Monster Hunter Rise, the preview of TGS2020
Index
Insects and freedom of movement Fighting in Rise Certainties and Doubts Surprisingly announced during the latest Nintendo Direct Mini, Monster Hunter Rise has immediately become one of the most anticipated titles for Switch, especially now that Capcom is preparing to end support for Monster Hunter World. This new chapter will arrive exclusively on the hybrid console next March, shifting the attention of fans of the franchise back to the Nintendo platform two years after the release of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate: entrusted to the care of Ryozo Tsujimoto and Yasunori Ichinose, respectively former producer and director of the acclaimed Monster Hunter Portable 3rd in 2010, Monster Hunter Rise is supposed to represent the link between the traditional formula and the modernized one in World, but the long gameplay shown on the occasion of this digital Tokyo Game Show has revealed many more similarities with the latest iteration we played on PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One.Insects and freedom of movement
The great protagonist of this game was undoubtedly the Wire Insect, a new tool that will play the lion's share in the movement system and in that of combat. It will, in a way, replace Monster Hunter World's claw grappling hook, but the truth is that this Wire Bug is so much more. Tsujimoto and Ichinose have in fact explained to us a little better the mechanics, the limitations but also the incredible possibilities that this little creature offers - called Wirebug in English - when we press the button to use it, projecting it in a direction in space: reached its maximum extension , the wire insect will remain motionless and we will be able to hang on to it, using it as a point of momentum to swing in the void or reach it with a click. This dynamic allows hunters to move in three-dimensional space at three hundred and sixty degrees: using it repeatedly, it is possible to move in flight, leaping upwards or in a precise direction, perhaps to cling to a surface to climb or on which to run transversely as real ninja.The game of TGS2020, however, answers some questions we asked ourselves in the last preview, when we asked ourselves, for example, what sense would such large interconnected maps have had if we had very little left time with your feet on the ground. We found that we will not be able to use the Wire Bug indefinitely: we will have two predefined charges and each time we use it we will consume one, so we will have to wait a short period of recharge before using it again. Although it is possible to temporarily increase the number of charges by collecting the Wire Insects scattered around the map, the limitation will still force players to move even and above all on the ground, but the producer has promised that the maps will hide many corners in which to find rare resources and materials. which will reward a renewed approach to exploration and experimentation.
The Canyne, a new companion that we will be able to take with us together with the usual Felyne, will instead serve to reduce the time to move to the ground: we will be able to jump on its back as it happened with the mounts of Monster Hunter World, but in Monster Hunter Rise we will have total control of his movements, we will be able to jump and even climb the special walls that hunters usually climb. By combining the possibilities of movement of the Canyne with the Wire Insect we can cover even larger spaces: for example, you can climb on the back of the Canyne, take a run up, take a leap, jump from the animal and use the charges of the Wire Insect to reach a very distant platform. The Canyne and the Felyne will then help us in combat, the first with a more attacking function and the second as support, and they will have a completely dedicated interface space: we will therefore be able to caress them and play with them, even if there isn't much clear the practical utility of these activities, which seem to be simple and tender animations.
Fighting in Rise
After explaining the mechanics of the Thread Bug and showing us the beauty of the Sacred Ruins , a new map with a decidedly mystical atmosphere, Tsujimoto and Ichinose showed us a fight with a new monster, the Tetranodon. Before facing it, the hunter has stocked up on collectibles around the map - some temporarily give bonuses to health, stamina and other parameters - revealing some features borrowed from Monster Hunter World: it will be possible to file the weapon riding the Canyne, among other things, but also to consume potions on the go and collect resources on the fly, without stopping for several seconds at the collection points as happened in the old Monster Hunter.Not only that: also in Rise we will be able to go back to the base and enter the shed to change weapons, collect the objects in the trunk, change equipment for hunter and companions or even eat. These are improvements that Capcom has implemented in Monster Hunter World and that make hunting significantly more comfortable.
The game of the TGS focused on a specific weapon, the double blades, although the most recent trailer showed a roundup of actions and attacks related to other weapons that had already made us suspicious about the usefulness of the wire insect in combat. Until now, in fact, we had believed that the Thread Bug was above all a movement mechanic that Capcom had integrated into the combat system, and instead it seems that things are exactly the opposite. The wire insect will in fact play a decisive role in the clashes, especially because, once the monster is engaged, the recharge times will significantly lengthen, and will become even longer if we use it to unleash special attacks that, in some cases, consume even more. of a single charge. This means that it will not be possible to easily escape from the monsters or remain suspended in mid-air for as long as you want: in fact, we will have to carefully exploit this tool with a thousand potential.
The producer and the director did not dwell on it. too much on the capabilities of the double blades, which from what we have seen would seem to inherit the move park of Monster Hunter World, to which all the new mechanics of the Wire Bug are added. Unfortunately, together with the claw grappling hook, also the controversial mechanics that allowed you to cling to the monster to hurt it or crash it into walls or other obstacles seems to have disappeared; however, the wire bug will allow the hunter to launch into the air to attack the jumping monster - which strongly modifies the moves of some weapons - or to project towards the creature to shorten the distance. It seems, then, that the wire insect serves to target a precise point of the monster, perhaps to inflict more damage - visible on the screen in the form of numbers as in Monster Hunter World, although it will probably be possible to deactivate them from the options - and perhaps cut off tails. or other appendices. By then throwing the Wire Bug directly at the monster at the exact moment it attacks the hunter, it is even possible to land an extremely powerful automatic counterattack.
Each of these moves will consume one or more of the Bug's charges. wire, which will therefore expand the player's arsenal, redefining strategies at the same time: the best hunters will have to learn to use the wire insect sparingly and intelligently, in order to avoid finding it recharging at the least opportune moment. The most interesting thing is that the attacks and the new moves have reminded us several times of the Styles of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate: in the new trailer, for example, we saw a hunter take a leap with the wire bug and then throw a bomb blow to the monster's head from above, while in the game with the double blades the hunter dodged an attack of the Tetranodon with an animation that was very reminiscent of the Shadow Style. Capcom may therefore have taken those special techniques, integrating them into the dynamics of the Thread Bug to ensure a stack of possibilities never before seen in a Monster Hunter. In this sense, Monster Hunter Rise could become the new reference point for the brand: the new iteration for Switch would seem to summarize the best of recent years in the portable formula that has decreed the success of Monster Hunter for years.
Although there are still several aspects to be explored - the mechanics of each individual weapon, the number of monsters and maps, the presence of a Grade G and so on - the Monster Hunter Rise game has us thrilled even more than the first trailer: it seems that Capcom has further refined the dynamics of Monster Hunter World, implementing very funny movement and combat mechanisms. The game is still six months away, and we can't wait to hear more.
