Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - Nintendo 3DS

*Quick Note: I am the reviewer's son* The purpose of this review is to inform other Monster Hunter fans about this game and to highlight the changes (as well as to shower some praise on a little-known series). I may use some terminoligal that a non-monster hunter fan won't understand, but I'll keep that to a minimum. Anyway, this is the third game in the third generation of monster hunter. The third generation started with Monster Hunter 3/Tri(which will be reffered to from now on as MH3) on the Wii in 2010/late 2009 in Japan. In late 2010, the Japan-exclusive Monster Hunter Portable third was released on the PSP. Portable 3rd added plenty of new content, in the form of more monsters and weapons. Then, in late 2011, Monster Hunter 3 G was released on the 3ds in Japan. 18 months later, it's here in the US. Now, will you like it? That really depends. At it's very core, it is Monster Hunter Tri, and if you didn't like it, then you won't like this. If you are a Monster Hunter fan, then yes, you will like it. If you are totaly new to the series, don't pick this up if you are not (a)patient, (b)willing to scour through online wikis, (c)are totally apalled by guys with oversized weapons able to stay underwater for ten minutes at a time(not a typo),or want a half-decent story in a video game. The story is, for the most part, non-existent; you are a hunter assigned to a villiage built on water that has been plauged by earthquakes. The village chieftan thinks it's a large leviathan called the Lagiacrus (the cover monster of MH3). But you can't immideatly fight it; you have to work your way up through four ranks of quests,kill it, and find out there's just been another earthquake. You then go through another level of quests before you face the true source of the earthquakes: a humongous elderdragon known as Ceadeus (It's name is latin for Sea god). But you then get to hang around for four more ranks of quests, which are facing tougher versions of previous monsters, in addition to several new mow monsters. I'll start off the meat of this review with the changes from MH3.First off, there are 60 monsters in game, instead of the 35 of MH3. Some of them are new to the series, others are just new to this generation of monster hunter games. Brand-new monsters are number at more than a dozen, so I will not be including a list or detailed description of any of them in this review. Old monsters that are new to the third generation are Nargacuga (think over-sized, hellish panther with wings replacing the front pair of legs), and Plesioth ( loch ness monster with wings), as well as thier various subspecies. Monsters returning from MH3 also have thier own subspecies now. A lot of monsters returning from MH3 have had thier health and attack powers decreased: great jaggi, rathian, lagiacrus, great baggi, and ceadeus are the ones that are most noticeable (especialy the great jaggi; in MH3, my first fight against it took 30+ minutes; with the exact same gear, it took me less than 10 in this game). Now, for the gear! All the weapons that were missing in MH3 (hunting horn, bow, gunlance, and duel swords) are in. Also,all the existing weapon trees have been majorly tweaked. For example, if you wanted to get a spiral lance, you would have to go like this: bone lance>>>bone lance+>>>ploshasta>>>ludroth bone spear>>>spiral lance. Now, the ploshasta is out, and you have to go and search for some annoyingly hard-to-find carpenterbugs to upgrade from bone lance+>>>ludroth bone spear. And, from spiral lance>>>spiral lance+, you have to have 3 spongy hide, four lagombi plastron, and five monster bone+, compared to the 3 spongy hides, 4 Gobul hides, and 3 lagiacrus tails you would need to have in MH3. Next up are the items. You get items through foraging, mining, killing a monster and cutting of parts of it, or getting them from the rewards screen at the end of the quest. Basic items you should always have on you are potions, mega potions, whetstones (you need to sharpen your weapon regurlarly), and well-done steaks (to keep your stamina up). Now, generaly, items with a + at the end are from high-rank quests; however, that isn't always the case. Monster bone+, for example, can be gotten as early as rathian. Now, for the controls. You might be thinking that they would be terrible, especialy under water. Well, turns out, they're fine. You can now automaticaly re-adjust the camera to be centered on a large monster of your choosing that is in the area with you. Also, thier is a virtual d-pad on the bottom screen, which can be positioned to feel more ore less like a second analog stick. Could they be a bit better? Yes. Do you have to run out and import a Circle Pad Pro to make it playable? Nope. There isn't much new in the way of areas. The Misty Peaks from Portable 3rd are in, but can only be accesed at high rank. The final boss also gets his own area ("The Tainted Sea", if you must know the name). My Verdict: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is Monster Hunter 3 3.0. It does not feel repetetive or stale in the least, and offers a fresh experience to any player. Ultimately(pun unintended), this is the ultimate Monster Hunter experience out there. New Addition(*5/16/13*): I have been in high rank for some time now and have just unlocked the six-star urgent quest. I also have faced some subspecies, and I'm only to glad to give my opinion on them. Firstly, there is the Purple Ludroth. It is a harder royal ludroth (which resembles a huge marine iguana with a cauliflower-ish mane) that has posion as its element instead of water. It definetly makes for a harder fight, though there aren't really any new attacks that you wouldn't already be used to from the royal ludroth. The pinkish-purple hue to parts of it just doesn't look very realistic or appealing. My rank: 3/5 Secondly, there is the pink rathian. She is a pink rathian with a crazy, omni-directional tail flip that is really hard to block/dodge. Besides that, nothing really new. My rank: 3/5 Lastly, there is the Crimson Qurupeco. It is a red version of the qurupeco that has thunder as its element, making a pleasant change of attacks. However, like the original qurupeco would call in rathian and beat up on players new to the game, the crimson qurupeco calls in Deviljho. He is not somebody you want to take on when you first meet him in the crimson qurupeco hunt. Fortunatly, he attacks the crimson qurupeco just as much as he attacks you, so you can leave the area for a minute and he will deal out a severe thrashing. My rank: 4/5 That's all the new stuff for right now. I'll probably do several more of these updates in the future.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is one of my favorite games and what got me hooked into the series. Monster Hunter 3U does not disappoint! The changes from 3 to 3U can be found here: [...] Pros: 1. Excellent game for those interested in getting into the series. The slope of the learning curve has been dampened to allow players new to the series to get fully acclimated to the mechanics before stepping up the difficulty. 2. The pacing is great and most "things" are explained in game, allowing new players to easily reference subject matters that they are unsure about. 3. The hit boxes, weapons, and overall mechanics of the game have been polished quite nicely! More detail about such changes are beyond this scope of this review and can be investigated further in the provided link to the wiki. 4. This game is absolutely gorgeous on the 3DS, taking full advantage of the 3DS capabilities. One may expect long load times or frame rate issues for a game based on a Wii/WiiU title but neither is experienced on the 3DS. The game is fluid, reacts quickly to the user input, and looks even better in 3D. Cons: 1. While there is plenty of way to customize, I wish armor skills were spread out and diverse. You can't mix and match as much (as say Freedom Unite) 2. At the moment I'm drawing a blank on the general complaints. Essentially the rest of the complaints can be lumped together and geared toward players familiar with the series. "I wish [this] monster was in the game...", "I wish they balanced this weapon better..." etc. I would be wary about buying this for another person unless you know for sure that they are a fan of the series. While Monster Hunter is necessarily hard, the game could prove tedious or too time consuming for casual players who are looking for something that more along the lines of "Pick up and play"

