Monster Hunter has always been a beloved franchise to many, and that still holds true to its most recent title, Monster Hunter Rise. While I have played a good chunk of Monster Hunter World, Rise is the first Monster Hunter game I have beaten, and I am stunned at how fun and great this game has been from start to finish. Now with this sudden burst of motivation as the credits roll next to me, I want to change things up for this entry. Instead of doing a usual review, going over this game’s strengths and weaknesses, I want to mainly go over the good; why Monster Hunter Rise is a fantastic game that you should play right now.
Possibly the first thing you will notice about Monster Hunter Rise is its setting and world. Set in Japan, every locale, from Kamura Village, to the Lava Caverns, will feel so immersive and lively. Each place has so much attention to detail, you can find out something new about each place every time you visit. You know there is so much detail in an area when a simple animal, living its life in its biome, has character to it, when its only supposed to be an item for the player to pick up. With the NPC interactions and animations, the monsters living their daily lives, monsters fighting each other outside of your own combat, and so much more, every location in Rise doesn’t feel dead or unnecessary.
Speaking of the monsters, that is its shining feature, as this is “Monster” Hunter after all. Each one has its own personality in their fights, and are so satisfying to kill. Easily the best part of the game is the process of what works for you. Yes, it is daunting, seeing all these different weapons, and trying them out, but once you find that specific weapon- that specific weapon that best suits your play style, feels and sounds the best when slashing into a monster, etc.- then you will get on this hunting addiction, as you would want to keep using your go-to weapon. Even for those who want to dive even deeper, with all the possible weapons and armor that you can forge, one can spend hundreds of hours mixing and matching what weapons and armor sets work well with a specific monster, and what doesn’t work. All it takes is that initial spark of fun to end up spending hundreds of hours fighting monsters.
Even though gameplay is Monster Hunter’s shining aspect, another part of Monster Hunter Rise that I feel should be mentioned it its tone. For the most part, Monster Hunter can either have a silly or serious tone. It’s silly when you’re ordering dango, fighting Bombadgy, and its serious when you’re protecting Kamura Village from hordes of monsters, or fighting Magnamalo. I felt this should be noted because of how flexible Monster Hunter can be. It never takes itself too seriously, and it’s never too goofy. The range in the middle is perfect for when you’re fighting a really tough monster, or when you just want to relax and have a good time. Any game that can offer that range of emotion is always one that should be praised.
One last thing that should be said, and it’s a no-brainer. Monster Hunter Rise is such a great time with friends. Duh, right? It’s Monster Hunter, other than its gameplay and monsters, it’s multiplayer is one of the most important parts of the series. Yes, and its just as fun as its always been. If you have a group of friends who have Monster Hunter, it’s pretty much a requirement to play this game together. Not only does having a group of hunters easier when it comes to hunting, but the amount of joy and fun that will be had during that session will be immaculate.
With all that being said, I will warn everyone who read my thoughts just now, and want to play Monster Hunter Rise. Not only will you have an absolute blast from beginning to however long your Monster Hunter grind will last, but it will consume so much time, and you will be thinking about nothing other than Monster Hunter. This may seem bad, but let me tell you, you will not regret the time and effort put into this game. You will instead feel rewarded for your time and effort, and will feel this feeling of excitement, encouragement, success, and most importantly, fun.
Plus dango song.
Uu-ii-wa!
Pori nangu minga mitta niku de dano
Uzzute hinga de toete mune da~a~a
Domo iiru inwa de ta eta aki naaaa-(Hai!)
Sika dou da, nanao de ii
(Hub ver)
Uu-ii-wa!
Da aru ino ito nita de ni
Na nana nenu nito ete uu da~a~a
Binna de inna no netta ino naaaa-(Hai!)
Sika dou da, nanao de ii