Monster Hunter

It’s new, alright

Hey so it’s been weeks now but check it out, I bought myself a New Nintendo 3DS. Note that it’s New and not just new. I mean, yes, it’s both, but it’s the New that matters. The New is what makes it different than simply being new.

This thing has a terrible name.

Anyway, I’d like to recount the story of how I came into possession of this little gadget first, if that’s alright. I mean, we all know that I’m very likely going to buy new Nintendo hardware. It’s part of what makes me the person that I am; mindless consumerism.

When the New 3DS was first announced for Japan, I didn’t give a spit. Oh okay, sure there’s more stable 3D visuals and a weird little C-nub and it’s got a few more horses under the hood. But really, it didn’t seem like it was important for anything but playing a portable version of Xenoblade Chronicles. Which is a decent reason to own the thing, mind you, but it still didn’t “Wow!” me.

And yet despite this, I started putting a little money away here and there because I knew that I was going to end up buying one anyway.

Months later, it’s officially announced to be releasing in North America, and there was a sweet, sweet Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate-themed version, exclusive to EB Games/GameStop. I figured that special edition 3DSes have always been pretty plentiful, and almost nobody in North America gives a toot about Monster Hunter, so I’ll skip the pre-ordering and just pick one up on release day. WHOOPS. Pre-orders were sold out by the end of the same day, and local EB Games staff were fairly certain that they weren’t going to get any extra units for walk-in customers.

So I booked release day off and got to the mall with the littlest bro before the EB opened. We sat down near the store, not anticipating a crowd. But then a couple other young people stared sitting at adjacent tables and a young woman planted right in front of the door. Another fellow got up and stood behind her, and we quickly followed suit. Not a minute later, a rather large line had queued up behind us.

A single employee opened the store, and we shuffled in to be helped one-by-one. The lady got her stuff, and the guy in front of me (let’s call him Paul) went up to bat. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to what was happening, but Paul had a bunch of stuff pre-ordered, though he decided against actually purchasing all of it.

I got up and asked if the store had gotten any extra Monster Hunter 3DSes. The guy said they didn’t get any, but that he had one since one of the items that Paul had left behind was a Monster Hunter 3DS, and that it was mine if I wanted it. I heard a cry of sorrow from behind me. The guy behind me had come looking for the exact same thing, and I had been lucky enough to scoop up the one stray unit.

Think about it: If I had gotten in line mere seconds earlier or later, I would have gone home a disappointed little boy. But the entire friggin’ cosmos aligned that day, and the universe did me a solid. It’s not often that I catch a lucky break like that. A new toy isn’t exactly the solution to the crap I’ve been going through lately, but it certainly takes the edge off.

And look at that. I’ve put down too many words about simply obtaining this thing. Maybe I’ll talk about the actual machine another day. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe I’ll forget or just not bother. Who knows? Think of it as a fun surprise from me to you.

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – February 2015

February, February… I don’t really have any preamble for February. It certainly was a month.

I bought a New 3DS. That’s a thing that happened.

~ Now Playing ~

Super Smash Bros 4 (3DS/WiiU) – Duh. For the first time, I think I’ve actually spent more time this month playing the Wii U version. Sounds wacky, but Smash is really great on 3DS.

Hyrule Warriors (WiiU) – Thanks to the new DLC pack, this is back in the regular rotation.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) – The cycle begins anew, and I couldn’t be happier.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP) – My brother had to re-purchase this for his Vita, and started from the beginning. Helping him work back up to a decent rank was a nice warm-up for MH4.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D (3DS) – One of my favourite Zeldas, but with better graphics and a few of the wrinkles ironed out. Terrific.

Lufia: the Legend Returns (GBC) – I didn’t like it at first, then it got better, and now it’s just feeling like a slog. Starting to remember why I don’t play many RPGs any more.

Senran Kagura Burst (3DS) – The shallowest, most action-heavy title on my 3DS. Great for when you just want to kick a bunch of butt without any thought or effort. Also I’m not terribly opposed to all the jiggly bits. The exploding clothes are a bit much, though.

