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Monster Hunter
Frolly
Member Posts: 37
I'm a pretty big MMO fanatic but I never seem to stick to a single one for over 6 months, nor do I ever hit max level but there is always one fanchise that has kept me coming back for more and that's Monster Hunter.
In the east Monster Hunter is a super huge hit, almost bigger than Pokemon or as big. In the west though not many people seem to know about Monster Hunter or they find it too hard or grindy or both hard and grindy.
I'm curious to know what people think of Monster Hunter here on MMORPG.com.
I've been playing the North American releases of Monster Hunter since the first one in 2004 and I'm amazed to see that it is never on any list of MMO websites when I see games like Guild Wars or Diablo on some sites. I consider Monster Hunter to be like those games (Guild Wars or Diablo) in the sense that you go online, meet up with friends or random people but with limitations, and go out on hunts either to bring up your HR (Hunter Rank), carve the flesh off monsters to craft, or simply to get some zenny (the game's currency).
The game is a massively multiplayer game and has always been, even when it's played on the PSP. The only difference is that before Ad-Hoc Party for the PS3 was released you could only play by meeting up with others in real life. Now thanks to Ad-Hoc Party we can play online once again as in the first game for the PS2.
Monster Hunter 3(Tri) has now been released for the Wii and I haven't seen it added to this website. It is an MMORPG in the sense that you can meet thousands of people and play online so why isn't it here? Is it because it isn't a PC game? What stops it from being on this website? It has all elements of an MMORPG, it's online, you can use a USB keyboard to chat, you group up with people and go out on quests, you have a friendslist since there are literally thousands of people playing, you HR up (which is like leveling up) enabling you to go out on thougher hunts, it has a very nice learning curve, its addictive, it's hardcore, it's action oriented, it has tons of weapons and items to craft, what am I missing... There is no evade or dodge stats, you actually require reflexes to play the game and dodge oncoming attacks, you need intuition and patern recognization skills (in real life) to notice when a monster is weak since there are no health bars, when a monster is about to die or weakend it begins to limp. Well it's on the Wii but that doesn't not make it an MMORPG, it really is. That would be like saying FFXI wasn't an MMORPG at its original launch in Japan because it was a PS2 exclusive and yet that game is on the game list.
Also, there is a PC Monster Hunter, it's called Monster Hunter Frontier. The only problem is that Capcom doesn't find that Monster Hunter has a big enough fanbase in the west to give us a server. I have the Taiwanese version of Monster Hunter Frontier and it's huge, tons of people play it and it isn't region locked so anyone can come and play. The only problem is you need to learn the buttons and what the items are unless you can read Taiwanese.
Anyways, I made this thread as an awareness thread. I want more people to know that Monster Hunter is an MMORPG. I would also like to see it on the game list. I'm also kinda bored since my Wii broke and I've sent it back to Nintendo for repairs and I don't really feel like playing and PC MMOs... Also alot fewer people play Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (latest PSP release) in Ad-Hoc Party due to the release of MH3. Wow sorry for the wall of text, I hope to see more hunters return from the hunt and post on this website.
[youtube]
In life there are hunters and then there are monster hunters!
Comments
I love monster hunter, one of my favorite all time game. But it is not on this list because it is not an MMO, at all. It may be an MMG, but MMO constitutes an open world, monster hunter places you on a list to select out of hundreds of different player created rooms to enter into the game. Then you go from there. In no means is this an MMO and this is MMOROG.com, not MMG.com :P This is also the reason why Diablo is not on this list.
P.S. You misspelled monster.
Good game? Yes
Persistent online world? No
lol yeah I just noticed. *Fixed*
But like, I get you are saying that it is not an open world, but do you consider a highly instanced game an open world? Guild Wars is on this list when it is simply meet up with people, form a group, and go out onto the selected map. They basically turned the list of game rooms into a graphical hub where you move around instead of clicking. It is in essence the same the only difference is that you select a room from a list instead of walking into it. Also, in the latest Monster Hunter (3 [Tri]) you can go to a place called a City Gate after entering a server. You cannot SEE others on your screen but you can chat with them. It is a really awkward system but if 100 people can communicate and meet up an go out on adventures, it is an MMORPG. Also, it's ONLINE, Massively (You can meet thousands of people) Multiplayer (It is more than a single player experience) Online (you use the internet to connect to other players and download new quests and features) Role Playing ( You play the role of a hunter) Game (Well it is what it is).
If you say being with only 4 people in a hunt makes it not count as an MMO than being with 6 people in an instance should also make a game not count as an MMO? Or is 6+ when it begins to count as an MMO? Because in MH1, MHF, MHF2, you used to be able to be up to 8 people socializing in the guild hall. And in Monster Hunter Frontier you can be 100 players walking around in the city posting up hunts but only 4 hunters can be in your group during a hunt (which is simply an instance).
As you said Monster Hunter online is already out and has been for sometime, but it won't be coming to the west. However there is an IP block on it at this point but there are simple work arounds like all foreign games, just google it and find the work around. I play it too it's fun, but we won't ever see the translated version unfortunately.