This game started out as Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii, was then ported to the PSP as MHP3rd with extra content added, and was again ported from Wii to 3DS with PSP areas and monsters added in and retextured. Then again it was ported from 3DS to Wii U. All in all that means there is hundreds of hours worth of playtime. The professional reviews remark how the game's graphics aren't very impressive, but it's a Monster Hunter game and this is the best looking one of them all. If you're spoiled so bad as to care beyond a remark, then I pity you for being a young kid and missing out. Also, the character and monster animations are phenomenal, so you can't rag on the graphics for long before being wowed by the hunt. The Wii U has full online. The 3DS version achieves online by tunneling through the Wii U like a router, so this helps if you're a family and one person has a Wii U and another only a 3DS. The Wii U has to have its own copy of MH and not be active for this to work. You can still play 2 player co-op using one Wii U and 3DS, or one Wii U and a maximum of 3 3DS, and also between 4 3DS. Both 3DS and Wii U can access DLC and event quests. Your save file can also be transferred between Wii U and 3DS, so you can take it on the go anytime you want. The violence isn't a big deal in this game, you hunt monsters to gather resources and protect your village. Pretty sensible stuff. But you still might not want to buy the game for a child under 15-14. They might not be mature or experienced enough to get through the first quarter of the game and understand all of the mechanics. Still, if they like games other than the yearly release of Call of Duty, this is a profoundly unique experience and, unlike so many games, is actually worth the full price.