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatake! Ouendan 2 (DS) – Music is what brought me out of my post-separation slump. This is what put the wheels in motion. Mostly I just played “Bambina” and “Countdown” over and over.

Rock Band 2 (360) – Rocked out a little bit. Why did I bother adding this?

Pokémon Shuffle (3DS) – Freemium match-em-up. Now with Squirtles and Kangaskhans!

~ Game Over ~

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (3DS) – Like the movie it’s based on, it’s surprisingly not a massive pile of garbage. Not great, but enjoyable. Much better than Magic Pockets’ last TMNT game, anyway.

Elite Beat Agents (DS) – Eventually I was Ouendan’d out, and moved into something a little more North American. Played obsessively for a week until I was able to be “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” on Sweatin’ difficulty. These games are so fun, I would really love to see another sequel…

Resident Evil HD Remaster (360) – Still a good one. Just a few tweaks away from being my ideal RE experience. Like, get rid of the crimson heads and busywork “puzzles” and it’s golden.

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – January 2015

January is a time for playing a ton of cheap digital games that I bought with my Xmas Fun Bucks. So hold onto your butts, this is going to be another long one.

~ Now Playing ~

Saints Row IV (PC) – This is my new favourite open-world game. It’s like Volition looked at Crackdown and said “You know what we should do? That. But let’s turn it up to eleven.” Well played, Volition. I’m currently sitting at 79% completion.

Woah Dave! (3DS) – Hearkening back to the arcade days, Woah Dave! is a simple game where you bounce around, chucking stuff at aliens. Also, you collect pennies. How quaint. Unusually addictive.

1001 Spikes (3DS) – Absolutely brutal “torture platformer” that’s still a lot of fun. I’m not really into games that make you play a level 50 times until you get it perfectly, but this one is scratching an itch that I didn’t know I had. I’ve cleared the first three “worlds” so far.

Dragon Quest II (iOS) – Finished the first one last month, so I plonked down a couple bucks for number two. Got up to recruiting the Price of Cannock.

Alphadia Genesis (WiiU) – Retro JRPG by Natsume. Bought this entirely on whim and a craving for, well, a retro JRPG. So far, it’s pretty shabby and not at all noteworthy.

Citizens of Earth (3DS) – It looked too much like Earthbound to pass up. It’s pretty good, but not anywhere near as endearing as Earthbound. I’ll never reminisce about playing this.

Pokémon Alpha Sapphire (3DS) – Started playing some of the post-game content, but I’m feeling pretty apathetic about it. I think maybe I’m over Pokémon?

Lufia: The Legend Returns (GBC) – Apparently RPGs are a thing for me this month. It’s called Lufia, but it’s not like the Lufias that came before it. It’s got random dungeons and a weird but enjoyable 9-character battle system. I like it, but it’s a little grindy. Not even halfway through.

Super Smash Bros for 3DS/Wii U (3DS/WiiU) – I just keep on keepin’ on.

Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball (3DS) – Freemium Nintendo game where you can haggle over the price of the in-game purchases. I only bought the first mini-game, but it’s been pretty fun and sort of addictive. I don’t know if I’ll keep putting money into it though.

Assassin’s Creed II (360) – Plugged a couple of hours into this while waiting for something better to download. Probably won’t go back. It’s not bad, but I really don’t understand how it go so popular.

After Burner II (Arcade) – People seem to go ga-ga about these Sega 3D Classics, and this one looked really cool. I played it once until I died and didn’t think about it again until I wrote this blurb.

~ Game Over ~

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (WiiU) – The super-secret final bonus level… she’s too hard! But I beat every other stage and got all the stamps, so let’s say I won.

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) – It was really hard, but also a whole lot of fun. And it’s got a really great super-secret final bonus level. Also really tough, but beatable! I scored 101%, but didn’t bother getting all the puzzle pieces or trying to complete the time trials or Mirror Mode.

Fairune (3DS) – Do you like old-school action RPGs? Do you like getting no direction on what to do, and having to push every rock and burn every tree on the map? Well then, Fairune might just be the game for you. I liked it well enough.

