This action RPG doesn't nail all the basic, but it can still be an awesome, addictive game.
- A huge, fascinating world to explore
- Fighting huge creatures is fun
- Countless weapons and armor to use
- Different activities to do other than fighting
Negative
- Gameplay needs a lock-on
- Lack of instructions may leave you cold
- Prepare for grinding
Monster Hunter Tri is a very good game, with a lot of annoying issues which will sometimes leave you wander why are you still playing. The gameplay has a lot of problems including a terrible and no lock-on system, very hard difficulty with a lot of patience required and others. But you may not find another game that pits you against gigantic creatures with a ton of different weapons and armors with a huge world to explore. Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii will sometimes leave you cold, but at other times it will keep you amazed.
For an RPG, this game has a few missing keys. You can forget an epic story of a monster hunter saving a village from a gigantic aquatic monster and then save the world and stuff. Monster Hunter Tri consists almost solely of taking quests and unlock more quests. The advantage about this is that you get to create your own monster hunter. At the beginning of your adventure, you can create a male or female monster hunter. Once you've chosen, you will find yourself as the savior of Moga Village, which is being terrorized by a gigantic aquatic monster. You will be supported by the chief and his son and all the villagers. The game has a great starts like giving you small tasks instead of sending you against big monsters. First quests consist of collecting herbs and mushrooms, or killing small creatures. You'll get the hang of things before you get to the serious stuff. Some things you may never learn will accumulate over time making the game very frustrating. The first few hours of relaxing and fairly fun. There plenty of different activities to do in the village which including farming, forging weapons, taking quests, and finding resources. Quests have time limit, but the first quests have around 50 minutes each, making it feel like you are played an MMO. Monster Hunter Tri can also be played online. Quests vary by rank. The higher the rank the higher and more difficult is the quest.
The gameplay takes a lot of time to get used to, and if you don't get used to it you'll stop playing this game before the first 4 hours. Monster Hunter Tri pits you against dinosaur like monsters, sometimes too big for their own good. The basic combat is wrong and frustrating, thanks to mainly the total lack of a targeting or lock-on system. Adding to that the camera is almost awful. Adding variety there are lot of different kinds of weapons to use; including the great sword, normal swords, bowgun, lance and hammer. The bowgun is especially horrible to use since the targeting system does not exist in this game. You can also forge or upgrade your weapons from the little guy at the village. For forging weapons, upgrading them and even decorate them you will be need supplies. The only thing that can be done is going in the open and find them, lying around such as ivy or mushrooms or from monsters you kill.
Combat is a no-no for many people. You will require a ton of patience, especially when dealing with a lot of enemies together, big ones or fast ones. Enemies are divided in different categories, mainly herbivores, carnivores, aquatic, flying bugs and small creatures. Carnivores such as the Jaggi and their similar like to attack in groups. More in group when they are accompanied by their big boss which is the first real thing you'll be fighting in the game. Jaggis are fast, or sometimes you might need to stun them or do a combo. Your character never automatically looks at the creature; you will need to try and aim and attack them. It's not easy, and the combat never gets any simpler. That aside, you have unlimited freedom with almost no restriction at first. You can go anytime you want to just grind or have fun fighting enemies. For an RPG another irregularity is that you never actually level up. Sure your weapons will get stronger as you upgrade them, but you won't level up. So grinding may not be an option in this game. There is a complete cycle of day and night. This isn't a button-masher; it is impossible to hack-m-slash your way to victory.
A big twist in Monster Hunter Tri is the underwater battles. The controls remain basically the same here but you are underwater. The combat may seem less frustrating here than on land, but you still won't have a lock-on. In your first underwater quests you will encounter the gigantic aquatic creature which will attack and will force you to retreat since there is nothing you can do against it in the beginning. Monsters will shift areas if they don't see you, and sometimes will follow you so never let your guard down. Their movements are restricted by caves for large creatures and land of aquatic creatures.
The game features real-time menu, so you can't pause the game unless you press the HOME button. Optionally, you have a monster list. This is only optional but when you defeat an enemy, you can press the "2" on the Wii Remote, Monster Notes and then aim at the monster you just defeated and drag him with the Z + A to the lower right corner where you should see register. Certain people such as myself would want every monster possible, but it can be quite inconvenient such at that moment you will be quite defenseless. Not all enemies make noises when approaching. Another problem is the limited inventory you can carry. Thankfully in the village in your tent you can place a lot more than you can carry. Something you may find problematic is that you can't change weapons unless you are at your tent. Weapons can really make a huge difference. For example big swords do more damage but they are heavy and can't do more than one or two attack consequently. On the other hand small swords can hit 4 or more times in a row, but of course you'll be dealing less damage.
