I have an incredible amount of bias towards Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate since it was my first Monster Hunter game. In fact, I had been so interested in the game from the start that when I saw it on sale, I picked it up months before I even had a Wii U. An action game entirely dedicated to lengthy boss battles just stood out from what I was expecting when looking into the early titles on the system. In a strange way, the Wii U's limited library worked in favor of this game with how easy it was to spend hundreds of hours replaying all the different hunts. Despite the long quests and numerous times that missions had to be replayed to get the right loot, it rarely ever feels like a grind. It's just a fun challenge that always feels so unbelievably satisfying when you finally take down that monster.

Although I appreciate how the later installments prioritize fast movement and drop the underwater fights, I'm also glad MH3U plays how it does for a uniquely "weighty" combat experience. I'll definitely be back for more once fan servers resurrect the online play.