History of Monster Hunter | Part 3

hello everyone and welcome back to another lesson on the history of the Monster Hunter series today we'll be looking at the third generation of games including Monster Hunter Tri Portable 3rd and 3 ultimate when I originally started the series I think the generation I was looking forward to covering the most was this one a generation that I spent the most time with overall clocking in hundreds and hundreds of hours between try and three ultimate alone it's a generation that introduced some of my favorite monsters a generation that introduced me to some longtime friends that I

still have today a generation that would take me from simply dipping my toes into the series and finally taking the plunge becoming a dedicated fan of Monster Hunter as a whole excited for new releases in the series and even revisiting past ones I remember buying a Wii U's simply because it came with a copy of three ultimate and a pro controller it was all I really played on the console for quite some time and that should really say something considering people's general opinions towards the Wii U as a whole Monster Hunter was that good enough

for me to buy a whole console just so I could play that one game recently for my birthday I even received the second volume of the Monster Hunter illustrations art book which covers a lot about the third generation designs so it really is the perfect time to be making this video many new concepts and additions were added in this generation but at the start many were removed looking back it's pretty surprising to me how much was lost in the release of try now that I can look at it with a more experienced and critical eye

some of these additions withstood the test of time like the updates to the spirit gauge or the slime element now known as the blast element and some additions didn't like water based combat but all in all this was another step forward for the series as a whole and I'm looking forward to revisiting it with you and reminiscing as we go through if you haven't watched my previous videos on the history of the series I suggest you do so now additionally if you enjoy these videos and want to help support the channel please consider liking the

video and subscribing it just takes a couple of seconds and really helps boost the reach of the video to Monster Hunter fans everywhere what led Monster Hunter to become the Capcom powerhouse it is today and how did the series perform since its initial inception and release in 2004 in this multi-part video series we'll take a look at all five generations of the monster franchise as well as frontier Monster Hunter online and several other spin-off games that have been developed I'm super rad and today I'm here to bring you a brief history of Monster Hunter third-generation

previously on Deadliest hunters able to swallow your whole you need more than your wits wake up and bottle with your friends on the fiercest online multiplayer for the Wii in life team just a quick note before we really get into this I generally record all of my footage myself when I can but it's hard to get all of the footage for try as I no longer own a copy and it seems impossible to get a save file for it that would have all the quests and equipment unlocked making it much easier for me to make

this video that being said I do still have a fairly thorough save file for 3 ultimate so much of what you'll be seeing for try will be coming from there by the point Monster Hunter Tri was in development and set to release the majority of Monster Hunter games or rather all the mainline games had been released on Sony consoles so why then was try being developed for the Nintendo Wii of all things well looking back at the release of the Wii and the total number of sales it really was the dominating console at the time

you may not remember this or may even be too young to have experienced it but when the Wii was announced and approaching release it was a cultural phenomenon the change from a traditional Nintendo style to a console that was primarily centered around motion controls through the market for a loop and in all the right ways apparently because the we was out selling the ps3 and the Xbox 360 in the United States a country where Sony and Microsoft were generally dominant this was even more prevalent in Japan where the Wii was overall the most dominant console

of the generation it's no surprise then to find out that development for Monster Hunter Tri for the ps3 was ultimately scrapped and design began for a console that would reach more audiences overall but specifically in Japan where Monster Hunter was a leader in their gaming market and culture if you remember from part 1 of this series a demo for the game was released with the re-release of Monster Hunter G on the Nintendo Wii it should be noted that while tried did introduce some forms of motion controls to the series due to the Wemo predominantly being

a motion control device the game was often sold alongside the Nintendo classic controller and was generally considered the preferable way to play this demo also came over to America before the game's Western release the game was released in Japan on August 1st 2009 and it wouldn't be until April 20th 2010 that we saw a North American release okay so what did we get with this new release in the series well it's probably better to start off with what was lost fans of the second generation of games like freedom unite may have been a little disappointed

