| Monster Hunter Tri | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Capcom Production Studio 1 |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, online multiplayer, cooperative multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Wii optical disc |
Monster Hunter Tri (モンスターハンター3（トライ） Monsutā Hantā Torai, "Monster Hunter 3 (tri-)" in Japan) is the third console installment in the Monster Hunter franchise, developed by Capcom and released for the Wii in Japan on August 1, 2009. Monster Hunter Tri was released on April 20, 2010 in North America, April 23 in Europe, and April 29 in Australia.
The game was originally planned to be a PlayStation 3 title, but due to high development costs for that console Capcom instead decided to develop it for the Wii.[4] Prior to its debut, a demo of Monster Hunter Tri was included with Japanese copies of Monster Hunter G. A special bundle was also released on August 1 featuring the game packaged with a black Wii console and a Classic Controller Pro. On August 3, 2009, Capcom issued a press release confirming the game would be localized for North American and European markets.[5] On February 24, 2010, Capcom announced that online play would be provided free of charge.[6] In America and Europe, separate servers are used and Wii Speak is supported, making the first game in the franchise to include native VoIP capability.[7] It was a critical and commercial success. A remade and expanded version called Monster Hunter Tri G has been confirmed for release for the Nintendo 3DS.
Contents |
Players choose a weapon and complete quests for "The Guild". There are several types of quests, categorised into gathering quests, hunting quests, and capturing quests. Completing specific quests will allow one to embark on an "Urgent Quest" which will allow progression to the next tier of quests, which applies to both offline and online play. Online players receive points and have a Hunter Rank which will increase once a certain number of points have been obtained. After several rank ups, and having a certain criteria of quests completed, a player will unlock the next Urgent Quest. Players will need to gather materials to prepare for hunts which include herbs, mushrooms, bones, hides, horns and seeds to make "potions", various other consumables and new equipment to give one the edge when fighting a formidable foe. Fighting a monster entails first finding the monster then dealing enough damage to either kill it, weaken it to be captured, or cause it to flee (not common, made specifically for certain quests). Players will need to learn the environments and the behaviors of the creatures. Online, many players will work together to try and take the monster or monsters down. Once the player slays a monster they will be able to carve off pieces which can be taken to the Wyverian Artisan (the blacksmith) to create new weapons and armor. Several other materials are used to make weapons and armor as well, including ores and certain bugs. A player can fail a quest several ways, the three most common being dying too many times (most quests allows 3 deaths total), running out of time (standard quest time is 50 min), or killing a monster when the quest goal was specifically to capture. Both online and offline players are given a house which they can decorate with various objects found throughout the game, although online players receive "upgraded" houses when they progress in rank.
Offline Specific (Village): In single player the player has the option to Free Hunt, where they can venture into the Deserted Island map and slay monsters or forage for herbs, mushrooms, honey, seeds or ore. Also while in Town the player will have access to a farm which can be upgraded by providing specific materials. This farm allows Felyne farmhands to produce additional materials that will be helpful to the hunter, in addition to greatly reducing the need to gather items by hand. A traveling item-trading ship, the Argosy, will arrive in the village occasionally to provide several harder to find items, that he will trade to the player for "rare items," which are items found during freehunts made with the designed purpose to be traded to this merchant. Also, the player can send boats (which can be upgraded to a maximum level of 3) to find fish, ore/treasure from the ocean, or to occasionally hunt large monsters for various parts.
Online Specific (City): Online Gameplay has more quests available than offline. Up to 4 players can meet online in a city and embark on quests together. The quests are scaled up in difficulty to accommodate the increase of hunters. You have to complete each quest to get to higher difficulties. However, rewards are usually better in online play. Players will be able to give materials to a combination specialist for him to fill a jar, after a set amount of quests the player can return to find their items have become a new item. An interior decorating Felyne will also take items and can perform several different methods such as "brainstorming" to make items to decorate your house. Capcom will occasionally post differing "Event Quests" which are quests only available for an allotted amount of time, usually having special conditions, increased difficulty, or rare item rewards which are used to make special weapons or armour pieces. A change from previous Monster Hunter titles is that each tier of quests requires players to be of that tier or higher in order to join the quests. Previously there were only 2-3 lock out points, usually for the Plus and/or G rank quests. Unlike other games on the Wii, Tri uses a more traditional lobby system instead of friend codes or matchmaking for online play. The player chooses a server and room to join to play with other hunters, and can also add friends by simply sending friend requests to people they meet. As a player's Hunter Rank rises new features and items are available in the city for purchase, trade and creation. Once Hunter Rank 31 is achieved, players gain "elite hunter" status can then embark on elite quests (formally known as "plus" or "high rank" quests). These quests are more difficult and provide new "plus"-grade pieces of monsters or other gathered materials to make/upgrade higher grade weapons and armor, identified with a "+" after it's name. Nothing changes from regular weapon upgrade to elite weapon upgrading, except for the higher part quality (and sometimes quantity). "Plus"/high grade armor sets have higher defense as well as different and/or better skills, but can sometimes require the occasional low-grade monster parts to make. Since skills between high rank and low rank armors are different, sometimes people opt to upgrade their older pieces of armor to "high grade," allowing them to gain the added bonuses of much higher defense, but retaining the skill set of their previous armor, which can be advantageous for certain styles of play.
