On Thursday, Capcom released free downloadable demos of the much-anticipated Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS systems. These demos represent the first ever North American glimpse into HD and 3D monster hunting. For a series that is already huge in Japan, has Capcom and Nintendo finally found a title that will make American audiences fall in love with gathering items, crafting weapons and hunting insanely large beasts?
First off, each demo offers two quests: an easy hunt of a rather large rabbit-like beast called a Lagombi, and a much, much harder hunt of the Plesioth, which is a piscine wyvern (think flying dragon-like fish).
For the purpose of this demo evaluation, the Lagombi was hunted on the 3DS, the Plesioth on the Wii U. However, both hunts and all attributes of each hunt are included with each platform demo.
The Lagombi quest takes place in a snowy area called the Tundra. Before the monster hunt can commence, a weapon and corresponding armor set must be chosen from a cache of 12 available including the Long Sword, Great Sword, Bowgun, and my personal favorite, the Switch-axe.
The quest begins at camp with the weapon, armor, and necessary supplies for the “field.” These supplies include 10 potions, 10 Mega-potions, 20 whetstones, and three well-done meats, along with assorted ailment cures and stat boosters.
The map includes all of the normal beasts of the region, as well as the floral and fauna to be gathered if needed. As each hunt is timed at a mere 20 minutes, there really isn’t much time to scour the map and gather at will.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on 3DS delivers depth of field that really pops at you, and the battle is even more intense as a result. Unfortunately, the demo is NOT compatible with the Circle Pad Pro, so the only option to rotate the camera is with a control on the touch screen, or by constantly hitting the L button to re-center the camera. This proves to be a headache early, yet the new dynamic shadows help to locate the target as long as it is generally close to the player. A monster like the Lagombi is fast, so it pays to stay with the camera centered as much as possible.
The bottom touch screen does work for fast, on-the-fly item consumption or to figure out the status of the two Shakalaka’s, Cha-Cha and Kayamba, who assist in the hunts. Kayamba is good to draw the monster’s attention away from the hunter, and Cha-Cha is good for buffs and healing.
Where the demo really surprises is on the Wii U, where the HD visuals look fantastic. The Moga Woods are a place that I’ve spent hundreds of hours hunting in Monster Hunter Tri, and to see them in fully rendered HD, it’s like a whole new world. And the monsters are detailed and crisp and there is nary a drop in frame rate as the action heats up.
The Plesioth hides near the beach in the Deserted Island, and the battle takes place both in the water and on land. The beast is fast, with a deadly tail attack that decimates a life bar, even while dodging. The Plesioth will run between three areas on the map, and in one, two sharqs swim around and attack. The sharqs look equally fantastic in HD.
The GamePad’s touch screen acts very similar to the touch screen on the 3DS, but the second control stick controls the camera, which helps immensely. The Wii U version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate also uses the Wii U Pro Controller and the Wii Classic Controller.
Both demos have a shelf life of 30 uses, which is something that Nintendo does with demos, apparently, but that gives players more than enough time to get into a quest and try out different weapons and strategies.
Even though the demos are streamlined and stripped of the customization and features (such as all local and online multiplayer) that make up the greater Monster Hunter experience, they both serve as an excellent taste of what is to come on March 19 when Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is released on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in North America.