Ikachan (3DS) – A very short game about a little squid who has to save his urchin friends from the inevitable collapse of their cove. Took about an hour to beat, but was thoroughly enjoyable because it’s more or less the proof-of-concept for Cave Story.

Master Reboot (WiiU) – While it is plagued by shoddy craftsmanship from beginning to end, I think that it was interesting and engaging enough to be considered good. The final stage was a bit irritating, but otherwise, I’m glad that I played it.

Shovel Knight (3DS) – My favourite game of 2014. So much did I like it, that I bought a second, more portable copy. Yes, yes, I’m bad at money. W/E.

Crystal Monsters (DSi) – Cheap DSiWare Pokémon ripoff. It’s pretty bland, but I can take a picture with the camera and paste it on my monsters’ faces. So there’s that.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) – Every time I replay this, I forget that Wario’s castle is harder than every other level combined.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate demo (3DS) – Normally I don’t do write-ups for demos because that’s stupid, but I spent a stupid amount of time playing this. It’s Monster Hunter. What can I say?

Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS) – Replayed this because I needed something cheerful.

Gunman Clive 2 (3DS) – Short but oh-so-sweet. Surpasses the original in every way, and has one of my favourite final bosses in recent memory.

Top 13 Games I Played in 2013

Hey look, another year’s passed, so you know the drill. Let’s look at a selection of the games I played throughout 2013 that I thought stood out from the rest.

This year, the only criterion that I’m going by is that I have to have beaten the game in question for the first time in 2013. Anything that fits into that criterion is fair game. So, for example, there are a few games that weren’t released in 2013, but that I only finally played last year.

There were just over 50 eligible titles, but I found that whittling that number down to 13 was actually very easy. The ones that I picked were just so much better than the ones I left behind. You can check out a full list of the games I beat in 2013 (including replays) here.

Continue reading Top 13 Games I Played in 2013

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

You’re going to have to bear with me, internet. I want to talk about Monster Hunter again.

Let’s begin with the basics. The Monster Hunter series is all about fighting giant beasts, and is pretty much a game built around hectic, exciting boss battles. Yes, it includes some smaller enemies too, but they’re like the basil on the tomato soup that is the rest of the game: they add a little flavour, but aren’t what you came for. You’re there to bring down huge, fearsome beasts and then turn them into pants. It’s even more fun when you’re doing it with your friends, so much so that it’s the only video game that I actually have a desire to play with people online.

Victory in Monster Hunter requires what I call the Three P’s: preparation, patience, and practice. It’s not a game for people who can’t be arsed to earn their victory. There is no coasting in Monster Hunter, and there is no easy mode. If you’re going to win, you need to make sure you know what you’re doing. Triple-checking your supplies before you head out on a hunt isn’t just helpful, it’s nearly required. You need to study your enemy’s movement and attack patterns to find weaknesses and openings. Familiarity with the terrain in each map is just as important as being familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen weapon. Long story short: Monster Hunter requires a huge investment of time and effort on the player’s part, and that’s what I love most about it.

Most games, especially those of the current generation, you can just turn on and play if you’ve got even a basic knowledge of video games. Monster Hunter is not at all like that. If you boot up a Monster Hunter game and expect to get just another action game, you’ll be eating a healthy serving of humble pie in no time. These are complicated games, and you need to take the time to learn them before you’ll get anywhere. Each game starts with a rather lengthy tutorial in your basic survival skills like item gathering, meat cooking, and small monster slaughter before you even get a whiff of a real hunt. While these might seem like boring little subsystems that aren’t so important that they need to be forced on you, it turns out that they are absolutely essential.

