Monster Hunter Tri
RPGs are about the little things. Monster Hunter Tri achieved high-end graphics on the Wii, but it does more than that. It gets the little things right.
Developed and published by an in-house studio at Capcom, Monster Hunter Tri is the third home-console-based game in a series with great success in a niche market: on handheld systems in Japan. Bringing the newest game to a broadened audience was a trick for Capcom. The Wii is a tough arena for "core" games to be successful, and North America never grasped "Monster Hunter Fever" like Japan has. Capcom developed and marketed this Action/RPG with international Wii owners in mind.
Still, Monster Hunter Tri stays true to its roots. Players partake in epic battles with large beasts while collecting, modifying, and creating items and equipment along the way. Fans of the storied series will be happy with what they see here, and not only for the purpose of familiarity.
Urugaan's Leno-like chin is a powerful, and devastating weapon.
In terms of the familiar, the plot is nothing spectacular. You (hunter of a name and gender of your choosing) find yourself at Moga Village, pressured by a water dragon named Lagiacrus. As a monster hunter, it is your job to build your weapons and armor up to Lagiacrus' level, to defeat him and spare the village from certain destruction. The game spreads to different locales, all very element-based, therefore forcing the player to cope with many beasts of the same caliber as Lagiacrus.
Monster Hunter Tri is also full of humorous characters. They usually stray from being your typical face-less non-player characters, but are not averse to breaking down the fourth wall. Both townsfolk and an organization called "The Guild" request jobs of all kinds from your character. Tasks range from gathering items and slaying beasts to mining for rare jewels and metals.
These game elements aren't just common in the Monster Hunter series, they're common in RPGs. It isn't clear what influenced Monster Hunter creator Ryozo Tsujimoto to begin the series on the PlayStation 2 in 2004, SEGA's Phantasy Star Online for the SEGA Dreamcast first showed console gamers the potential of online RPGs. Monster Hunter took the budding genre into new directions, especially in terms of being epic in its scale and graphics.
Underwater areas are abundant in Monster Hunter Tri.
While the game shines in its non-playable cut-scenes, Capcom delivers possibly the best looking in-game presentation on the Wii. Your first trek out of the village leads to a cliff overlooking a sparkling ocean with detailed, rocky islands in the distance. Lifelike birds coast across the sky during the day. Capcom created more than game levels. They payed attention to the necessary details in creating a world.
This world is accessible to players of all ages (bear in mind, the game maintains a Teen rating from the ESRB), primarily via online play. Capcom is devoting multiple game servers to ensure the highest possible online multiplayer experience for their western audience. Unlike Japanese players who are used to monthly Monster Hunter subscriptions, North American players get the full online modes for free.
Capcom also developed around different devices to enrich the player experience.
Hunters can chat via Wii Speak, or use any USB computer keyboard for text chatting. Capcom avoided Nintendo's friend code system by letting players find friends and family with nicknames and short user IDs. You aren't confined to undesirable motion controls, either; you have the option of using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk or the Classic Controller. The latter works extremely well, with the right joystick being swappable between camera control and weapon control.
As the cover monster for Tri, Lagiacrus is strong and fast.
Multiplayer is where the game shines. Players can challenge one friend to local bouts in the arena, or hop online to join in quests with up to three other players across the globe. Players advance their Hunter Rank via the online quests, eventually encountering plenty of monsters not available in the offline mode. Each hunter brings their own skills and equipment to the table in these higher-difficulty quests, and also reap the benefits of cooperating with one another to take down massive dragons and dinosaurs.
By benefits, I mean items, and plenty of them. Monster Hunter scratches both of the "just one more" and "I need to collect them all" itches to unhealthy amounts. By collecting hundreds of herbs, mushrooms, ores, skins, scales, and all the other spoils a hunter would gather, players are opened up to a simple-yet-deep combining system. Then, these combined and found items play into the weapon, armor, and decoration forging and upgrading system.
Monster Hunter Tri has a great, epic soundtrack to accompany grand entrances, yet most songs aren't very memorable. In the audio department, the game performs well, but doesn't "wow." Characters grunt and moan, and a strangely large amount of cats meow (they also steal your items).
Moga Village is your only offline hub world between quests.
The timing of this review speaks to the depth of Monster Hunter Tri's content. I've personally clocked in over 85 hours with the game, am wrapping up the offline single player mode, and have plenty to see in the online modes. In fact, it would be a disservice to the game to have posted my experience of the first few hours of the game, when it is entirely about the length and depth of the experience.
While it sounds like a lot of monotonous grind at first glance, the important thing to note is this: I am still addicted to this game. In an age of Farmville-ian collecting and hoarding games, Monster Hunter Tri is second to none.
Online Communication. I'm not here to review Wii Speak. Even if it isn't the best voice chat solution, Monster Hunter Tri is the best implementation of it. With the ability to tweak voice chat settings on the fly, use customizable canned responses, and added usb keyboard support for in-game chat (without regard to friends and friend codes), this is the most communication-friendly online Wii game.
Event & Arena Quests. Capcom continues to release new, challenging online quests with special rewards for completion.
Excellent Pacing. Players are always a single quest away from something new, whether it's an equipment and weapon upgrade, treasure and items, money, or storyline-pushing quests.
Weapons, Equipment, Skills, and Elements. The incredibly deep skill points system in Tri encourages players to be creative with forging and equipping armor and item sets.
Lack of Pervasive Online. There's a disconnect between online and offline modes, not allowing players in their offline modes to interact with others online. There are dozens of advantages to having a pervasive online structure, which Tri misses out on.
Clunky Item Management. Chalked up to "things you can get used to," the icon-happy item management screens are time-consuming and take some time to get used to.
Load Screens. Albeit understandable, load screens clutter up the game worlds. It's fairly easy to get accustomed to this, though.
No Lock-On, and Player Animations. While the lack of lock-on combat forces players to take down monsters with more skill, the dreadfully long player animations (such as the hunter drinking a potion, then taking the time to always comically flex his biceps with gusto) means the difference between life and death in a lot of tough situations.
Read the manual! The in-game tutorials do well to get players started, but the sheer depth of the skills, items, and elements system certainly requires the use of the game's physical manual, walkthrough, or links to Monster Hunter Wikis and FAQ sites. I've had five or six browser tabs of Monster Hunter Tri FAQs and charts up during my time with the game... all at once.
Overall, this game consumes you. No matter where you find yourself in it, you're always two to three items away from that next piece of equipment. By the time I finish playing in one sitting, hours have passed. It appeases the grind-happy RPG player in me, something no other Wii game has done.
Capcom is supporting Monster Hunter Tri with new online event and arena quests frequently. That, in addition to fantastic graphics, deep online play, and the "I need more" addiction it instills, proves that Capcom is all about the small, important details that makes for an excellent Wii game.