Now this is game You would LOVE to get. If you are looking for an Action MMO-ish RPG than this is your game. This game makes you feel like you are being rewarded for when you kill those big monsters because you ACTUALLY learn the monsters attack pattern and know when to dodge from learning those attack patterns. It's not just some Hack and Slash game, its more than that. This game has you strategizing on what items you need to take on each monster. All of the monsters feel unique. You will find yourself playing up to 120 hours of gameplay before you EVER beat this game of all it's monsters and quests. Plus all of the Multiplayer Quests CAN be played offline. The 3DS ver. doesn't have online but it does have local wireless. and if u think you've beaten every kind of monster, think again. After getting through half of the game you start getting into the Subspecies of those same monsters you've beaten. They are not just the same monsters with re-skins and more health, they have new attack patterns added on to the old ones you knew so the game makes you have to re-learn everything you knew about that monster. THAT is what keeps the game from feeling stale after playing it for so long. But you also have to scavenge stuff located in the 6 regions so you have to have patience and look for the stuff to help make new or upgrade armor and weapons. and yes you have to beat the same monster a couple of times to get the stuff you need but it just doesn't feel like it's repetitive because you learned from the 1st time you beaten it of how it behaves and attacks so you feel like you are in control PLUS fighting the creature starts showing damage on it. Like broken armor plates and scarred skin which makes you feel like saying "HAHA!!! TAKE THAT!" There is so much to do in this game! This is one of the better games you can find on the market. I HIGHLY recommend playing this game! LONG LIVE MONSTER HUNTER!!!

