Let me just start out by saying this; I would 100% highly recommend Monster Hunter Rise on the Nintendo Switch. In my humble opinion, it has potential to be just as good as Monster Hunter World/Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.
Now let me tell you why.
SPOILER ALERT
*I will try and not reveal any story bits, however I will be talking about gameplay and features so that may be a spoiler to some.
You’ve been warned.
Multi-Player
Making a Lobby in Rise has been one of the most effortless things about the game. Playing altogether in the Gathering Hub is many times easier than world in that your Hub Rank and Village Rank remain separate from each other. There aren’t any cutscenes my friend has to watch before I can join them, nor are there any story quests they have to complete before we can starting hunting together. We can simply log on, join a friend’s lobby, and starting hunting in the Gathering Hub together. Even those of different lower Hub Rank can join a higher leveled player’s posted quest. And the load times are so so nice! After departing for the posted quest I’ve never had to wait more than 10 seconds or so to load fully onto the map. A-mazing!
Truly the only negative thing I have to say about the Multi-Player aspect, and really the game in general (getting this out of the way early) is that there is still no audio chat feature for Rise. I know Nintendo is working on an online-chat software in their Nintendo Switch Online App. So far though it is only available for a handful of games, Monster Hunter Rise not yet amongst them. So to talk to my fellow hunters I have used the popular Discord, PS4 chat, or if I’m hunting with a close friend, I’ll actually call them and put them on speaker phone (boomer alert!) while hunting.
Here’s hoping Nintendo will add Monster Hunter Rise to the Nintendo Switch Online App for voice chat use here soon since it has the ability to be a very multi-player focused game!
Rampage
One of the neatest aspects to Monster Hunter Rise is the Rampage; a tower defense quest-mode that allows you and your fellow hunters to setup manned and un-manned ballista, canons, and more. Not sure if previous Monster Hunter games had this mode, but it’s been a blast (pun slightly intended.) You get several sub-assignments in a Rampage, such as Repel Using a Canon, Complete with X amount or Less Feints, and upgrade the Stronghold Level are just a few. At the end of the Rampage you slay the final wyvern before letting it destroy the final gate.
When all of the above is done you will be scored on how well you did during the Rampage.
Who else is looking for that S Rank?
Monster Variety
I will admit that though I played Monster Hunter Stories on the 3DS, Monster Hunter World for the PS4 and it’s subsequent expansion, Iceborne, were really my first full submersion experiences into Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise. That being said, World and Iceborne both offered a great variety of wyverns to hunt. Monster Hunter Rise has some older monsters from previous games like the gorgeous Mitsuzune from Monster Hunter Generations, the Great Jaggi and Baggi from Monster Hunter 3, to some World features like Pukei-Pukei (isn’t his name so much fun!) and Anjinath. I will also mention that Almudron and his armor/weapons give me some heavy Zoids/Digimon feels. When you see its armor you’ll understand. The new Magnamalo wyvern which is featured on the cover art for Rise definitely gives me some Teostra and Lunastra vibes!
Super excited at all the new monsters they’re going to add as the game goes on just as they did in World and Iceborne! Chameleos is going to be so much fun!
Side Note:
If you’re lucky enough to get the Magnamalo amiibo for Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll be pleased to receive a snazzy set of Magnamalo layered armor (layered armor is simply a cosmetic that makes you/your armor look a certain way but has no statistical bearing) for your character that differs from his standard set! Palamute amiibo gives you palamute layered armor, and you guessed it, the Palico amiibo gives you layered Palico armor!
Buddies
Speaking of the Palamute and Palico, who was hecking excited to get a dog in Monster Hunter?! Me that’s who! I love the Palicoes, don’t get me wrong. But to have a rideable buddy and it be a dog/wolf type animal that I can hunt with was just perfect!
Early-game Palamute is definitely the best option I think to accompany you if you’re hunting with friends in multi-player (if you’re going solo you don’t have to pick, both buddies go with you!). Later on however, once you’ve unlocked more camps on each map, I think the benefits that the Palico offers outweigh the speed the Palamutes give you.
I also love the fact that you can essentially do everything non-hunting wise (although those smaller monsties can be dealt with as well) on Palamute back while on a hunt. You can carve monsters, rummage through bone piles, pick mining outcrops, and pick up all the bugs and stinkminks from horsebac…wait, dogback. Best of all, you can SHARPEN while on the back of your trusty steed…dog…buddy!
Endemic Life
A small but hearty shoutout to the endemic life in Monster Hunter Rise. Spiribirds, the different kinds of butterflies, Escuregot, and the Antidobra just to name a few. Rise definitely gives players every opportunity to buff up before encountering your quarry. Stinkminks are kind of OP but we’re keeping that hush-hush because it’s pretty dang fun!
Last but not least, the Wirebug. Holy crow people. We are being spoiled because this feature is so addictive once you’ve gotten the hang of it. Personally I stayed away from some of the heavier and therefore slower weapons in World and Iceborne, but the utilization of Wirebugs makes even those sluggish weapons easy to maneuver with get around. Plus the customizable wirebug attacks you can use with weapons just really showcases how much Capcom is wanting us to all have a good time in Monster Hunter Rise.
My name is Skyler and I’m a Wirebug addict.
Personal Confession
Scenery and Locales
For being a Nintendo Switch game, I have to give Monster Hunter Rise a round of applause. The visuals and scenery in this game are amazing for the console in my opinion. Yes, it’s on the Switch, it’s not on a PS4 and certainly not at PC level (yet) but I feel they really did the game justice visually. So far I think my favorite area is probably the Flooded Forest. However I’m eager to explore all these locales fully and look forward to possible new maps as the games gains even more traction.
Story
This is my last category I’ll talk about for a reason. There isn’t much of one.
Well, not in my opinion.
The characters are cute and have their quirks, but when the credits started rolling after doing a particular quest I was shocked. It did seem that Rise was more hunting focused whereas World/Iceborne seemed to be more story driven. This is not to say my friends and me didn’t enjoy this aspect. I enjoy a good story in games, but with Monster Hunter, I’m after some fun hunts with friends and crafting armor and weapons. However, what little story there was didn’t seem all too important. If you’re not careful you will find memes already circulating that showcase what I’m meaning, but again, not spoiling the story here.
Hunters Gather Round
As I said at the very beginning, I would 100% recommend this game. Like any Monster Hunter game there is more than plenty to do on your own. We are all familiar with material grinding, am I right? But like a majority of them this game, in my opinion, is most fun in the company of friends.
Signing Off,