for one major reason the only returning large monsters were wrothian Rathalos and Diablos unlike Master Hunter DOS try didn't include any subspecies either on top of this some of the new weapons introduced in the game were removed as well including dual blades gun lamps hunting horn and the only additional gunner option bow longsword fans could breathe a sigh of relief however as the weapons seemed to survive this purge in total only 18 large monsters were even available to hunt that might seem like a small number but 15 of these were original designs before we get

into these new monsters let's talk about one addition to the game that probably had the greatest impact on design choices and development Monster Hunter Tri is the first of only two releases in the series to implement underwater combat maps were designed to have several areas where the player could not only swim in water but also dive deep into these areas and fight monsters in multiple underwater locations this combat was different to say the least focusing on a more three-dimensional movement system as the player could swim upwards and downwards on top of this the player now

had an oxygen gauge that had to be maintained this gauge could be affected in multiple ways players would regain oxygen if they resurfaced or if they swam through air bubbles found in multiple underwater locations additionally players could carry items to refill their oxygen reserves they wouldn't be able to build sets towards stopping the depletion of this gauge until the release of three ultimate the whole underwater concept received a fairly mixed reception the slow movement underwater and requirement for oxygen could be considered limiting then again it was a new option of exploration in combat in the

game it also allowed players to follow water based monsters to continue combat rather than being forced to wait for them to return the land looking back however it was a truly bitter addition considering how much of the development time it took up and how much more could have been added or included instead of water combat maybe we could have had more new monsters maybe we could have had more returning monsters maybe certain weapons introduced in past games didn't need to be scrapped director Konami Fujioka commented on the amount of effort required to implement this mechanic

and stated that these sections took too much time away from what other parts they could develop overall I never personally had an issue with it during my time playing but I was also someone introduced to this series with it it just kind of fit in with where we are now in this series and what I've experienced in past games all I can think about is how much more core content could have been added without its inclusion and ultimately feel like it was a failed edition now before we touch on the monsters let's talk about what

was added to equipment despite losing several weapons one new blade master weapon was introduced the switch axe also known as the slash axe in Japan the switch axe was a very unique addition to the series and really marked what I consider to be monster hunters more experimental phase of weaponry the weapon has two forms axe and sword and can switch between the two I will order during combos this adds a large amount of versatility for the player while in combat now I won't delve too deep into the weapon at this time but maybe expect a

more thorough look in a future dedicated video now bow guns on the other hand were vastly different in how they were crafted the guns were now fully customizable players could craft frames barrels and stocks for the guns and make some match pieces to better suit their needs some Boggan options were considered all-in-one packages and didn't require customization there was also the introduction of the middle bow gun which functioned as a middle ground between the light and heavy options armor remained largely unchanged from this generation however in try players could continue upgrading their low rank armor

until it ascended into a high rank variant this would generally be a cheaper option material wise for the player than just crafting a new piece outright that is if they've been keeping up with upgrades as they progress these pieces upgraded from low rank to high rank had minimally different resistances but no changes too big to make an Cybil effect okay so let's talk about monsters as mentioned previously there weren't many returning monsters aside from rathalos Ratheon and Diablos as well as no subspecies included however some of the monsters added to try have had a lasting

impact on the series and even appeared on games all the way up to world gen3 also introduced two new monster types leviathans & Brew wyverns leviathans RC or lava based creatures and specialize in swimming while brute wyverns have large bulky bodies they used to fight you with brute force so first up we have the great Jaggi in the great baggie - bird wyvern creatures Jaggi would be one of the first large monsters the players would hunt and try and prefer warm climates while baggie can generally be found around colder ones it could also be noted

that great baggie are generally larger than great Jaggi qurupeco another bird wyvern an incredibly annoying monster to hunt this monster can actually sing when it's in danger and the song will get the attention of other large monsters in the area sending them to your location and potentially making the hunt more difficult royal liu draw a spongy leviathan who can store up large quantities of water to use in defense against other predators or hunters bear off one of the first brute wyverns the player will ever face their hard heads protect them for most attacks on top

of this they can roll around in the mud and where the hardened clumps is armored Goble another leviathan who is similar to that of a pufferfish Goble has the ability to swallow its prey whole and can emit blinding flashes of light similar to a flash bomb giga knocks or kazoo - as i like to call them a disgusting-looking cave-dwelling flying wyvern giga knocks has many abilities but one truly spine shivering tactic is when it lays diggy sacks to spawn young Giggy which will try to attach to you like leech berry of--this saber-tooth cat like flying