Continue reading Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Where I’ve been

It’s been almost a month now since I posted anything here. What’s been up? The short answer is Monster Hunter. For those who don’t follow, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate came out on Wii U and 3DS last month, and thats pretty much all I’ve been doing. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that when I get into Monster Hunter, I get in deep. I’ll write about it at length another time, but for now I leave you with this small musing:

I believe that it’s for the best when games aren’t drowned in pop culture references, unless that’s one of the bullet points on the back of the box. Even then it’s like, can’t you write your own material? Still, I can’t help but love that Capcom’s translators snuck a Foreigner reference in there. It’s easy to miss too, because the optimal way to approach dialogue in any MonHan game is to ignore it entirely and skip through it as fast as you can. Apparently at some point a character sings a song from Rent as well, but I didn’t pick up on that one because I stopped watching Rent after approximately two minutes. At this point I’m just waiting for some NPC to claim that they need to see the soul doctor.

How to Train Your Animatronic Dragon

As a rule, I don’t go to a lot of live events, or shows, or whatever you want to call them; things that generally take place in an arena or stadium and the tickets for which cost somewhere upwards of expensive. I’ve been to a few concerts in my time, but they aren’t a thing that really matters to me. I love live music, but going to concerts is low on the priority list. Even lower on my radar are any other kind of live shows, be it Cirque du Soleil or a play or anything else of the sort. While a live experience is always neat, not many of those things are really within the realm of my interests.

With this in mind, I was reasonably wary when my parents offered me the opportunity to go the the How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular, Stage shows have never been my thing, and I’d never even seen the How to Train Your Dragon movie, so the odds were more or less stacked against me as I went in.

After the fact though, I feel like the me in this timeline needs to build a dimensional portal so that I can travel into other timelines in which Alternate Ryans did not go see the How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular, and punch them in the biscuits. If that doesn’t make sense to you, of if you’d prefer a tldr version: I loved the show. For anyone interested in all the other deets, read on.

Continue reading How to Train Your Animatronic Dragon

A post full of thoughts in no logical order

Wow, its been a while since my last post. Not a record by far, but almost two weeks is a long time in the current TE era. I’ve been pretty good about slapping something up every few days for some time now, even if it’s just a dumb photo that I found entertaining for a few fleeting moments.

In an effort to start getting though my gigantic backlog of books – Wait what? Books? Yes books. I have a lot of them, but I haven’t read most of them. Anyway, I’ve decided I want to read more, so this week I’ve been making an honest effort to always have a book with me on the bus. Whether I’ll keep going once I’ve finished my current book, I don’t know, but here’s hoping!

The lack of blogging around these parts can be attributed ~~mostly~~ entirely to Pokémon White 2. Obviously. I blame Game Freak for working in a rather extensive achievement system. For every objective you clear, you’re presented with a medal, and when you get so many medals, you get a rank up. It’s not actually deeper than Xbox achievements or PS3 trophies, but the fact that the game makes such a big deal out of the medals makes them that much more appealing to collect. Too bad some of the requirements are completely ludicrous. Check out the list here.

I’ve been working on a big new post over the last little while. I think it’s going to end up being this month’s article, if just to fill the hole. Unfortunately, it is about video games. But it’s a little different in that it’s something of a history lesson with a little review packaged in for those interested. I don’t know. It’s not something I care about enough to link to on my Facebook page or anything, but it’ll have to do.

I’ve been reading Monster Planet this week, the last of a trilogy whose first two parts I’ve already talked about at length. I said that I thought Island and Nation would make great movies, because both of them are pretty briskly-paced and feature a fairly original take on the zombie genre. However, Planet takes it up to eleven and goes into full-blown crazypants video game territory. Now, instead of the occasional smart zombie who can control the mindless masses of undead, there is a whole cadre of liches, each with a unique magic power. It’s gotten kinda ridiculous, but I’m already two-and-a-third books deep, might as well git ‘r done. Full write-up coming soon!

Speaking of spooky things and video games, I’ve begun playing Silent Hill 2 again to half-assedly get into the spirit of Halloween. I thought I was going to do it right this time, playing alone in the dark, but I messed that up. Since I’m playing the HD Collection edition, my experience is being totally controlled by achievements, and as such my current playthrough has been paired with some extensive map-making and step-by-step instructions on how to get through the game as quickly as possible. At the very least, by the time I’m done with it, I’ll have become a master of the game.

