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo 3DS. Announced in May 2015, the game was released in Japan in November 2015, under the title Monster Hunter X (モンスターハンタークロス Monsutā Hantā Kurosu), and was released internationally in July 2016. Like other titles in the Monster Hunter series, players undertake quests that involve hunting dangerous creatures. Major additions in this installment include special attacks, new combat styles, and the ability to play as Felynes, who have traditionally only appeared as a companion to the player. An expanded version of the game, Monster Hunter XX was announced in October 2016. It will be released in Japan in March 2017.

Gameplay

Monster Hunter Generations features gameplay similar to past titles in the series. The player assumes the role of a hunter who embarks on quests to hunt dangerous creatures. A hunter's abilities are determined by the type of armor and weapons that they wear on a quest, as the hunter otherwise has no intrinsic attributes that affect gameplay. All fourteen weapon types from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, ranging from swords, hammers, bows, guns, and lances, are included in Monster Hunter Generations, in addition to the new Prowler mode which allows the player to take the role of a Felyne, a sentient cat-like species.[2][3] Each weapon has different sets of moves and abilities that can be employed while in the field. Armors grant defensive bonuses to physical and elemental damage, and can boost specific skills and attack types through base attributes and the addition of special decoration gems and talismans. To make a more powerful hunter that can survive against more dangerous creatures, the player takes materials carved from monsters (either slain or captured via traps), as well as materials gathered from the various fields and purchased in village stores, to craft new armor or to craft and upgrade weapons. Defeating more powerful creatures enables even more potent equipment to be crafted, thus creating a gameplay progress through the game's loot system. New in Generations is the ability to transform armor pieces into new gear similar to weapon upgrade paths by upgrading it with materials from broad categories, like bones or ores, and having the ability to upgrade a weapon directly to a more advanced version without the intermediate upgrade steps.[4]

Monster Hunter Generations features new special moves known as Hunting Arts. These moves require the player to wait for the moves to charge up during the course of a hunt before they can be activated. Once ready, the player can activate them at any time, after which they have to wait for them to charge up again before a second use. The Arts have different effects such as dealing massive damage, providing buffs, or healing allies.[2][5] The game also introduces a system called "Hunting Styles".[6] This system adds different attack styles for a weapon. Each weapon type in the game will have four distinct forms.[2][6] The Guild Style is a balanced and basic style akin to combat in previous games of the series. The Striker Style is less technical but emphasises the use of Hunting Arts letting the player set up three special attacks. The Aerial Style specialises in mid-air attacks allowing players to use monsters as a platform which they can propel themselves off. The Adept Style gives players an opportunity to perform powerful counterattacks after successfully evading a monster's attack.[7] Visually, the game's combat has been described as flashier than previous titles.[8]

The game will have four new signature monsters along with a number of past flagship monsters.[2][9] Included are what are known as Deviant Monsters, previous monsters from other games in the series that have been said to have mutated and evolved into more powerful forms, which on defeat will yield spoils of combat that can be used to craft high-level equipment.[10] The game features four villages which are non-combat areas for getting quests and communicating with non-player characters.[11] Three villages return from previous titles,[11] and a new village called Bherna has been added.[6] The game includes an improved resource gathering system; resource points on the various areas will have more items that can be acquired before they are exhausted and the player only has to hold down a controller button to continue to collect items instead of pressing the button each time, and once per mission, the player can call a Felyne messenger to take one inventory's worth of goods back to a village to store.[12]

Development

Planning for Monster Hunter Generations began during the production of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.[6] The game's Japanese title—Monster Hunter X, pronounced as Monster Hunter Cross—originated from the idea of crossing old and new elements of the series in the game.[13] Series executive producer Ryozo Tsujimoto saw that since it has been more than ten years since the introductions of the series, they wanted to celebrate the series, putting the idea of the game as "a festival feeling, a special event".[14] Game producer, Shintaro Kojima, noted that "the letter X looks like it divides the given space into four… so four hunting styles, four large main monsters, four villages. They’re all crossing."[13]

Originally, Capcom considered adding a new weapon type for Monster Hunter Generations. This would have required a lot of development work, so instead they opted to focus on the concept of a player's "attachment to the weapon".[6] The developers noted how players would develop their own approach to combat, which inspired the idea of the hunting skills and arts as these would further give each player to craft a hunter to their unique play style.[14] However, they still needed to balance the strength and effectiveness of these news arts and skills so that Generations would remain fundamentally a game that required the player to read a monster's actions and make the right moves at the right time, rather than just a flashy hack-and-slash game.[14] Several features—underwater combat, guild quests, and frenzied monsters—from past titles are omitted in Monster Hunter Generations. Series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto said that this was to emphasise the unique elements of the new title.[15]

