Well met, Hunter! Before you start getting pissed reading my post here, let me share a bit of myself. I'm a big fan of the Monster Hunter series and have played almost all of the installments that I could get my hands on and I'm also pretty good at the game. Not THAT good, but still pretty good. So I know what I'm writing about. I'm pretty happy with how the series currently are right now and not necessarily want a change in formula but this post is all about my rambling about the games that happen to cross my mind, that 'what if' question that makes me want to perceive games through another perspective, so enjoy!
We all know that most of action games involve around killing things... For the greater good. Yes, we play games to escape the mundane world and become a hero. We role play as the protagonist. Every storyteller can simplify his story as 'the protagonist killing the antagonist'. We play as a knight in shining armor that kills the dragon who robs the treasure and threaten the kingdom... But wait, what if....
What if we play as a knight in dragon-scale armor kills the dragon guarding its egg and never actually seen threatening the kingdom? I'd feel bad. We all know and we all consciously overlook the fact that the game lacks any sort of real 'narrative' element aside from the thin dialogues among the characters, simply because the game is surprisingly fun in a challenging sort of way (cringe when remembering G class monsters in Freedom 2). We are thrown into the world filled with monsters so majestic and often possessing god-like qualities, with little to no narrative explanation. You are there to fulfill a request sent by troubled INDIVIDUALS to hunt down the incredible beasts. Remember how a certain quest comes from a spoiled princess who wants Rathalos captured to be a pet?
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| Zamtrios: 'Oh boy, I'm so full it's hard to move--A hunter? Wait--Hey, no, hold on--I--I can explain--Lemme get a breather!' Hunter: (2.5 seconds to full charge...) |
The beautiful creatures are not a subject of worship, they are resources. You outfit yourself with parts scavenged from their carcass. You appear in front of a Rathalos wearing the armor made from the remains of the Rathalos's brother. You break A Congalala's Elvis hair that it may have spent hours grooming. You slice them to oblivion using their own bones and claws. You grab wyvern eggs and let your partner hunters kill the mommy wyverns. Hell, you even eat them! (Gravios wingtip with gravy sauce, anyone?) Some quest backgrounds DO tell that the monsters are threatening at some point but never have the game showed the home village destroyed by a rampaging, horny Rajang who just got dumped by a female Rajang in mating season. We even almost always encounter them when they are walking and enjoying sunshine...
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Gore Magala: ''Tis a peaceful day and a full belly, time to sleep...'
Hunter: 'DIE, FRENZY FREAK!!'
Gore Magala: 'DAFUUQQ!?'
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I'm well aware that these considerations are far-fetched, but hey, this is the 'Is it safe to say' article, and right now, with all the considerations, is it safe to say that are we actually the antagonist of the game? In my honest opinion, what actually draws me to love the game, aside from the gameplay, are the main characters. By characters, I mean the MONSTERS. Seriously, the monsters are so well-designed that we can just feel them alive as characters as opposed of some hunkering meat bags for weapons testing. Each have its own individuality, even the roars. You can close your eyes, pick a quest at random and tell what you're fighting against just from the monster's roar itself (aside from several theme songs). Every new installment can and will often give you that 'sinking' feeling whenever we face a new monster, whose patterns of attacks we don't know yet (happens to me every time a Deviljho theme song replaces an original song in a quest). The monsters are as much a character like the humans/wyverians in the game. I guess that's what makes me feel increasingly uneasy doing quests over and over with nothing to do except testing equipment or farming materials (Rajang Tail, anyone?)
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| Right. I shouldn't have been paid... I'm not supposed to kill the spider, am I? CMIW... |
We come, we see and we conquer. We rolled, we trap and we carve. Honestly, if the game provide more meaty explanation as to why we are actually hunting them story-wise, I may have felt somewhat more content, as by having the responsibility of killing them is definitely for the greater good. For example, maybe Kokoto is about to be run-over by thousands of crazy Popos and Antekas coming down, galloping from the mountains and that the only way to stop them is to kill the Tigrex in the mountain who farts so loud that the herbivores got scared and decide to run for their lives. It would give me plenty of satisfaction to actually finish the quest. 'Saving the village' is a better premise than 'I need ONE more Tigrex Scale. Because a whole 200-kilo wyvern carcass yields only ONE SCALE'.
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| Hunter:'Let's take a wefie, Kirin!!' Kirin: 'Sorry, Dad... If it wasn't to keep me alive, you wouldn't be made into a pair of underwear....'*sob* |
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| 'Alright, cats, gather the shrooms you want, but don't tell the hunters bout me. I've got kids to feed. I haven't even laid eggs in a decade...' ..... And I'm pretty sure we'd still kill it Bushido-style..... |
After all is said and done, my thoughts on Monster Hunter Series? Good job for Capcom for making an addictive game with plenty of interesting characters while having NO NARRATIVE whatsoever. I'm not against the series continuing their traditional trademark of the game since the latest installment is already on the good track of providing us a decent amount of storyline but I find myself yearning for that words of the divine to drive me to go hunt a majestic beasts. But right now, I must be content with killing grand creatures as ordered by the words of the Professor. In the name of Science!
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