Monster Hunter is one of Capcom’s most popular franchises, and with good reason. As a spectacle, very few games can compare, especially with an engaging loop where you take on dangerous creatures and acquire materials to boost your character further.
I had the opportunity to play the next mainline entry, Monster Hunter Wilds, at the Tokyo Game Show, focusing specifically on its multiplayer features. Capcom’s massive booth at the Tokyo Game Show had PlayStation 5s set up in clusters of four, allowing attendees to join each other to go on quests. Moreover, I was able to interview producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, director Yuya Tokuda, and art director Kaname Fujioka to learn about the team’s inspirations when crafting an even bigger and more realistic world than ever before.
My hands-on demo of Monster Hunter Wilds began with a quest that’s already in progress. My wife and I joined a couple of other attendees who were also part of the same cluster. Together, we set about chasing down an Alpha Doshaguma, a giant bear-like beast with thick fur.
My character was at the town hub, so I was able to change my loadout, which included a secondary weapon. For this particular hunt, I chose a Great Sword, as well as a Heavy Bow Gun. My wife’s character, meanwhile, was in the middle of nowhere in the Forbidden Lands, so a staff had to assist her for the time being.
MMORPG: What are the qualities or traits that set Monster Hunter Wilds apart from previous iterations?
Fujioka: The most notable change is that Monster Hunter Wilds offers completely seamless gameplay. In the previous titles, finishing a hunt usually spawned you back at your base and you have to select a new mission. This time, it’s more [free-form] since you can stay in the area and continue to explore. The Seikret mount also lets you carry a secondary weapon so you can switch while exploring the Forbidden Lands.
As we ventured further into new territories in the Forbidden Lands, I saw sprawling and varied environments while riding my Seikret mount. There were verdant grasslands and lush forests, along with distant caverns and foreboding crags.
MMORPG: Can you tell us more about the plenty and fallow periods?
Tokuda: One of the new features that we’ve added is how the map and environments can change dramatically even though you’re in the same physical location. During a period of plenty, you might see only few threatening animals in the vicinity, and the locations themselves look more vivid and colorful. However, this can turn on a dime when the fallow period occurs, a “wild” period of nature where dangerous monsters start appearing and the environment itself becomes a threat.
MMORPG: How often do these environmental changes happen within a set period of time?
Tokuda: It works a bit differently in the full game compared to the demo. We’ve kept a system where you’re always on your toes and engaged, where you feel that there’s always something to discover even if there are dangers on the map.
MMORPG: There are multiple types of maps/environments with their own variants depending on the period? Would you be able to share how many variables there are?
Tsujimoto: That’s not something we can reveal right now [no spoilers]. But we have made it so that locations/biomes are designed and monster spawns are implemented more organically. We have a holistic design philosophy where creatures form a sort of “food pyramid” with predators and prey, and everything is part of a living ecosystem.
The living and breathing ecosystem was exactly what I noticed the more I played. The Alpha Doshaguma, initially all on its own, eventually ran straight toward other hostiles, which we had to fend off. With so many enemies around us, I had to toss a dung bomb to force the target to separate from its pack just so our team could continue running after it.
Shortly thereafter, the Alpha Dogashuma was attacked by a Congalala, a long-tailed beast that’s akin to a hybrid of a baboon and a skunk. We watched as the two gargantuan animals duked it out, with the former scampering off into the distance.
MMORPG: Considering how different Monster Hunter World and Rise were from their predecessors, do you consider certain games as part of a different generation or category when developing them? How much does Monster Hunter Wilds take it a step further?
Tsujimoto: We usually look at each title on their own terms when we start developing them. I think that you can look at World and Rise as fairly unique, but we also have Generations, which we released as part of the 15th year anniversary of the series. We looked at that as a more festive celebration of the things that fans love about the franchise.
At the same time, when we start a new title, we don’t really look at the last one and pick specific features from Game A or Game B. Instead, we start from scratch in a sense and we [determine what we want to achieve with each game].
With Monster Hunter Wilds, I suppose the biggest challenge we had was how to take the latest generation of hardware [to have the series reach a potential] that’s never been seen before by fans.
MMORPG: Monster Hunter World and Rise were released for certain consoles first, with the PC launch following much later. With Wilds, though, it’s set to release for multiple platforms simultaneously. How did you come about this decision while developing the game?
Tokuda: Right from the very beginning of this project, we’ve had the goal to have the game [for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S] for the global simultaneous launch. We also have crossplay features enabled for these platforms [but not cross-progression]. We felt that we had to bring the series to what fans expect with triple-A standards, where players can pick up and play the game on release day without worrying about the timing or platform.
As our squad of four caught up with the Doshaguma, I thought of how other hunts would play out once the game is released. Certainly, there’d be no more concerns about timed exclusivity, and there are likely to be more players eager for co-op with crossplay enabled.
While I mulled over these implications, I noticed how my teammate had switched to their Sword and Shield setup, which allowed them to get into the thick of the fray with better defense. I told my wife to wield the Gunlance, while I swapped to my Heavy Bowgun alternate weapon.
After a long and arduous battle, the Doshaguma was finally felled and we were able to collect our hard-earned loot. As mentioned earlier, seamless gameplay meant that we were no longer forced back to our camp, and we were free to continue exploring the Forbidden Lands at our leisure.
MMORPG: Are there any real-world or mythological/fantastical creatures that you were fascinated by when you were growing up, and did this influence you when you were designing the creatures in the Monster Hunter series?
Fujioka: As a kid, I was often fascinated by dinosaurs, as well as kaiju like Godzilla and Gigan. I think that, as you grow up and get older, you tend to look for cooler or sleeker monster designs. However, in my case, I’ve always had a place in my heart for designs that are easy to understand and with lots of spikes.
MMORPG: You mentioned kaijus as inspirations, and with Monster Hunter having several collaborations before, I do hope we’ll eventually see a Kaiju No. 8 collaboration in the future.
Tsujimoto: [laughs] Well, if they’re up for it…
MMORPG: One of the coolest attractions we experienced in Universal Studios Japan was Monster Hunter XR. Do you feel that a full-fledged Monster Hunter VR game would be feasible?
Tsujimoto: We’re not really considering that for now when it comes to mainline experiences. The one at USJ has been conceptualized as a special one-off attraction, so that gameplay works well for that type of experience. The project was also very challenging for us and the team at USJ.
All in all, Monster Hunter Wilds exceeded my expectations. I knew that I would be in for a treat, especially since I love teaming up with other players to eliminate hostile beasts. Little did I know how seamless the entire experience would be, made even better by crossplay and simultaneous global release for the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. I can already tell that Monster Hunter Wilds is one epic journey to look forward to once it releases on February 28, 2025.