wyvern very similar in appearance to Naga Kouga from freedom unite it's a tundra based monster and weapons created from it generally have high affinity I can act or a lava based leviathan who dwells in the volcano area of Monster Hunter Tri unlike water based leviathans players can't dive in to chase after them but don't worry about that since this monster can swim straight through rock toward you Oregon another brutal Ivan who can smash his chin into the ground caused seismic activity it's incredibly durable making it difficult for slashing base weapons if you knock endure a

gallon down you can actually take a pickaxe to its back to mine some materials deviljho in my opinion double Joe is one of the best things to come out of the third-generation an absolute beast of a brute wyvern that has no remorse for any creature it has a variant introduced in three ultimate and has the ability to invade areas where hunts are taking place disrupting any hunter in the area truly one of the most savage monsters in the series in try he is an online-only monster and can only be actively hunted in six star quests

until then the player will need to complete quests where it may invade finally the game's flagship monster and one of my all-time favorites McGee accrues a large portion of the village quest line focuses on the player taking one of these down it can generate electricity around its body and is generally considered to be the top of the aquatic food chain on top of the large monster editions there are also three new Elder Dragons to look at se Deus is the first we'll take a look at and is considered the endgame hunt for village quests you

fight one in a special underwater cavern full of weaponry like ballesta and a dragon ater it has a large beard of fur and can even shoot out powerful beams of water then we have Gen [ __ ] I actually don't know much about its popularity but it does have a rather unique and entertaining battle segment players will be on board a desert based sailing ship and must use the provided equipment of canons ballesta and dragon ater to deal as much damage as possible players can actually jump onto it and mine various parts of its body

as well as damaging various body parts last but certainly not least is a latrine possibly my favorite elder dragon introduced to the series this dragon has control over multiple elements including dragon ice thunder and fire the players fight the dragon in a special location within the volcano called the sacred land it is considered elementally unstable Master Hunter 3 was also the first game where the monsters can inflict elemental status effects on the player these are known as flights and had various effects on top of various ways of removing them for example fire blight would damage

the player over time but they can remove this through items rolling three or four times or rolling in water several new locations are also introduced the main location of which is deserted island or D Island for short this is one of the first locations the player will hunt in and varies from forest to gave to water-based areas the island is within the same areas manga village and the player can even see the entrance to MOCA on the island players can actually freely hunt in this location without the need of accepting a quest additional locations include

flooded forest sandy plains Tundra volcano underwater ruins where the player fights ceadeus great desert where the player fights jhen mohran sacred land where the player fights a latreille on and two arenas one land based and the other water as mentioned attached to D Island is a small fishing hub known as Moga village and is where the player will start their journey at the beginning of the game the town is dealing with earthquakes and the player is tasked with finding and hunting that which is thought to be responsible a legee accrues the town is above a

large underwater tunnel system where ceadeus dwells and it is soon uncovered that the elder dragon is the cause of the earthquakes there's not too much to cover about the village specifically it has all the amenities you would expect from the past games but also introduces the agro Z captain did the series through him players trade special items for more useful ones the captain will even reward you eventually with his longsword a very appreciated gift for longsword means out there it should be noted that players can customize their home with various furnishings and allow other players

to visit their homes through an online connection farming also makes a return in the series although it functions differently the farm does not include any mining or fishing spots instead it has multiple sites the player can level up that will provide various other crafting materials like mushrooms herbs and honey try introduces an online hub similar to that of mine guard town called Lok Lak City if you thought mind guard was lost a time just know lock lock is even more so while there are restoration efforts for mine guard lock lock is having a much tougher

time coming back to life the city consisted of a main gate that would allow players to search for an online lobby up to 100 players could hang out in this location at any given time once in a lobby they'd be on the Main Street were only up to four players those within your party could enter together once again the city contains many facilities known to the series is that I won't go over again off of Main Street is Lodge Street where the player can customize their house based on three building options leading from here is

