I was legitimately surprised when I checked my email for, what was supposed to be an email from my uncle regarding an event, but before that email, it was something from Nintendo. It was a code to play the Demo of the upcoming Monster Hunter Generations. The weirdest part was I wasn't actually expecting to get the code, because whenever I sign up for a demo or beta, I never get the invite (looking at you Blizzard, for Overwatch, Legacy of the Void and Heroes of the Storm). And to add more surprise was my friend who was also anticipating the invite didn't get the code ("Muehehe~"). I pretty much opened up my 3DS and downloaded the demo instantly.
Yeah baby!
The cool part is you can also play with up to 3 people using local or internet multiplayer, but I went for solo just to see how Monster Hunter Generations plays.
And being the not so pro that I am, went for Intermediate, and...
Using Sword and Shield! While some say those who main Sword and Shield are noobs, I strongly disagree. With all weapons, it takes time to master. And I also didn't want to rage while trying it out. I went with guild style as well, so I was basically playing Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
But you can also try out the Nyanta or Prowler!
I'm not sure whether it's a worthy comparison, but I enjoyed the Demo for Monster Hunter 3G more due to the open area and having to look for the monster. I didn't play the Demo for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (I bought the game), so I'm not sure how the Demos have changed. However, this was basically having the monster served on a silver platter in the arena.
The orange blasts you see in some of the screenshots are one of the attacks this monster uses. It begins by flying up then dive bombing on the spot which releases the blast as a bubble. It then faces you and launches the bubble at you. Dealing quite an amount of damage as well as screwing with your movement controls. At first I didn't notice it, so I kept wondering why I was always blocking the wrong way. When enraged, it uses the attack more frequently as well as releasing the effect during some of its normal attacks. The effect is lost after a certain amount of time or if your character is hit by an attack, which makes your palico companions extremely helpful.
I'm not sure whether it was a change in game mechanics or just me being bad at aiming my aerial attacks, but only after about 6 aerial attacks I mounted the monster. They might have changed this though because it is an extremely easy way of dealing with most monsters during my play through in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
Another one of his annoying attacks, a beam of which inflicts sleep on your character if you're hit by it. When enraged it sweeps the beam around compared to only one direction when not enraged. However, the palicos helped a lot in this sense, hitting you to quickly get you back on your feet, unless of course they were hit by the attack as well, which in that case you're doomed.
So, at the end of the mission, I managed to break its head and tail. The wings, with me using a green sharpness weapons, had my attacks bounce every time I hit them. So, the main parts I aimed for were the head and tail (which then broke). The Demo ends right there, they don't allow you to move around anymore or try and carve anything off the monster.
You're then greeted with this awesome end screen.
Well, I'll be honest. I wasn't really hyped up for Monster Hunter Generations as much as when I watched gameplay of Monster Hunter X (it's known as Monster Hunter X in Japan). But at that time, I was also playing Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate a lot (400+ hours in game which is surprising for a handheld console game). However, After a while, I didn't loose interest in the game, but other games were announced and released (eg. Overwatch, need I say more?), so naturally my attention shifted. One of the few games which is about to be released for the 3DS is Pokemon Sun & Moon, which just like Pokemon X & Y, I am anticipating as well as planning to buy. But the problem with all these amazing or soon to be amazing games are they all beg for your time and attention. And one only has so much time. The game was as expected from Monster Hunter, mostly familiar, but with tons of new features and ways to play the game.
JIM-san