As with Monster Hunter 4, Generation includes a number of quests that help to orient a player to the various gameplay systems within the game; this includes special quest lines for each weapon type to help accustom the player to that weapon and its strategies.[14] The Prolwer-Felyne hunter choice was aimed specifically for new players of the series, but also to give veteran players a new way to experience the title.[14] With the Prowler mode, it helps to emphasise the need to watch the monsters and read their tell before making a move and gaining the opportunity for a counterattack.[14]

While the period between the Japanese release of Monster Hunter 4 and Generations was nearly annual, the producers state they have no expectations to make Monster Hunter an annual series. They found the response from Western audience with these two games overwhelming, and are working to make the localization process easier to reduce the time between the Japanese and Western release, and would like to eventually see a simultaneously release in these regions in the future.[14]

Release

Monster Hunter Generations was first announced in Japan under the title Monster Hunter X in May 2015 with a planned release later that year, during a Nintendo Direct presentation.[16] A demo of the game was released digitally in Japan on November 19, 2015, via the Nintendo eShop. The demo features three quests involving different monsters.[17] The game was subsequently released for Nintendo 3DS in Japan on November 28, 2015.[11] Alongside the game's Japanese launch, Nintendo released Monster Hunter X-themed faceplates for the New Nintendo 3DS,[18] and a limited-edition Monster Hunter X-themed New Nintendo 3DS XL featuring the game's logo and four signature monsters.[19]

For North America and Europe, the game was released as Monster Hunter Generations on July 15, 2016, along with a limited-edition New Nintendo 3DS XL similar to the Japanese release.[20][21] A demo, featuring three monsters to hunt and online play capabilities, was made available in Europe on June 15, 2016,[22] and in North America on June 30, 2016.[23] Players that transfer their Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate saves into Monster Hunter Generations will receive an in-game armor set for their palico.[23]

Similar to previous Monster Hunter games, the player can obtain armor sets, weapons and clothing themed to other Capcom games and other third-party titles. Generations will include such themes based on Amaterasu from Ōkami,[24] Chun-Li and Blanka from Street Fighter,[25] Arthur from Ghosts 'n Goblins,[26] Strider Hiryu from Strider,[27] Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker,[28] and Fox McCloud from the Star Fox series.[29] Such costumes are obtained by completing quests that are offered as free downloadable content.

An expanded version of the game, Monster Hunter XX was announced in October 2016. It will be released in Japan on March 18, 2017.[30]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic87/100[31]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer8.75/10 [32]
GameSpot8/10[33]
IGN8.0/10[34]
Polygon8.5/10[35]
US Gamer[36]

Following the 2015 Tokyo Game Show, the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association named Monster Hunter Generations as one of ten winners for the "Future Division" Award.[37]

Prior to the game's launch, Capcom expected to sell 2.5 million copies of Monster Hunter Generations by March 2016.[38] The game sold over 1.5 million units in its first two days,[39] and as of December 24, 2015, the game has sold over 3 million copies.[40] Japanese sales tracker, Media Create reported that Monster Hunter Generations sold through over 91% of its retail stock in its first week. Total software sales in Japan during the week of the game's launch were the highest recorded so far in 2015, with Monster Hunter Generations contributing over 75% of sales. The launch also led to a rise in total hardware sales, with sales of the New Nintendo 3DS XL increasing by over 360% from the previous week.[41]

According to the NPD Group, Monster Hunter Generations was the best selling game in July 2016 in North America, and, alongside renewed interest in Pokemon games resulting from Pokemon Go, helped to boost 3DS sales over all other consoles and 80% better than 3DS sales the previous year.[42]

Capcom reported that Monster Hunter Generations had exceeded 4.1 million units sold worldwide by September 2016, with sales in Western countries described as "solid".[43]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result Ref
2016 The Game Awards 2016 Best Handheld/Mobile Game Nominated [44]

