Monster Hunter was a game I had heard many people talk about for many years. It was a game that I knew I wanted to try, that I was not sure if I was prepared to play. It was a game that I had heard had a crazy big following across many consoles, but required a huge investment to learn. It had a huge learning curve, and was not an easy game to learn.
I don’t remember exactly when, but at some point one of the Monster Hunter games release a demo on Nintendo 3DS. At the time, I had just picked up a New 3DS XL, and was looking for games that took advantage of the c-stick. Monster Hunter (whatever version it was, I believe 4 Ultimate, but I could be wrong), was that game. I downloaded the demo, and sat down, for what would be my first, and most lasting experience. It was rough. This monster (not sure if it was a Great Maccao, but it was definitely green) kicked my ass. Then, once I got some of it’s health down, I was told I had to follow the monster to its den and kill it there. I was never able to find its den. I deleted the demo, never to play it again.
Fast forward to shortly after the release of the Nintendo Switch. Lukas and Mike asked if I wanted to hang out one night after one of the first shows I was on. I asked what they would be playing, and they said that they would be playing Monster Hunter Generations. I told them I had tried Monster Hunter once before, and did not understand what was going on, so I deleted the demo, never to play again. They told me the reason I didn’t like it, was because I needed someone to teach me. I decided to give this game another shot. The next day, I went to Gamestop and picked up a copy of Monster Hunter Generations for $20. I was going to pick it up used, but it was $35 used and Capcom was having a sale for $20 for that week if you bought it physically. I figured, I didn’t have that much to lose. Worst case, I could trade it back in and get half my money back.
That night, I sat down (through the power of the internet, of course) and started playing the game. I did a tutorial mission for the game. I chose the sword and shield, and guess who my training monster was? You guessed it. Great Maccao. It took me almost 20 minutes to kill him. They told me not to get discouraged, and as I was fighting this monster, they gave me advice on how to use my weapon of choice. Finally, I was able to fumble my way to an online room with the pair of them. It was then, that my perception of Monster Hunter changed completely. Now, they were able to see me, what I was doing, and give me realtime feedback. They taught me how to dodge, they taught me that with the sword and shield I could heal and use items without sheathing my weapon. They told me I could shield bash the enemy (though I never mastered the timing of this technique). A few days later, I had put 40 hours into this game. I was hooked.
I vividly remember several things about this game. I remember my first sword and shield, and my first armor set were all made of Great Maccao parts. We hunted so many of them. I got to the point where I could read what he was going to do long before he did it. The next several days were crazy. We hunted so many different monsters. But two really stuck in my head.
The first was Gypceros. I remember Lukas and Mike telling me we were going to hunt Gypceros. They gave me the basic rundown that anyone new to Monster Hunter would need. But, there was something they weren’t telling me. By this point, I was getting to the point where I could regularly heal myself and keep myself from getting killed. So, as was customary at this point, we took him out. I ran up to carve him, and mid carve, he came back to life! I was floored! I later learned, that this was a rite of passage for all people learning to play Monster Hunter.
The monster that I bonded with the most, my Spirit Monster as Lukas referred to him as we were farming him last night, is Astalos. I remember them telling me that his armor glowed, just like he did, and you can change the color it glows. There is even something that you can get much later in the game, that makes it cycle through all the available colors in the game. I remember begging them to help me farm Astalos pieces. And they did. They could see I had been bitten by the Monster Hunter bug. And they rejoiced.
And so I say unto you. If you have ever heard of Monster Hunter, ever thought you might want to try it. Ever thought you might like it, but you’re not sure if you’re going to like it. I say this. If you have a small group of friends that will teach you how to play it, you will likely have a blast. Personally speaking, it is not a game that is fun to play offline (I am only doing the offline missions because I want that Rainbow Pigment). But man, is it a great game to play with a solid group of like minded people.
Want a small group of friends to teach you how to play and get the most out of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate on Nintendo Switch? Just join the Infendo Discord, and we will gladly help you get into it. If you want to be carried to G Rank where there are some epic hunts, we have people that will do that. If you want to experience the game with a group that will use lower rank armor and weapons to show you the ways of the game, we have people that will do that to. Hit us up here!