One of the most impressive things in the game is the monster behavior. Even though you never saw these creatures before, they act quite well. You won't slice enemies in the game, but carnivores such as the Jaggi will call for their allies so they may never end coming and try to help each other. Having the Great Jaggi alongside them can make them quite a pain to deal with, not only because they are fast, but there are a lot of them and normally are supported by Jaggia, slightly bigger but stronger than Jaggi. Herbivores rarely attack you unless you do something to their small ones. On the other hand when you attack a big herbivore the others escape. Aquatic creature's behavior is a little strange. You'll be seeing shark in the water but they may not attack you even if the distance is very close. Big enemies will attack you as soon as they spot you. The AI is pretty believable since they won't notice you immediately when you enter their area. Your character will react to the big creature and will make his heart beat faster and run in a sillier manner.
As they say, preparation is the key to success and this is a fundamental rule in Monster Hunter Tri. Not having adequate or good amount of supplies will leave you dead or cold in some quests. You can take quests the guild throws at you, and thankfully these are really varied from one another. There are quests which you only need to pick up items like mushrooms or bones, and others to slay monsters or even capture them. Aside from the main quests, you may have one or two sub-quests which can be done along the way but they aren't a must do. The first few quests have a time limit of 50 minutes each which is sometimes far more than you actually need. The chief and the girl that gives you quests will sometimes contact you to give you some instruction for that particular quest. Most instructions are as unclear as night which leads the game into frustration territory. Supplies are available for that mission from the blue box at your camp which you take with you. Other supplies will be available when clearing your sub-quests. When you complete a collecting quest you put the items you got in the red box which when finished ends the quest if it is the main quest.
There are other things you need to be careful of aside from the enemies. If your health bar (green one) is empty, you faint and return to camp when on a quest. The game gives three chances upon fainting to complete the quest but the reward diminishes each time you faint. To fill your health items such as herbs and first-aid kits can be used. The bar below the health bar is the stamina bar which is the yellow one. Running with the Z or dodging with the B deceases it. Using too much stamina will make the bar smaller. Stamina can be replenished by doing some outside cooking with the BBQ split and cook some raw meat. But there are other activities other than that. Farming allows you to grow your own crops, and you can send ships to catch fish for you. Ore mining helps you craft and forge weapons.
Seeing how immense the game world is, Monster Hunter Tri is impressive. Don't go compare it with some of the best looking Wii game because compared to that Monster Hunter Tri looks a bit bland. But the minor details such as how the sun reflects the water and the difference how when you are swimming in the morning and in the evening. The game also puts a lot of enemies on screen which never slows the game down. The monsters look great especially the big guys. Some cutscenes appear when a monster you never faced or when a boss appears and they are well made. There is a ton of loading though.
Some disappointment can be found in the sound section. The dialogues are smaller than any game I've played on the Wii so far since they are on the bottom left side on the screen and only continue to the middle. So if you have a small TV, you might have problems reading the text since there is no voice acting at all. There is generally no music whatsoever, but when a big monster or a boss appears you'll be hearing some epic music. Don't worry you'll see danger coming if you hear the music. The monster roars are fantastic.
This action RPG has a few loose screws but it is ultimately a fun and engaging experience like no other. From looking down to a small monster, to looking up and wide to a gigantic monster never gets old. The difficulty, lack of a targeting a system and some other issues may render the game infuriating at times, but if you can overcome the challenge you'll find Monster Hunter Tri to be an almost epic RPG. There are a ton of things to do here, which includes experiencing the game online. Some minor problems aside, Monster Hunter Tri is a great, unique and fascinating RPG which is a must-play for those who have interested in taking down huge creatures with it being too easy.
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Graphics = 8.0
Looks a bit bland, but seeing everything the game has to offers like the enormous game world, lots of huge bosses and such make it a great looking game.
Sound = 7.4
Absences of voice acting with small dialogue are annoying. Music plays when big monster around. Monster roars are great. Some epic, memorable music.
Presentation = 7.5
Load times are quite frequent. Real-time menu is a good idea, but it will leave you defenseless at most times. The camera is almost awful, thankfully you can center it.
Gameplay = 7.9
Difficult to rate. On one hand, the combat grows on you the more you play. There are countless weapons to use and many different monsters and bosses to fight. But the lack of a lock-on system and some unclear instructions dump it down. Grinding may seem unless because you don't level up.
Story = 7.3
An RPG with no epic story is almost no RPG. Plenty of quests instead to do. Does creating a character do the job?
OVERALL = 77 / 100
This action RPG doesn't nail all the basic, but it can still be an awesome, addictive game.