References

  1. 1 2 Sato (June 3, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Creators Are Excited To Have You Try Out Its New Features". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sato (June 4, 2015). "Monster Hunter X: Details On New Monsters, Areas, And Actions". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ Sato (September 16, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Introduces A New Mode That Lets You Play As A Felyne". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  4. ↑ Pearson, Dan (July 12, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ Kollar, Philip (April 14, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations improves on the series' combat with two awesome additions". Polygon. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Sato (July 9, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Focuses More On Customizing Actions And Your Own Style". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ Sato (July 28, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Details Its Four Hunting Styles And A New Owl-Like Monster". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ Sato (June 1, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Will Be All About Hunting Maneuvers And Style". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  9. ↑ Sato (July 8, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Adds Tigrex, Zinogre, Brachydios To The Mix With Other New Monsters". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Monster Hunter Generations – Capcom Reveals Downloadable Demo and More at E3". Gamasutra (Press release). Capcom. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Matulef, Jeffrey (July 20, 2015). "Watch 26 minutes of Monster Hunter X gameplay". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  12. ↑ Mackey, Bob (July 8, 2016). "Three Little Changes that Make a Big Difference in Monster Hunter Generations". US Gamer. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Ishaan (July 20, 2015). "Why Is The Newest Monster Hunter Called "Monster Hunter X"?". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Clark, Willie (June 28, 2016). "Monster Hunter producers break down how to add new features and preserve its classic feel". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  15. ↑ Ishaan (July 16, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Has No Underwater Combat, Guild Quests, Or Frenzied Monsters". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  16. ↑ Good, Owen (May 31, 2015). "Monster Hunter X announced for Japan in this debut trailer". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  17. ↑ "【リリース追記】『モンスターハンタークロス』の体験版が11月19日より配信決定、初級～上級までの3クエストがプレイ可能". Famitsu (in Japanese). November 9, 2015. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  18. ↑ Pereira, Chris (September 3, 2015). "Slick Monster Hunter X New 3DS, Faceplates Coming to Japan". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  19. ↑ Pereira, Chris (July 30, 2015). "Check Out This Cool-Looking New Monster Hunter 3DS XL System". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  20. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (March 3, 2016). "Monster Hunter X Headed West as Monster Hunter Generations". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  21. ↑ Strom, Steven. "Monster Hunter Generations Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Nintendo of Europe on Twitter: "To get a free #MonsterHunter Generations demo, log into your Nintendo Account & head here: https://t.co/vW91wJSSQY"". Nintendo of Europe Twitter. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  23. 1 2 Sato (June 15, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations' Demo Will Be Available Starting June 30, Will Have Online Multiplayer". Siliconera. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  24. ↑ Good, Owen S. (April 24, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations tips its cap to Okami's 10-year anniversary". Polygon. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  25. ↑ Sato (May 9, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations' Street Fighter Collaboration Brings Chun-Li And Blanka Palico Armor". Siliconera. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  26. ↑ Jenni (May 19, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations Will Have A Felyne Ghosts 'n Goblins Costume". Siliconera. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  27. ↑ Carter, Chris (June 23, 2016). "Anything Strider related? I'll take Monster Hunter, Capcom". Destructoid. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  28. ↑ Jenni (July 11, 2016). "Palicoes Become Foxes With Monster Hunter Generation's Star Fox DLC". Siliconera. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  29. ↑ Skrebels, Joe (October 27, 2016). "Monster Hunter XX Announced for Japan". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Monster Hunter Generations (3ds)". Metacritic. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  31. ↑ Tack, Daniel (July 12, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations Review". Game Informer. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  32. ↑ Haywald, Justin (July 12, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  33. ↑ Otero, Jose (July 12, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations Review". IGN. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  34. ↑ McElroy, Griffon (July 12, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations Review". Polygon. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  35. ↑ Mackey, Bob (July 12, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations 3DS Review: All the Hits". US Gamer. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Japan Game Awards 2015 Future Division Winners Chosen" (PDF). awards.cesa.or.jp. Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. September 20, 2015. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  37. ↑ McFerran, Damien (June 10, 2015). "Capcom Thinks It Can Shift 2.5 Million Copies of Monster Hunter X By March Next Year". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  38. ↑ Sato (December 1, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Has Sold Over 1.5 Million Units In Its First Two Days In Japan". Siliconera. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  39. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (December 24, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Ships 3 Million Copies, Series Total Hits 36 Million". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  40. ↑ Sato (December 4, 2015). "Monster Hunter X Has A Stronger Start Than MH4U, Helping New 3DS Sales". Siliconera. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  41. ↑ Williams, Mike (August 19, 2016). "Pokemon and Monster Hunter Make 3DS July's Best-Selling System". US Gamer. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  42. ↑ Sato (October 28, 2016). "Monster Hunter Generations Tops 4.1 Million In Sales, 2 Million Expected From MHXX". Siliconera. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  43. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (November 16, 2016). "All the 2016 Game Awards Nominees". GameSpot. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
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