I borrowed my brother’s copy of Cubivore to round out my October gaming palette. While the camera is awful and the overall experience is a little shallower than I’d hoped, I think it’s good enough to slake my thirst for Tokyo Jungle. For now.

Have you watched the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon yet? It’s fairly good! Not quite as good as the new TMNT comic series, but it’s definitely worth watching. I will admit that I’m a little disappointed that its demographic skews considerably younger than the 2003 TMNT series. I blame Nickelodeon. Though I suppose the best way to revive a franchise is to make sure it’s what all the li’l kids want for Christmas. A world where Turtles are plastered on every damn thing again would be a world I’d love to live in.

Xbox Minecraft got a big update recently, which is enticing. The price didn’t get cut though, so I’m still not buyin’ it.

I’m bad at getting into the Halloween spirit. I haven’t watched a single cheesy 80’s slasher flick yet. I feel like I’m failing pretty hardcore as a nerd. The Wife is forcing me to take her to Paranormal Activity 4 this weekend though, so I guess that’s at least one “scary” movie for the season. I just have trouble committing myself to 90-120 minutes of uninterrupted watching.

I don’t have nearly as much trouble watching TV or Let’s Play videos. Over the last two weeks I have watched both seasons of Better Off Ted, most of Arrested Development‘s second season, and Brickroad’s Metal Gear LP. Ted is… well, it’s okay. I enjoyed it as much as I did because it co-stars Portia de Rossi and Andrea Anders, both of whom I find very funny. The list of actresses (or even actors, it’s not a sexist thing) I really like is pretty short, but those two are definitely on it. It should be obvious that I much prefer comediennes to “serious” actresses. I also love the way de Rossi pronounces the word “anything.”

I don’t think there’s anything else relevant I can say so that I can add another tag to this post.

Oh, wait! New Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate trailer? Oh Hells yes!

Closing the gap

I was looking over my 2011 backlog list yesterday and was a little surprised to see that I had the goal of replaying Luigi’s Mansion on there. I actually did that recently! Yay! That’s another one to stroke off, and one I didn’t actually expect to get around to.

I was originally looking at the list to try to formulate a game plan for the weekend, but then I remembered that my youngest bro had asked to come over and play Spelunky, so that’s probably all I’ll be doing for the bulk of today. It’s nice that I’ve managed to hook someone else on Spelunky, because I love it, and it’s a big exception in that I actually much prefer to play multiplayer. I find the game a lot harder with a second person (especially in the very rare case where both people are wielding shotguns), but it’s a game that’s still pretty fun even when you’re dying repeatedly. I find the process of dying over and over to learn the game a lot more fun in action-platformer form than RPG. Probably because a winning Spelunky run takes an average of 15 minutes, whereas finishing the main dungeon in Shiren the Wanderer will generally take a lot longer. I love the idea behind roguelikes, but find it difficult to make the time investment required to learn them well enough to win.

Sunday will likely be devoted to The Last Story, but I’m thinking that if I really dedicate myself I could rush through what’s left of Master Quest in Ocarina of Time 3D. I christened my 3DS XL by getting up to the Master Sword, so I’ve really only got the best parts of the game in front of me. Well, except for the Fire Temple. It’s kind of dull, but at least the MQ version will mix it up a bit so it doesn’t just feel like I’m going through the motions.

I’ve also been doing a really poor job of wrangling up the last few ‘mons I need to fill out the Unova Dex in Pokémon White. I want it done before Black 2 and White 2 hit, so that leaves me…two weeks. The dumb thing about this is that it’s mostly just evolving that needs to be done, and it seems like the Unova Pokémn have a considerably higher average evolution level than monsters of previous generations. Or maybe it’s just that I don’t know as much about Pokémon as I used to. It’s a lot harder to keep track of the 600+ creatures than it was when there were only 151. In any case, a lot of Audinos are going to be beaten upon over the next two weeks. I need to fill that Pokédex!

So notice how there isn’t even a passing mention of maybe drawing a comic or going outside there? I think my hobby may have crossed the line into full-on addiction at this point. I probably won’t even take the time to blog anymore once I get Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. Especially since saves are transferrable between the Wii U and 3DS versions! Yay obsession!

