This is not a review of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. This is, instead, a takedown of the worst thing that's ever been in a Monster Hunter 3. "Oh you mean the underwater parts?" No. I mean Quropeco. While I've only played four Monster Hunter games, so I'm sure there's some total bullshit encounter I've completely forgotten about, this hideous bastard with its armor throat and its explosion clapping and its Rathalos summoning song is the worst thing that's ever been in a Monster Hunter game and it is a blessing they're not in the other Monster Hunters. And surely you may think "now that you've said that, they'll put it in another game." At this point? Do it. Do it and make everyone else choke. You already killed my Hunting Horn. I don't care anymore.

This fuckin game man, oh my lord. So for some backstory I had been aware of MH for some time as I remember when Tri released and one of my best friends pestered me to come see what it all about, I got as far as the character creator and mashing voice grunts over and over and it was really funny. However once I stepped out into moga woods with the greatsword I was just lost. You know the meme, why's this big ass sword so slow blah blah.

Anyway, the Wii U had no games at launch really so I bought this just to say the Wii U had games at the time and slowly I played it and played it, until 700 hours later and neck deep in the endgame I achieved nirvana. This birthed an incredible love of the series for me, I love the worldbuilding, lore, monsters. All of it, it was incredible.

Easily one of if not the best MH game in the franchise. The weapon balance is best in this game compared to every other game. The progression actually rocks. The hub quests are fun and not overbearing. There's no asinine gimmick other than underwater combat, which is great on a controller (sucks to be on a 3ds though). The ONLY and I do mean only downside to this game is Capcom's insanely stupid take on how multiplayer should be done. See, they thought to themselves "well, the 3DS is a mobile platform, which means theyre gonna probably be outdoors when they play! NO ONLINE FOR THE 3DS!" so now if you want to play online multiplayer, you either have to emulate it on PC or you have to use the Wii U to connect online. Genuinely asking, what was their thought process?

imo the best in the series. Weapon balance, hub quests, visual design, music, monster design - It all hit exactly how it needed to for me. There are only a few downsides. Underwater combat, this game's main gimmick, just didn't work with the 3ds' control scheme. It's a lot better emulated or on the Wii U version, but most people (Including me for the majority of my playtime) played on the 3DS version. They also decided not to include online play on the 3DS version, which as mentioned is the version most people played.

Still a great game when you get down to it though.

So here’s the deal, I’ve already completed the main story and did many of the high rank missions solo. The plan was to continue with the multiplayer missions and do as many as possible before the servers get closed in April. However I’ve noticed that a lot of the multiplayer missions are a repeat of solo ones. I already spent over 170 hours, I keep seeing the same monsters, areas and items. The game has been done for me a long time ago and it didn’t register until recently.

The game itself is very impressive and a big accomplishment especially at the time. The maps feel alive, the mechanics were introduced gradually and perfectly (unlike Rise), the graphics were great, there is a lot of content, it’s very polished and the controls can feel rewarding after getting used to them.

All that said, I don’t know how 3 Ultimate will stack up against the newer Monster Hunter games and whether it’s worth playing after playing the newer ones. This is my first MH and I didn’t spend enough time on Rise to answer this confidently. I can at least say it’s worth playing for MH fans and Capcom tried to make the best game possible at the time. It was clearly made with love and care.