Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise is returning to North America and Europe on the now-officially announced Wii U from Nintendo.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate was surprisingly announced during the Nintendo Wii U press conference this morning in New York City. The game will take advantage of the Wii U’s GamePad for menu navigation, maps, and item selection, which will make it easier to find and use a mega potion during an intense battle with a fiery Rathalos. The main screen will focus primarily on the action.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will feature an exciting menagerie of monsters to hunt, as well as offer hunters over 200 quests to complete. Capcom calls Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate the most expansive installment of the famed series.
Also announced is a version of the same game for the Nintendo 3DS system. The shine here is that save files can be transferred between the two systems, so players can now take their hunters on the go, and then return them back to the Wii U system at will. Players can also trade Guild Cards with one another via the 3DS’s StreetPass feature.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will utilize local wireless between the Wii U and the 3DS so players can play together, regardless of which system they are using. Both games offer local hunting parties of up to four players. There is no word yet if either game has an online hunting component.
Both games are expected to ship in March of 2013.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is the latest in the successful Monster Hunter series, which has sold over 21 million games since its inception in 2004. This is the second North American Nintendo release, following 2009’s Monster Hunter Tri for the Nintendo Wii.