Countdown to U-Day

What have I had, three posts about Wii U so far? Definitely out of character for me. I guess I must be growing up, because a younger me would have themed the blog here with all sorts of Wii U stuff. Woulda made up a Wii U banner anyway. Oh, wait. The blog has been Wii themed since… 2007? Wow, past me really was good at that future planning stuff!

As it is, I’m barely excited enough about having gotten my pre-order last weekend. And that’s with only two months left to go! I should be bouncing off the walls and yakking everyone’s ear off about how excited I am for my new console. Alas, I am much more subdued this time around. It’s probably because I can’t afford to buy any games to play on the stupid thing. Gone are the Wii days where I could just throw my paychecks away on as many vidja games as I could handle.

It’s too bad too, because it suddenly seems that I want them all. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but I’m certainly a lot more confliced about which Day One title I’m going to bring home with me on launch day than I was just a week ago. Since these megaposts are kind of what I do these days, let’s have a look-see…

Darksiders II – This was my original choice, and it had no competition, save perhaps Pikmin 3, but that’s been pushed back so it’s out of the running. I had a great time with the original Darksiders and little interest in any other Wii U launch day games, but now I’m having to think about it. Also, I’ve heard rumblings that maybe Darksiders II isn’t as good as the original, so that’s causing some hesitation. It’s still number one, but two months from now anything could happen.

New Super Mario Bros U – Since finances are tight, I have to consider that maybe The Wife would like to play with my our new toy too. Considering that NSMBU is probably the only launch title she’ll get any mileage out of. It’s not that I don’t think I’d like it, it’s just that I’m smack in the middle of New Super Mario Bros 2 on 3DS right now, and I don’t feel like I need another Mario game yet. We also had an absolute blast with the original Wii game, and that’s certainly helping this one’s case along. The real issue here is that I don’t find the New Mario games quite as fun to replay as say, Super Mario World.

ZombiU – You’d think this would be right up my alley, what with the zombies ‘n all. Truth is, I wasn’t really taken with it until I started reading impressions from last week’s Nintendo event in New York. Now I’m very much leaning towards the idea of picking ZombiU over Darksiders. If nothing else, I’d like to have a game that really makes use of the gamepad, and doesn’t just delegate maps and inventory management to it. I mean, ZombiU does that, but in a more interesting way. Or so it seems. I’ll need to keep reading up on this one. I can’t help but remember the mediocrity of Dead Island though.

Rayman Legends – I wasn’t sold on Rayman Origins until last Friday, despite the fact that everyone and their dog has been raving about it since it came out. But then I played a few stages with my youngest bro, including the unbeleivably difficult Secret Final Level, and had an absolute blast. I’d played the demo, but I guess I did it wrong by playing solo. So now the question of the sequel comes up. Do I pick this one up at launch, or do I satisfy my newfound interest with the cheaper original?

Assassin’s Creed III – I haven’t played a singe other game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and I didn’t ever plan to. However, I’m very much into the American Revolution setting of this one. That is all.

Scribblenauts Unlimited – I couldn’t get into the first Scribblenauts game no matter how hard I tried. But the promise of a game with better controls, huge environments to explore, and the ability to creat things has stuck the Scribblenauts hooks right back into me. I can’t see myself actually buying it, but stranger things have happened.

Tank! Tank! Tank! – I haven’t read anything about this since E3, but damn does it look like fun! I’m also a big supporter of the odd-duck games that come out when a new game system is released. Admittedly this doesn’t seem quite as gimmicky or odd as, say, Feel The Magic XY/XX or Rayman Raving Rabbids. Another one that I’m really going to have to look into before taking the plunge.

Okay, so there are only seven launch titles I’m interested in. But it’s still really hard when you can only choose one! Luckily, most of the other games (Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Runner 2) I want are looking like they’re going to come out around March, so that’s time to sock away a little cash. The fact of the matter is though, that Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is slated for March, so at that point I won’t need any other games. It would be really rad if that had been a launch title, but what can you do?