Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - Re-Review
Originally Posted on and Published by Blast Away the Game Review on 12/21/2013
Review by Dustin Murphy.
Pros:
- Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate's transfer from Wii U to 3DS and vice versa provides a unique "save transfer" to allow players to go from playing on a console.
- Very dedicated and friendly online community for the Wii U allows the game to have an enjoyable presence in a dungeon grinding like experience.
- Hunting high rank monsters on the games campaign mode is openly enjoyable and allows for a console like experience for 3DS owners and prepares them for their online experience in high rank and G-Rank hunts.
- Despite the graphics, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate offers a very alive world, easy to learn controls, and with MiiVerse allows for an in-depth take from both 3DS and Wii U so that players can discuss the game and seek advise in real time. This also allows for players to find new hunting partners
- The Wii U's voice chat and text chat allows for quick and easy discussion between hunters and will allow for an enjoyable time.
- Weapon classes for each play style as well as the armors allow players to take home an experience that could allow them to find a unique play style fit to them.
Cons:
- Occasional system lock-up's can seem like a freak out moment, but fear not, these are rare and on Wii U only.
- Character save transfers can cause for lost data and corruption if players do not use the MH3U app for 3DS as recommended by the app, and can also cause guild cards, and Streetpass items to be lost.
- 3DS version does not have independent online access, but instead, requires the Wii U in order to play online for those owning a Wii U unless they have Wii U version to play. However, localized multiplayer is still fun and provides an amusing time.
Re-Review Score: 8 out of 10 (original score 2.50 out of 5 or 5 out of 10)
Final Thoughts: After having gotten to play the Wii U and the 3DS versions together, it was interesting to truly enjoy a game that gave me a rather joyful experience, and provided a moneys worth experience. Truly a game 3DS owners and Wii U owners should own, and definitely use as a game to fill up their time while traveling and or on holiday breaks.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate was an interesting game to review after having played previous entries on PSP over the passing years. With it I was able to spend some time once more revisiting Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and having had the chance to have a thorough play-through with gaming and Blast Away the Game Review’s consultant, Jonny Red, I was able to have a true experience as to what Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is about. The game aside from having an offline and online hunting experience for Low, High, and G-Rank also offers something very unique that hasn't’t really been tried out with Monster Hunter 3 titles before. This time around we are actually getting to visit an offline campaign that will allow players to prepare for G-Rank when they come to the online mode. This is where the game takes an interesting turn for players with the Nintendo 3DS Version. Once they are able to, they can access the Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate App and have a Wii U can send their characters to their console once they've access the transfer data. However, please note that upon the exchanging of characters between 3DS and Wii U, you can actually lose your guild cards and or lose save data, but please note. The app has a built in backup feature, that backs up your characters and guild cards.
After having spent some time with both versions the only noticeable difference between the Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS version is that the Nintendo 3DS version does not supply a Network Mode, which is the online features of the game, but it does feature a local ad-hoc mode where players can take on local hunts from low rank, high rank, and of course g-rank and brave the future of their characters and equipment.
In Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, I was able to spend sometime with the games offline campaign, free hunt, and of course quests that allowed for me to unlock new things; equipment, farm item levels, voyage paths for ships, and of course new trade items for the Captain of the Argosy. These commodities can help get rare items for crafting, farming, cooking, and anything else that may seem suitable. The part that may become addicting is after spending some time offline, gearing up, and enjoying the campaign, the online multiplayer itself (again only available on the Wii U) offers an amazing experience that allows for a rather interesting community experience. With the addition of the MiiVerse on both the Wii U and 3DS, players can experience an amazing, and helpful crowd that are more willing to help out online and or give useful tips that can later help players in the long run. Also not to forget, the friends system will also allow players to play with friends far away and or close by, which is amazingly fun when wanting to group hunt in any rank. Lets not also forget, this allows players to help each other out.
Noticeable differences between the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS versions:
The first part is as mentioned before, the lack of online on 3DS, and of course the unmentioned need for a circle pad pro that is not sold with the handheld itself. This provides a few issues that can carry over for Nintendo 2DS owners as there is not a circle pad pro on the market as of yet. This can provide a rough time when trying to adjust camera angles while free-hunting, high-combat situations, and of course trying to keep an eye out for other creatures nearby while gathering or carving items, and of course cooking.
Now that we’ve covered the things that do bother me, it’s time to go a bit more in depth as to what this game is really about. Once online there’s a few things players will need to know, a few things that will need to be noted, and one of them is simple - this is where the game shines the most. After a good chunk of time, we spent our time (Jonny Red and myself) going through G-Rank with random users and welcoming our own Co-Founder Jesse Olvera through a few runs in order to get him progressed through the low rank, and onto high rank. This is the type of community that the game houses, and of course pulls through with over time, which is why this game is so thoroughly enjoyable through and through.
With easy to learn controls, templates, player can adjust the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS’ touch pad, this is something that I advise players take a lot of control over and learn how to use it thoroughly so that they have quick access to all their needed utilities. Also please note with this as well, the templates do not transfer between platforms, and will require being adjusted between each of them so that players can get full use out of both of them.
Break down of the offline mode, freehunt, and resource points. After certain breakpoints in the campaign for the Moga Village and Moga Woods freehunt, players will unlock new creatures that will appear in the Mega Woods zones, this can be checked by touching or tapping on the Moga Woods “Forecast”, which will allow them to see what monsters they can hunt. After having progressed so far into low-rank and unlocking high-rank, players will be able to experience the games “High Rank” campaign, which will allow for new sub-species of each monster type to spawn up, and allow for a higher challenge as the creatures will change their attack types, resistances, and immunity. This also means new gear will be needed for each situation. Go by this simple rule; there is no end-game equipment except for High-Rank. Each armor set will be good for different encounters, group builds, and situations. This is where I suggest equipment sets as they will assist in each hunt and variations of hunt types. With this, I’d also like to suggest players spend some equal time gathering in free-hunt via the online-mode areas. For those that don’t know, in Moga Village go to the far left, there will be a Felyne on a box dancing around, he’ll have a bandanna on. Talk to him, go to the online, and take a gathering mission to build up resources, these resources will be needed later in the game.
Overall, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is a masterpiece, a success story that should be experienced by anyone who loves a dungeon crawling-esque type game. I would have to suggest taking the time, picking it up, finding a cozy spot with friends or online and enjoy the ride you are about to take with your fully customization filled character.
Graphics: Beautifully set up so that characters, monsters, and creatures do not look as cartoonish as I initially stated in my original review. The 3D on the 3DS version makes the detail to the monsters truly stand out, but for those on the Wii U; you are getting some if not slightly better details thanks to bigger screens.
Sound: Thanks to a beautifully crafted score, sounds for flora and fauna, players can get a feel as if they are truly in the Monster Hunter world thanks to the details that Capcom has applied into their title.
Controls: With a slight learning curve to each weapon, the controls are not something players will jump into and feel empowered on, the game is about learning, which it has a lot of. The best thing players can do is spend time with each weapon type and find what suits them best.
Official Website: http://www.monsterhuntercommunity.com/
Official Twitter: Twitter.com/MonsterHunter
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monsterhunter
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