the tavern where players grab quests and eat meals players can also take on other hunters and armwrestling first introduced in Monster Hunter dos similar to the feline comrades in monster hunter freedom unite the player has a new companion they can bring with them on quests this time around players can have a Shakalaka friend named cha-cha who can be invited on quests with them cha-cha can level up from participating in missions with the player and has multiple stats like stamina health attack and defense players can unlock and equip cha-cha with various masks these masks offer various

effects and help the player on their quests while in combat cha-cha will dance and certain combinations of dances could provide boosts to the player such as attack up or defense up quests remain largely unchanged in this edition but do include unstable environments where during quest there is a chance an on quest related monster will show up to potentially interrupt your hunt this is particularly intrusive when double Joe shows up it should be noted that offline quests did not have any high rank equivalents in this entry and wouldn't until 3 ultimate overall try received favorable reviews

even receiving a perfect 40 out of 40 score from Famitsu the eleventh game to ever do this it went on to sell 1.9 million copies effectively half of freedom unite which was dominating in Japan and it wouldn't even put a dent into the sales of the next game in the series let's take a look at Monster Hunter Portable 3rd yes I found off the locally will play HD Hunter Portable sword popke now I'm going to start things off with a little correction from my previous video in part two I mentioned freedom to was one of

the best-selling PSP games to date and the best-selling PSP Monster Hunter game but that was inaccurate to clarify Monster Hunter Portable 3rd actually sold the most out of all the freedom and portable series clocking in four point nine million copies to put that in perspective for you freedom sold 1.3 million copies and freedom 2 sold 2.4 million with freedom unite at three point nine even more specifically portable thirds sold more as a Japanese exclusive and try and three ultimate combined funny enough the game was predicted to sell over 5 million copies not quite hitting the

mark but getting incredibly close it was known by Capcom that Master Hunter didn't do as well in the West as it did in Japan in fact Western sales of try were particularly weak overall in comparison this may have been why Japan decided not to release Portable 3rd in the West at all a sad but ultimately understandable move on their part unlike freedom being a part of Monster Hunter G or freedom 2 and unite building off of the first game with additional content Portable 3rd was mostly a standalone experience and most of the game's mechanics and

concepts had to be remade that being said it is still considered a successor within the freedom and portable series due to this players cannot transfer their freedom to or unite save files however the players would receive several bonuses for loading their previous games save data Portable 3rd has a focus on sound design and graphical quality looking to push the PSP to its absolute limits due to this there is less overall content in the game in comparison to freedom unite but more quests who accept it has less melee and ranged weapons to choose from in comparison

to freedom unite as well as less armor pieces and items overall the game also had an HD remaster on ps3 called Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD version released August 25th 2011 it's really no surprise that the game was so successful coming off the heels of unite and try developers opted to include most of the new content from try as well as the removed content that had shown up and unite for one underwater combat was completely removed from this entry in the series and locations from tribe had underwater or swimming segments were reworked and while tri

had kept the inclusion of purple sharpness portable third removed this level also feline companions marked the return rather than cha-cha who we were introduced to and try all weapons from freedom united as well as the switch acts make the return in portable third however the customizability of the bow guns does not yacumo village is the new offline hub for portable third it's a mountain hot springs with a large focus on verticality the village is broken up into three different levels which the player can traverse using the multiple staircases provided shops are generally found on the

first floor of the village while offline quests and the player home are on the second finally on the top level is the gathering hall where the player can take part in multiplayer quests the village hot springs can be used by the player to boost their abilities while using the springs the player can purchase various beverages that will give them various beneficial effects the hot springs are guarded and run by the feline spring keeper firms once again make a return in this generation and the player now has a more streamlined approach to gathering here the player

can send their feline companions out to mine various ore or out on exploration efforts to gather materials additionally this is where the player will train their companions exclusive the yacumo is the wood from their surrounding forests and carpentry efforts the skill of their carpenters is so high they can actually make various weapons and equipment out of it many of the monsters introduced and try marked their return in the portable series as well as a new subspecies for them additionally there were more returning monsters like Narga Kouga and tigrex who also received subspecies starting with the

new additions we have ours arose a new fanged be similar to that of a bear they even feed on fish and honey legume be an ice based fanged beast very close and features to ours arose but with incredibly large ears which make it susceptible to sonic bombs vulva dawn another Fang beast similar both to our thorough sanglug ambi this monster prefers warm areas such as sandy plains or the volcano additionally it has an incredibly long tongue Duran burrows a large brute wyvern with a gigantic tail that can spin around to cover a wide area great

