You take a hit and fly across the ground, sliding to a stop as you try to regain your composure. Picking up your head you see your quest getting ready to charge once again. Pulling an arrow from the quiver, you take aim and pull back on the bowstring, the arrow is loosed and you hit the charging beast square in the eye socket. The giant beast goes down with a thud, and it’s still warm corpse is laying there waiting for you to harvest it. Things like this are normal in this type of game, and this is our review of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate on Nintendo Switch.
Developed and published by Capcom, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate originally launched on Nintendo 3DS in November 2015. The game was very well received by fans and it quickly became a best-selling hit. The original game sold 1.5 million units in two days and this reviewer wonders how many sales the Switch version is going to get. In this game world, you are a monster hunter and it is your job to take on quests to find items, plants, and monsters. You have fifty minutes to complete your assigned tasks and earn your reward, or, fail to do so and have to try again. This happened many times to me.
As we had established earlier, this game is a port from 3DS to Nintendo Switch, and it doesn’t fail to impress. I had not played the 3DS version of the game, however, upon watching videos of the 3DS version online I noticed a key feature that had changed, the graphics. The Switch port comes with an HD graphics update, and this is very clear upon playing the game within the first seconds. The loading screens feel very much like a 3DS game, but the in-game graphics look very good on a 50” television or right on the Switch screen itself. The standard graphical updates also include updates to weapons, items, and beasts in the world.
Monster Hunter fans rejoice with the new amount of monsters to slay as well. This game comes in above all of the rest of the franchise’ current numbers with 93 large beasts to tackle. Some of these monsters are big, some are small, and you would think some are just right in size, but who are we kidding because a monster is a monster, just go get them and earn yourself materials to upgrade and craft better armor and weapons.
)
Continuing with its hunting styles Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate has the standard styles and also has two new ones.
- Guild Style – The classic Monster Hunter style.
- Striker Style – Equip a max of three Hunter Arts, they are charged by dealing damage and taking damage.
- Aerial Style – Allows you to take your fight to the air
- Adept Style – Activated by dodging or blocking at the last minute to achieve a powerful counter-attack.
New Styles
- Valor Style – Advanced style granting a Valor Stance once the meter is filled.
- Alchemy Style – Equips you with a barrel that is shaken to obtain special items or buffs and you can also equip three Hunter Arts.
There is also a Prowler Mode that allows you to play the game as a Felyne. It gives you another Hunter Type: Beast and gives you a special attack.
If you are trying to buy this expecting it to be newer than Monster Hunter World then you would be wrong. This game has been out a lot longer in Japan and is only just now getting its US release. It isn’t a game that has the polished graphics and controls of Monster Hunter World but it is still a very clean port of a game that started on 3DS.
Overall, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is an excellent port from 3DS to Switch. The graphical updates alone make this a worthwhile port, and the combat, items, and everything else in this game makes it even better. I have played this and Monster Hunter World and while MHW is superior MHGU is a good option for gamers who want to play on Switch.
Score: 9/10
Pros
- Graphical Updates
- Number of Quests
- Amount of Monsters to Fight
Cons
- Controls are difficult to get used to at first
- Some quests are vague
Note: Our copy was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code provided by PR.