The ecosystems in Monster Hunter Tri have been expanded to include underwater environments. Eighteen new monsters were developed for the game, while there are only 3 of the same boss monsters from the previous games (Rathalos, Rathian and Diablos), their interactive AI was completely redesigned. Each weapon class has been updated with new moves and innovations. Weapon classes included are Sword and Shield, Great Sword, Hammer, Bowgun (Light, Medium and Heavy), Lance, Longsword, and the new Switch Axe, which can switch between Axe and Sword forms. Bows, Gunlances, and Dual Swords do not return from previous installments. According to producer Tsujimoto Ryozo, "[Capcom] love the idea of voice chat and know that it is a minimum for western players,"[8] which suggested Western releases of Monster Hunter Tri may feature support for the Wii Speak microphone peripheral,[9] which was later confirmed.[7] Two special bundles of the game were announced. One bundle for North America and Europe includes a black Classic Controller Pro. A European-exclusive bundle includes a Wii Speak device and Classic Controller Pro. Gamestop has offered a demo disc of the game free of charge in North America. GAME has officially confirmed a European Monster Hunter Tri: Exclusive Edition bundle containing the game, Wii Speak, a black Classic Controller Pro and one other item which appears to be an ornamental head of the monster which appears on the game's cover art, the Lagiacrus.
| Monster Hunter Tri G | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Capcom Production Studio 1 |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Engine | MT Framework Mobile |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, cooperative multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
|
| Media/distribution | Nintendo 3DS Game Card |
Monster Hunter Tri G (モンスターハンター3（トライ）G Monsutā Hantā Torai G, "Monster Hunter 3 (tri-) G" in Japan) is a game for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan. Famitsu in Japan announced that Monster Hunter Tri G was confirmed as an expanded Monster Hunter Tri. It was released on December 10, 2011, and features local wireless play. "Circle Pad Pro" was also confirmed to allow players more functionality for this game. Monster Hunter 4 for the 3DS was also announced.[10]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| Metacritic | 84% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 9/10[11] |
| Famitsu | 40/40[12] |
| IGN | 8.8/10[13] |
| Nintendo Power | 9/10[14] |
| IGN UK | 9.3/10[15] |
| GamingUnion.net | 9.0[16] |
Metacritic currently holds Monster Hunter Tri at 84% based on 70 reviews, suggesting favorable reviews.[17] Weekly Famitsu certified the game with a score of 40/40, making it the eleventh game to receive a perfect rating from the magazine in its 20-year history,[12] as well as the third title for the Wii. The Official Nintendo Magazine UK gave the game a score of 91%, noting that it delivers an unparalleled online multiplayer experience but the quests can be fidgety early on. Eurogamer were equally impressed, awarding the game a score of 9 out of 10, suggesting that Monster Hunter Tri is "definitely the best way to introduce yourself to this incredibly involving and rewarding series."[18] IGN awarded the game a score of 8.8 out of 10 praising the game's online capabilities and impressive visuals.[13] Meanwhile, IGN UK lauded the game for its improved accessibility, calling the title "hugely satisfying to play", and awarded it a 9.3 out of 10[19] In addition to the IGN UK review, IGN Australia praised the game for its sharp visuals and long lasting appeal, giving the game a 9.5 "Incredible." [20] In contrast, Bordersdown (previously NTSC-UK) were less impressed, awarding a Japanese import of the game a score of 7 out of 10, criticizing the game for a lack of variety within quests, although praising the game's atmosphere and visuals.[21] GameSpot has also given Monster Hunter Tri an 8, praising the games animation, graphics and authentic behavior of monsters, they disliked how multiplayer is a little frustrating to figure out at first, and that some animations take a long time.
Monster Hunter Tri shipped over one million units prior to its Japanese release date.[22] It was the top-selling game in Japan for the week ending August 2, 2009, at 520,000 copies sold.[23] As of December 12, 2009, Monster Hunter Tri is the best-selling third-party video game for the Wii in Japan, at 960,000 copies sold.[24] As of December 31, 2009 over 1.1 million copies have been sold.[25]
|
||||||||||||||