Wragge a monster very similar to Jaggi and baggy from try but has the ability to spew a toxic mist kneeble snarf a sand-based leviathan similar in design to Goble with a giant mouth and ability to suck in prey and the flagship monster of the series zinogre a fanged wyvern with wolf-like features it has the power of electricity when as an ogre is knocked down the player can take a bug net to its back to gather materials on two subspecies we have brute tigrex an even more aggressive and powerful version of t-rex that can even damage

and send players flying with just its roar green naga Kouga a more agile subspecies of Naga Kouga that can also easily stun hunters with its slam attack crimson qurupeco an electric subspecies of qurupeco that has the ability to blind the opponent similar to a gypsy rose it has the ability to have monsters at summons with its song enter already in rage mode which is [ __ ] purple would draw a poisonous subspecies of lid wroth with a pink color on its skin and spongy mean Jade bear off an ice subspecies of Baraat that lives in

cooler environments like the tundra instead of mud Jade barrows keep a large amount of snow and ice packed around their body baleful giga knocks an electric subspecies of giga knocks that can also turn red when enraged similar to a red kazoo sand bury off a warm climate subspecies of berry op that lives in the sandy plains hey just a quick side note I forgot to mention glacial egg neck door in this video for some reason and the footage was even recorded so I don't know why I forgot to actually put him in the script he

should be he should be right here right right there okay finally there's one new elder dragon introduced to the game omatsu a flying elder dragon that never really touches land during battle it is very similar in motion and designed to leviathans and also has a wind barrier that is similar to that of a Koosh Allah it is fought in a newly introduced area the sacred pinnacle areas from try return while a few special areas are added for specific monsters polar field has been added for fighting a you catalyst lava Canyon has been added for fighting

in a can tour and the sacred pinnacle as mentioned earlier there is also one new typical quest area added called misty Peaks one final note on the monsters dragonblight did not make a reappearance in portable third but would appear again in three ultimate new - portable third were some additions to feline comrades specifically comrades can now be used in online multiplayer quests as well as against jhen mohran previously comrades were unable to join quest featuring such large monsters feline armors can now be customized further with the player being able to change the helmet and torso

they could wear different armor pieces based on slain monsters weapons could also be customized now but still fell into only the slash and impact roles additional features like cats being more emotive the ability to change their name and the ability to search for specific types of felines were added all in all they became more accessible and fleshed out which was a welcome addition to offline players as mentioned at the beginning of this game section it performed amazingly well becoming one of the best-selling games on the PSP and best-selling portable Monster Hunter game ever having sold

better than even Monster Hunter 4 & 4 ultimate though not combined and this was only as a Japanese exclusive the sheer popularity and praise of the game was phenomenal to say the least the next game in the series would sell fairly well although not as well as Portable 3rd and would take the player back underwater and back to Moka village let's check out Monster Hunter 3 ultimate Nastia monster busy you cannot ever from on Tustumena Jane ooh bad spy who not misión my ston Mon Santa's we ultimate exclusive fou Wii U and Nintendo tried es

Monster Hunter 3 ultimate is the expected G expansion of Master Hunter Tri it was not only released on the Wii U but also on the Nintendo 3ds portable console and players could freely transfer their save file back and forth between the two if they owned a copy of both games this allowed the players to take their game on the go while also having the option to play a higher quality home console version of this inclusion players could even play together locally with one player on a Wii U and one on the 3ds however online play

was only supported on the Wii U version this marked the return of both Moga village as well as underwater combat the expansion offered multiple new additions that will go over one interesting inclusion was the addition of a new Shakalaka companion players can now go on quests with both the cha-cha and his rival Shakalaka Kai Amba a useful feature called target Canberra was also implemented normally when the player pressed the L button the camera will face whichever way the player is facing now when a large monster is targeted pressing the L button will immediately face the

