There's nothing really like piloting a fire-breathing T-rex like a runaway train via an overflowing volcano prior to applying it to beat the crap from a dragon. In some already known for supplying thrilling battles you can't get everywhere, Monster Hunter Rise nevertheless manages to surprise and delight. Its extent and progress can sense flatter compared to that of Dragon Hunter World during its launch (such as a conspicuous absence of Elder Dragons), which makes it look as a foundation waiting to be built upon -- but after spending tons of hours using Rise's wonderfully enhanced mobility and quicker speed, it is going to be difficult to go back to how things were before.



For all those new to the show, Monster Hunter Rise is about killing or shooting giant, magnificent creatures and turning them in to pairs of trousers (among other pieces of gear), this time with an wonderful feudal Japanese theme throughout. Each hunt is basically an epic boss fight against a particular monster or 2, all of which are incredibly varied in the visual layout and behavior; a successful hunt provides you materials used to craft better equipment that can, consequently, allow you to take down tougher monsters -- and so forth etc. Success relies on a wholesome equilibrium of preparation and ability, and it's kept fresh by the wide range of 14 radically different weapons types you are able to swap between, the tactical puzzle of breaking and severing specific parts of a monster as opposed to simply whacking at it mindlessly, and the eternal allure of the next bit of sweet gear.



The systems that house all that detail have contributed Dragon Hunter a reputation to be daunting to find out, but 2018's Monster Hunter World shattered that barrier by streamlining many aspects and making the series available to a broader audience than previously. That is relevant here since Rise feels a little more like a follow up to the most recent Switch entry, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, which benefits from a number of World's impressive evolutions instead of a successor to World itself -- which makes some sense, given World never came into Switch and Grow is a Switch exclusive (before it comes to PC second year).



That means there's a mixture of new and old ideas here, some of which are more successful than others. For example, a lot of this streamlining World did was carried forward, including tweaks such as load-free maps, weapon-sharpening whetstones not being consumable, and recovery items being usable when walking -- all of that texture necessary after spending countless hours with them in World. Meanwhile, other items like separate Village and Hub questlines including single- and multiplayer and the ability to tweak a weapon playstyle a bit return from older Monster Hunter games. This mishmash of old ideas using some persuasive new ones of its own creates crossover sense just like a massive mechanical step forward compared to Generations Ultimate, but much more of a sidestep from the context of World and its Iceborne expansion.

Story has never been the purpose of a Dragon Hunter game (Capcom includes a succession literally called Dragon Hunter Stories for this ), so it is no surprise that the one in Rise is just as thin as tissue paper. It's told via a small few cutscenes where British voice acting will be stutteringly dubbed to complement exactly what seem to be unaltered Japanese lip flaps in a way that will neither any favors. That doesn't make the battles about those scenes any less exciting, but it's very important to point out that the advancements World made weren't only mechanical. Its story was not considerably thicker, but it did give a wonderful sense of discovery and persistence that made it feel as though you were really researching its new continent. I missed that a bit in Rise, in which unlocking new areas or being sent on crucial searches rarely had much connection to the narrative or your actions inside and again, that's not a deal breaker by any means or even something I am looking for from Monster Hunter, but it is still a location Rise takes an obvious step backward from World.



But minor issues like that are much overshadowed by the enormous (literal) leap forward Rise happens in the searches themselves. Monster Hunter is about hunting some dang critters, also here the alternatives available, locations to fight in, and strategies to achieve this together are, on the whole, superb. And while the Switch's comparably weak hardware signifies things do not seem quite as sharp as I used to with Earth, it's honestly remarkable how near Rise gets. That includes how well it generally runs, in addition to load times which are shockingly fast both in and outside of hunts. That has become a frustratingly infrequent standard of living on the Switch (I am looking at youpersonally, Animal Crossing).
Dragon Hunter Rise combines classic Dragon Hunter ideas with a number of World's best improvements along with a whole lot of smart new mechanisms of its very own. Not all them are slam dunks, but they are all enjoyable -- and the introduction of Wirebugs and the mobility they deliver to each struggle is so great I never need to give up them. 2048 mix The post-launch upgrades Capcom is already teasing can't arrive soon enough, but Monster Hunter Rise remains a thrilling step ahead in the series' development toward the new ordinary World so boldly introduced.