Platform: 3DS
Genre: Hunting Action
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom (NA/JP), Nintendo (EU)
Release Date: February 13, 2015 (NA/EU); September 14, 2014 (JP)
MSRP: $39.99/£31.99/43,89
ESRB Rating: T (Blood, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence)
PEGI Rating: 12+ (Violence, Bad Language)
Block Size: 20,809 (2.54 GB)
Text Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish
Audio Language: Japanese (grunts only)
This OT is optimized for GAF light.
It's always more fun to hunt together! Quote this post for links to resources for playing with fellow GAF members - they're in the email tag at the beginning of the quote text.
In the world of Monster Hunter, you are but a humble hunter, rising through the ranks of the hunter guild. Armed with little but your weapon, your wits, and your reflexes - and perhaps aided by a few teammates - it's your job to conquer and return each and every prey that crosses your path, dead or alive. In Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, you are tasked with investigating a mysterious new virus infesting the lands. This virus, while incredibly debilitating to humans, nonetheless has an opposite effect for the local wildlife - instead making them berserk. To facilitate the investigation of this mysterious blight, you join a nomadic caravan to travel across various villages, all in the hopes of pinpointing the source of the encroaching scourge.
*Though the story in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is much more involved than the stories featured in previous games, players interested in playing the game solely for the story will likely be disappointed - though that doesn't mean the game is light on text.
The bread and butter of the series. Unlike other action games - barring maybe titles like the Souls series - Monster Hunter has a much more deliberate pace. Most attacks have their share of windup and recovery periods, with some leaving you little opportunity to cancel them to avoid incoming attacks. Aspiring hunters must then come to understand both how their weapons work, and how the monsters behave. Each weapon behaves entirely differently, not only lending themselves to drastically different playstyles, but also to different dynamics in hunting parties. As another wrinkle to the systems, the hunter's tools of the trade - from pitfalls and poisonous throwing knives to a well-done steak - also need to be assembled in preparation of the hunt. While players can certainly forego this step and achieve success, crafting weapons, armor and gear in response to the next hunt is still a core part of the game. Every hunter will live or die by how well they can anticipate, prepare, and adapt. Consequentially, one troublesome monster can become significantly easier with the proper change of strategy.
Capcom has partnered with various other game companies for additional free DLC based on those companies' franchises. None of them are available just yet, but they'll be releasing relatively soon via downloadable quests.
Super Mario Brothers - Palico costumes for Mario and Luigi
As part of the holdover crossovers from the original Monster Hunter 4, this Mario collaboration allows you to equip your palicoes with Mario and Luigi costumes.
The Legend of Zelda - Tunic armor, Master Sword, Hero's Bow
As the other holdover crossover that is being released worldwide, this Zelda collaboration allows you to equip your hunter with either the Master Sword (sword and shield) or the Hero's Bow (bow), and gives you blademaster and gunner armors based on Link's tunic to wear with each.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Isabelle and Mr. Resetti Palico replacement helpers
The Animal Crossing: New Leaf collaboration is among the many new ones added for the Ultimate version. Using it will allow you to replace your palicoes with Isabelle and/or Mr. Resetti, complete with their original voice clips and sound effects.
Metroid - Power Suit armor (male), Zero Suit Samus armor (female), and oversized arm canon
This Metroid collaboration allows you to equip the Power Suit armor (male only available as blademaster or gunner set), complete with over-sized arm canon (light bow gun). It also allows you to replace your hunter's likeness with that of Zero Suit Samus (female only available in blademaster and gunner), wearing her namesake suit.
Mega Man - Palico armor
Get your Palico equipped with the Mega Man armor, complete with sound effects from the original series of games.
Street Fighter - Blanka replacement palico and Chun-Li palico costume
You must defeat Shagaru Magala to stand a chance. These costumes give your palcioes the likenesses of Chun Li and Blanka, also changing the sound effects to the ones from Street Fighter II.
Devil May Cry - Dante palico costume
Though the combat in Monster Hunter isn't as fast as Devil May Cry's, that doesn't mean your palico can't be SSStylish. This costume changes your palico's attacks and sound effects to those from the Devil May Cry series.
Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic palcio costume
His arms aren't blue, so that's a plus. This costume stuffs your palico into a Sonic costume, giving him Sonic sound effects and Sonic's sword from Sonic and The Black Knight. The costume's like a turducken, except more likely to be disappointing.
/s
Taiko Drum Master - Donko hunting horn
Still trying to pretend that Taiko Drum Master isn't dead in the west? This probably won't help. If you listen closely to each note, you can hear the sorrow of every country not called Japan, making a tiny tear roll down the cheek of any monster you hit. Ta-don!
Final Fantasy/Tetsuya Nomura - Nomura-designed armor and Warrior of Light palico costume
Not content to redesign half of Japan on top of working on two games that will never see the light of day, Tetsuya Nomura has designed two original hunter armors for use in the main game, as well as a Final Fantasy-themed palico costume.
I don't actually hate Nomura.
Q. I need help with the game, either with understanding how to play well or knowing individual weapons and systems!
A. Gaijin Hunter is one the the most helpful resources for both veterans and newcomers (I recommend his article for some of the more obscure aspects of the game). His YouTube channel, in particular, also has in-depth tutorials for each individual weapon type. Aside from that, some players have compiled a comprehensive breakdown for every enemy in the game, including weak points, elemental affinities, breakable body parts, and more. Ping's Monster Hunter 4G/U Dex is also an invaluable resource for viewing pretty much every detail about the game, though it runs as a dedicated program. Kiranico has also published their MH4U page, which is especially handy for finding the best places to find specific items and crafting materials. For more advanced players, here's a link to Athena's Armor Set Search to find armor sets containing specific combinations of skills.
Otherwise, I'm sure everyone in the thread will be happy to answer any niggling questions.
Q. Does this game have online support?
A. Yes. However, players with the Japanese version of the game cannot play with players who have the American/European versions, and vice-versa. See below for additional info.
Q. I think I'm ready to go online! Is there anything I should know first?
A. Before you do, be aware of "proper" hunting etiquette (which just boils down to not being a jerk). All of the supplies you're given are meant to be shared amongst everyone, so don't hoard everything, especially for items you won't need. Second, be aware that some attacks are capable of pushing allies away (the long sword is the most infamous culprit of this) or launch them into the air (e.g., the switch axe's uppercut). There are plenty of horror stories of lance users getting batted around everywhere, so try to be mindful of where you are in relation to your fellow hunters. Gaijin Hunter has a more in-depth article on this.
Q. What are the differences between Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Monster Hunter 4, and Monster Hunter 4G?
A. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the localized version of the Japan-exclusive Monster Hunter 4G released in September 2014, which itself is an updated version of Monster 4, which released exclusively in Japan in the same month the year prior. Compared to the original, Ultimate/G adds new monsters, new gameplay balances, G-Rank quests (among the highest in difficulty), a new area, and is generally regarded as the definitive version of Monster Hunter 4.
Q. How many monsters does this game have?
A. MH4U has 98 monsters, 23 small and 75 large - the highest number of monsters in any Monster Hunter yet, beating the previous record holder, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, by seventeen beasts. Of that total, sixteen large monsters were introduced in Monster Hunter 4, while MH4U introduces eight new subspecies for the fourth generation monsters, an entirely brand new flying wyvern, and a brand new elder dragon.
Q. Is there any benefit to playing this on a New Nintendo 3DS?
A. Aside from having access to two additional buttons and a right analogue stick without needing to use the Circle Pad Pro, MH4U also benefits from much faster load times, improved texture rendering, and not needing to pull additional system memory (meaning that the game won't need to reboot after closing the game). Some weapons, such as the insect glaive and the ranged weapons benefit from having a second stick, but the game also provides a virtual D-Pad on the touch screen to serve as a decent approximate. For all other cases, the soft lock-on system introduced with 3 Ultimate should be more than adequate.
Q. When's the game releasing for the Wii U? Is it releasing for the Wii U?
A. ¯_(ツ
_/¯Q. What weapons does the game feature?
A. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's list of weapons is as follows:
- Returning Weapons:
- Sword and Shield
- Great Sword
- Long Sword
- Dual Blades
- Hammer
- Hunting Horn
- Lance
- Gunlance
- Switch Axe
- Bow
- Light Bowgun
- Heavy Bowgun
- Weapons New to Monster Hunter 4:
- Charge Blade
- Insect Glaive
Q. Am I forced to choose a class at the beginning of the game and stick with it throughout its entirety?
A. Nope. You can switch weapon types at any point, provided you have a different one. However, be aware that blademaster (melee) and gunner (ranged) weapons usually use different types of armor with different skills, even for armor derived from the same monster. If you try switching to a weapon opposite that of what your armor supports, you'll be forced out of your current set and cannot use it with those weapons.
Q. I'm so confused by how armor and armor skills work. Is there a recommended beginner set?
A. At a fundamental level, each piece of armor contains their own innate physical defense value, as well elemental modifiers (positive, zero, or negative) that affect how resistant or weak you are to the individual elemental attacks, using the physical defense value as a base. Then, there's the skills.
Unlike in most other games, each piece of armor doesn't naturally provide set abilities - instead, they offer points, both positive and negative, related to them. Once the amount of points you have amongst all of your equipped armor pieces reaches or surpasses a certain threshold (usually starting at 10 or -10), that skill's positive or negative version will activate. All hunters are also able to equip charms, randomly-generated extra accessories that can grant additional points towards your hunter's totals. On top of that, certain pieces of equipment, including some weapons, have slots, inside which you can place gems that have their own points. Though overwhelming and obtuse at first, this method provides high-fidelity control over what skills you want your armor to have, allowing you to fine-tune them to your play style, while eliminating the idea of a singular, ultimate armor.
As for recommended beginner sets, armor skills generally aren't potent enough during the low-rank quests (stars 1-6 in single-player and ranks 1-4 in multiplayer) to matter that much, meaning it's usually safe to focus solely on what defense ratings they provide. As you enter high rank (stars 7-10 in single-player and ranks 5-8 in multiplayer) and G-Rank (ranks G1-G3 in multiplayer only), though, the best low-rank armor will often prove ineffective against monsters now dealing significantly more damage than those of the previous rank. In that case, it is advisable to start crafting armors for specific sets of skills. The Velocidrome and Tetsucabra armor sets (as well as their high rank and G-Rank counterparts) are good sets for the beginning of each rank, as they naturally provide attack and defense boosts, respectively, with the boosts increasing with each rank increase. It's also easy to farm their materials.
Q. Is there any way for me to try the game? I'm still unsure.
A. Yup, the demo was previously only available to players who received (or begged) for a code; however, the demo has been publicly available as of February 5 and features an unlimited play limit. Still, be aware that while the demo features online play, the number of players still playing it will be relatively scant once the full game is released.
Q. Is underwater combat still in this game? Are there any new hunting mechanics?
A. Capcom has removed underwater combat from the game as of Monster Hunter 4, replacing it with new mechanics to promote verticality. Areas are no longer as flat as they used to be, allowing you to jump and climb almost anywhere. In turn, you can now attack enemies while mid-air to initiate a mounting attack, which, if successful, will temporarily stun the mounted monster.
Q. Are Charm Tables still in the game?
A. They are, but you are no longer permanently assigned one upon starting a new profile. Now, you are randomly assigned a Charm Table every time you start the game. In addition, there are facilities unlockable later in the single player campaign that allow you to relinquish unwanted charms in exchange for obtaining better ones.
Q. Are there any special editions of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate available for purchase?
A. MH4U is also available as a Collector's Edition and as a bundle with a New Nintendo 3DS XL, featuring an exclusive design and with the game pre-installed. The Collector's Edition features the game, a cardboard box modeled after the supply box to contain everything, an exclusive variant of a Gore Magala figure, a Monster Hunter lanyard with the icons of many of the monsters printed on it, a cleaning cloth with an illustration of the MH4 map on it, and a Felyne pin. IGN recently did an unboxing of the Collector's Edition for you to see yourself. Good luck finding them at retail, though; they seem to be entirely sold out of stock.
PranooY has compiled a review thread for MH4U, which you can find here.