monster weapons removed in try also make their return while removing tries bow-gun customisation options like the portable series 3 ultimate also offered downloadable event quests that would be available in the online hub area forever once unlocked the offline hub finally received high ranked quests that the player could participate in as expected from a GM 3 ultimate reintroduces G Gran quests this is the first entry in the series where G rank sets have drastic visual differences on top of this most of the armors provide skill points to different skills than their low and high counterparts a

new and recurring mechanic in the series introduced is hunters for hire these hunters are NPC versions of players you've met online and received the guilt card oath they offer quests that they are willing to take on and can be sent out with several other hunters if you pay a small fee and could come back with various rewards the hunters will update their sets to match their real-life counterparts as you meet up with them online the mechanic reappears in monster hunter for you and Monster Hunter generations moving back to the online hub it's important to note

that the players no longer visit lock laxity for online Quest's instead there is a new area called port Anzio which is much much smaller and doesn't contain amenities like player housing instead it consists of two areas the marina where all the shops are in the tavern where players can grab quests and eat at the canteen multiple monsters returned from portable third as well as some from old games like Plessy òthe and its subspecies subspecies from portable third also show backup as well as some new additions brand new additions include the game's flagship monster Brockie Dios

who also introduces a new element called slime where buildup of the element can cause high damage explosions this would later become known as blast element in future releases within the series in Japan Brockie is on the cover art while Azure Rathalos was used in North America a new elder dragon is also introduced called dire Morales who has fought in its own special location known as the tainted see dire Morales is an incredibly large monster that can transition between land and sea and will do so fairly frequently while in combat new subspecies include rust or Ambrose

a subspecies that is very similar to its normal counterpart but has a more acts like tail Stiggy and zinogre a dragon element subspecies that sports a darker color scheme the attacks sport a red charge effect rather than the yellow and blue electric effect and ivory lagiacrus a land-based subspecies of Ligia Cruz it rarely enters the water during combat and has a more powerful and wider set of electrical attacks its skin is an ivory white color hence the name two of the Elder Dragons introduced in try also received new subspecies specifically golden sea it is a

fully grown version of your typical see it is with both horns fully developed it sports a golden color and mane and holo gen more on a larger and stronger subspecies of jhen mohran now something to point out is the existence of rare species which are incredibly powerful types of already existing monsters these aren't to be confused with variants such as furious rage Aang and part 1 fly in and I called silver Rathalos and gold Ratheon two subspecies but this was my error in the script rather they are part of the rare species classification introduced in

three ultimate are two new rare species loose Onarga Kouga a rare species of naga Kouga that has white fur and the ability to turn invisible Bissell agir Cruz a rare species of legaia Cruz with black skin and scales it always appears in a fully charged state and can even create whirlpools within the water to disorient hunters finally there is the introduction of a new variant savage deviljho which is a double Joe that stays within a permanent rage form state during combat however it can still enter a further level of rage where the dragon element surrounds

its face and its eyes glow a bright red it's faster and stronger than your typical devil Joe and can swiftly card even the most experienced hunters 3 ultimate went on to sell 2.6 million copies and was received fairly well in Japan and the West a gaming news site called digital fix even said it could very well be the best reason to own a wii-u and that's all I have for you on the third generation of Monster Hunter a generation of games that really influenced me if it wasn't for tri or 3 ultimate I might not

be here right now writing the script recording this footage editing this video met some of my best friends that have affected my life so drastically who knows where I would be right now from what I understand online functionality is still running for 3 ultimate so if you want to ever try out some of this generations exclusive content there's no better time than right now in the next part of the series will be discussing Monster Hunter 4 for ultimate generations and generations ultimate there really is so much content to explore within those games if you enjoyed

this video and found it informative consider supporting the channel by liking commenting and subscribing again it only takes a couple of seconds and it helps support me in my goal of creating this content for you all I try to respond to every comment that I can so if you want to hear from me comment below thanks so much for watching everyone and I'll see you in the next video don't [Music]