AFAIK they removed all online games that had their MMO aspect limited to a chat room in this website.
So, MH3 doesn't fit in the current definition of MMO used in this website, unless there is some MMO like that still listed in this website.
Oh, by the way, I've ordered this game, I just need to wait around 10~20 days for shipping, I absolutely loved what I've seen in reviews and videos.
I want to buy that game but it's sold out in the nearby stores!
As for wether or not it's an MMO, some say it is, some say it's not. Just another new debate about a definition where no one agrees on the same thing. That said, Capcom did not advertise Monster Hunter as an MMO (at least not that I'm aware of) so maybe it's just better to leave it as a console game with multiplayer online functionalities.
That said, I wonder why no company has made an MMO somewhat similar to Monster Hunter, it already has everything to be succesfull as an MMO.
There is no IP block on the Taiwanese version however there is on the Japanese and Korean versions. Also Monster Hunter Frontier in Taiwan is Free to Play until HR6 which for some people can be quite a while or for others very short lol
Btw a persistant world does not make an MMORPG, it is just a feature we have come to expect. By definition an MMORPG is simply a multiplayer role playing game which is more players than usual in an RPG scenario (usually more than 2) which is played online.
Also there are several views on persistant worlds, some believe that it must be simply open, while others believe that it must feel alive and ever changing. Monster hunter's world and environments have mostly been gimped in the PSP releases but on the Wii you can now view what the usual Monster Hunter worlds have been with Spontaniously changing wheather effects and a night and day cycle not simply selecting a quest during the day or night as in the portable versions.
There are no updates to the world itself in a single title but the world does change with each new release and you get to further explore the world of monster hunter. In the first Monster Hunter you explored Kokoto Village (Offline)and the town of Minegarde(Online), in the second (Only released in Japan) you visited Jumbo Village(Offline) and Dondruma Town. In Monster Hunter Frontier (The PC release of Monster Hunter currently in Japan, Korean, and Taiwan) you visited Mezeporta Square. In Monster Hunter 3 (Tri) you can explore Moga Village (Offlne) and Loc Lac City (Online). And the upcoming Monster Hunter Portable 3rd will introduce the new village called Yukumo Village.
You cannot travel from town to town or village to village with a single game. To experience the entire world of Monster Hunter you must buy each one, kinda like buying expansions.
I still feel attached to the world and lore. To me it feels persistant in the sense that it is living and breathing and has been since the first one.
If it is because it isn't open, well, there are tons of MMOs which aren't open world, Guild Wars for one is the best example to compare Monster Hunter to since Guild Wars is basically take a drop down menu and turn it into a town/hub and instead of selecting a room make it so that people form a party aand simply walk out of the town and into the room.
There is a Monster Hunter MMO it is called Monster Hunter Frontier. Sadly though it is not available in english only in Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese. If you are not Japanese or Korean you can atleast play the Taiwanese version of the game as there is no IP block, the only problem is that it's in Taiwanese... I feel convinced that by making western gamers more aware or the exsistance of the Monster Hunter franchise we will one day see a North American release of a Monster Hunter MMO either for the PC, Xbox360, or even the PS3 as Capcom has stated that while they did transfer development of Monster Hunter 3(Tri) to the Wii, they haven't stopped developing the PS3 Monster Hunter which will hopefully resemble Frontier in the sense that it is more than only4 to 8 players on your screen or in a zone at a time.
Ultimately, if Phantasy Star Universe is listed here (and it is) Monster Hunter should be as well.
I completely forgot about PSO and PSU. Those games have almost the same system as the MH series (for consoles/PC not handheld versions). If PSU is here than MH3 should be but then there is also what I mentioned earlier about it being or not being for PC aswell. PSU is for PC/PS2/X360 while MH3 is a Wii exclusive. I do not think there are any console exclusive MMOs on this website. All MMOs listed here are available to PC.
It is wierd though since this website is called MMORPG.com and no PCONLYMMORPG.com lol
-EDIT-
PSU is now only for Xbox360 it seems since the PC and PS2 servers went down which makes PSU a X360 exclusive now. Looks like This website is for MMORPGs only on PC and Xbox360... *sob*
Monster Hunter not an MMO? But PSO/PSU is?
I'd very much like to hear from the people who organize this list what exactly does a game need to have to be called an MMO, and what Phantasy star has that Monster Hunter does not.
This thread actually caught my attention enough to post on these forums, so please don't presume much over my post count.
Lol, Phantasy Star has a targeting system, Monter Hunter doesn't, that's all I can really think of. Other than that they are both 4 player only (instanced) online games with very similar grouping/adventuring systems.
Now that I think of it, instead of putting MH3 on the lit they might remove PSU lmfao since the game is dead for PC/PS2 users and only available for Xbox360 now.
i love monster hunter, but i hate the wii and i'm tired of playing monster hunter on my psp.... i'll get back into it when ever they release it on the xbox or ps3.
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
I completely agree. The controls, yes even on classic controller, are annoying and unnecessarily complicated. Expecting the next one in about 1.5 years on better consoles. Wouldn't be bad to see a F2P(cash shop) version for pc either.
Flame on.