With a plethora of installments in the franchise and a fair amount of Monster Hunter Tri renditions and ports, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (MH3U) makes a lot of improvements on what has plagued some of the games in the series before it and makes leaps and bounds for the 3DS controls and refines gameplay. Not only does this game have hundreds of hours of content available, but those hours feel well spent and rewarding for the majority of it with its RPG nature and skill based gameplay. One of the most interesting things that I noticed first about this particular game in my searching is the cross-platforming between the 3DS version and the Wii U; the only difference being HD graphics on the Wii U version. And that certainly isn't to say that MH3U on the 3DS isn't beautiful: the 3D effect works brilliantly on your player and surrounding monsters and environments. What this does say about the game, however, is that its quality is nearly identical to a home console version, and it certainly shows that while playing and traversing the world. Camera controls fairly easy with touchscreen functionality available for players to actual see these environments and uses the "L" button to normally lock it in front of your hunter. My favorite use of the camera is causing tapping "L" to lock onto any large monster in the immediate area with a touchscreen button, and double tapping "L" to once again lock the camera in front of you. The core system for MH3U is set around quest oriented game play: you choose a quest, prepare for it, and hunt down monsters that get progressively tougher as you continue down this seemingly endless slope. This is fairly simplistic, and gives player a good pace setter since quests generally take 15 to 30 minutes and can be done on the go if you have some free time. One thing that does stand out about this from other, similar RPG games though (like the Phantasy Star series) is the surprising lack of leveling and the emphasis on knowing your enemy and knowing your own abilities. Rather than allow for players to level up by gaining experience from slashing things to death and through that equip stronger equipment, players are forced to craft new armor and weapons as the central form of leveling up. One which, I might add, is very cryptic at times since after the first few tutorials you are left on your own to determine where certain resources you need may be located and how they might be gathered. Need Ice Stone for a new Greatsword or Spear? The tundra would probably be a good place to start, but even then locations for mining vary from materials potentially gained in its place. The "A" button serves as the action command for gathering these ores, along with catching bugs, and even carving materials from monsters (which is enjoyable to watch as your hunter sticks a dagger into a monster carcass). In this fashion, the game draws on your own knowledge of the world without many handicaps and crutches (not any more that is needed, anyways). The variety of weapons also keeps things interesting, since each weapon has its own play style. Through my earlier missions, I quickly learned to use weapons based on what resources I could gather (some which would only be unlocked after the main campaign), and the game generously starts you out with one copy each of the 12 weapons to test and upgrade. I was frustrated at first when I started to try to level up my gear and was unable to gather certain materials, but it forced me to try new weapons I probably wouldn't have touched and gives you a greater scope of which weapons work better for specific monsters. For melee weapons, "X" and "A" function as attacks and secondary attacks, with "R" being each weapon's special attack/stance. Each weapon varies, and ranged weapons allows hunters to use a variety of bullets and coatings for their ammunition (although I haven't tried many for myself and am unsure how in depth this system goes). Additionally, weapon and armor bonuses can be viewed from your status screen, but again hunters will need to deduce what these skills do and how much of a stat will actually influence combat. Not everyone will like this built in "cap" and semi-cryptic design, but I think it adds much more to MH3U's complexity than it may detract. Even similar to very difficult games like "Dark Souls", the game relies on you, the player, to grasp the game and play it for what it's worth. Another aspect about this game I mentioned in brief are the environments and features from the main town: new areas are unlocked as you conquer story based quests and each has its own monsters, materials, and gimmicks. Knowing your surroundings is important, or you could find yourself dying rather quickly to monsters and the climate. Hot and Cold drinks can help you withstand extreme climates, and are necessary if you are in arid or freezing environments. The main story/plot will guide you through these various environments (including a desert, tundra, and volcano), and the storyline for MH3U surely isn't incredible but it suffices since the main focus is obviously on the monsters and gameplay. Essentially, you're attempting to save Moga Village from the Lagiacrus by becoming strong enough to successfully take it out. Hunters can also eat a meal in the central, hub village before each quest to level up health, stamina, attack, or defense with additional buffs, and grow/harvest new materials in the farm built onto the town. These features are easy to understand, and help with building/advancing the town and surviving quests (although only slightly). The game also features a free roaming environment for gathering town resources through killing monsters outside of quests: which can be used for villager requests to build new items or town additions. Although it may seem more of an attempted add on to allow for free roaming, this type of gameplay is required for parts of the story and getting better advantages from your farm and newly added partners (and yes, this game does provide you with help in the form of two AI). These partner AI function well, and certainly helps with the difficulty of monsters since much of the time they are simply meat shields for you and no cooperative play is available for this portion of the game. This leads into the main draw, and disappointment (for me), of MH3U: multiplayer. A new addition to MH3U from the previous Monster Hunter Tri renditions is a altered multiplayer village that has been crafted with new features, shops, and quests: some which are DLC and completely free to download (kudos to Capcom for that). Streetpass also works within MH3U and allows hunters you pass on the street to become part of your world and go on quests to slay monsters for you: requiring you to pay money to them and receiving the loot from the quests they undertake. This is a neat part of the multiplayer village and helps you bypass time when your friends are not right next to you to play MH3U... since the game only features local multiplayer. A HUGE disappointment for such a great game and evidently cooperative minded, not having multiplayer over Wi-fi forces you to have friends nearby that can help you on some of the BRUTALLY hard DLC quests later on. This is a fairly poor decision on Capcom's side to not have this, but even so I think the rest of the game makes up for it. Without knowing how good servers would have functioned, it may have even been a smart decision, and with Monster Hunter 4 finally having these portable, online capabilities (exclusively on the 3DS as well) I think an exception can be made here (for now). In conclusion, I think of MH3U as the 2013 3DS game of the year based on its incredible combat, beautiful graphics (for the 3DS), and its vastness for playability. If you own a 3DS and like RPGs in any capacity, you should definitely check this title out as it pushes the system to its limits while pushing your abilities as a gamer too.

I found this game much easier to get into than its past predecessors. It takes an old familiar play style classic to the monster hunter series and adds a few refined touches to the mix. This is perfect for those who have tried to get into the monster hunter series in the past but just couldn't due to the high difficulty curve. There is a tutorial (which takes awhile to go through) for each game mechanic which helps ease the player into the role of a monster hunter. things such as trapping, gathering resources, monster slaying, farming, fishing, and smithing are all explained to help familiarize the player instead of forcing them to figure it out on their own. Players go around getting better armor by slaying monsters and gathering materials. This time around Capcom has tried to put in a bit of a story, but its just a thinly veiled excuse to push the player forward into the grind for better gear and armor. Don't let this deter you, battles get more epic as you go up in rank and more time is spent preparing and coordinating for the real big ones. What I have really liked about this game is the ability to pair up with friends to take down large monsters. each player chooses their preferred weapons of choice and work together to take down the big ones. There is such a thrill working with friends and coordinating that all shortcomings for the game are minimal. My one gripe about this though is that the 3DS version does not support a wifi connection or online play. Multiplayer must be a local connection. Although I do spend more time single player than multiplayer it is not by choice. Weapons have weight to them, their play styles are all so varied that in some cases it feels like playing a whole new game when you equip a different weapon. That is something I have always liked about the series are the weapons and the large variety given to the player. The designs are beautiful and the combat for each one different. Armor also plays a role as the player does not level up, instead he crafts better gear. Watching your hunter go from its basic leather all the way to top end gear is a feat that gives you a sense of accomplishment. After all nothing you get was without effort on your part either through gathering or hunting the pieces it all comes together to make beautiful set pieces and weapon designs. Although this game is starting to show its age, it is a tried and true game that plays like its predecessors, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you are looking for a game that you can invest some time in and enjoy doing so, I would recommend this game.

I'll start by saying I'm a monster hunter fan, have been since the first ps2 game and I've followed every game in the series. (Even the Japanese only games) This game is, for the most part, a port of Monster Hunter Tri on Nintendo Wii. Every single feature from Tri is still intact. The game looks very good, honestly is sorta comes close to Tri on Wii. There are obviously downsized textures and some jaggies here and there, and I mean anti-aliasing not the monster ^_~ Music is still all there, very epic feeling and all that jazz. The real meat here is the new monsters to hunt. This game is a mixing pot of monsters. There are over seventy monsters, from every entry in the series. Over 3000 pieces of gear, three new areas added, a new companion aside from Cha-Cha and over 300 quests, wow. It's easy to say if you're a monster hunter fan you should more than likely get this. It adds enough content to warrant a second run through and feels fresh despite being an updated version. The circle pad pro attachment isn't vital but is recommended, it makes the game feel like Tri on Wii. It plays just fine without it but it certainly improves upon the experience greatly, and considering the time you'll put towards this game it's best to get yourself as comfy as possible. Don't forget if you have a 3DS and the Wii-U version of 3 ultimate you can carry your save data over the two consoles so you can keep hunting wherever you are! A nice feature. The 3DS version does NOT have online multi-player, just local. I seriously have to ask why, it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to add. Anyways, back to hunting, I'm grinding so I can fight all the new monsters :D !

This game is good, I got both this version and the Wii U version, as there are times when i dont have access to my console and wanted to be able to take the game on the road. It looks good for a handheld, although i will admit i almost always have the 3d turned off. It handles fairly well, but i feel like you really need a second thumb stick, like the circle pad pro in order for this game to be truly playable. That being said, its still a good port and plays well, the problem is more or less with the hardware, not the software. Would have been better if it came bundled with the CPP, like how the old Wii Version of Tri came with the Classic Controller Pro, just my opinion though.

Purtroppo non ho avuto fortuna coc questo gioco in quanto sono stata costretta ha rimandarlo indietro ben due volte perché la console non lo leggeva. ..Ma prontamente Amazon lo ha ritirato senza spese a mio carico e mi ha rimborsati quello che ho speso;.quindi per questo meriterebbe 5 stelle.Il gioco no è stata una amara delusione peccato perché me ne avevano parlato bene.

Una de las franquicias que aún valen la pena por parte de Capcom, sin dida MH3 y 4 no deben faltar en la colección de los que tenemos un 3ds, además llegará el X con otro nombre en algún momento, y son juegos que no deben dejar pasar

Great game, not as good as 4 ultimate in regard of what you can do but I like it better then generations. And according to the how long to beat website this is the biggest monster hunter game on the 3ds judging by the amount of hours it takes to fully complete (600 hours).

great game

Everytime when I do the card into the slot the system say ,that nothing is in the slot. That's very stupid.