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exodus
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"finally played monster hunter" , posted Tue 17 Apr 15:38post reply

specifically the demo of the U.S. version of Monster Hunter 2. It really was quite fun after all... though I really don't like having to play with other people. It's kind of nice if you can get enough people together, and I guess in japan they arrange meetings, but here it's pretty tough to find anyone with a PSP - even tougher to find someone with a PSP that doesn't have gold teeth and/or a huge ugly hoodie. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but somehow I doubt they're Monster Hunter fans.

So I tried this because polly kept wailing on about it, and it seems nice. So should I suck it up and get the PS2 version? I imagine the single player in that is a bit more robust. This one sure has great visuals for a PSP title, incidentally.






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Pollyanna
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"Re(1):finally played monster hunter" , posted Tue 17 Apr 15:55post reply

I'm surprised it made a good impression right off the bat! Normally people think the game sucks until they get into it (and it does get exponentially better as you can do more).

Anyway, I would NOT recommend getting the first Monster Hunter for PS2. The single player mode for that is extremely limited and frustrating.

Although you'll still be missing a fair amount of material, MH2 has a good single player mode that you can "win", giving you some sense of accomplishment. I like it more than the portable versions because the control scheme is better and it looks nicer.

However, if MH2P is handy, that might be the best choice. I'm not sure what its single player mode is like, but I imagine it's comparable to MH2. Also, there's the chance that you might get to play with someone at some point. Playing with 3 competent partners is an amazing experience, even if you generally prefer to play alone.

That, and I imagine you won't have to go online to unlock everything...(though I don't know if there will be as much to unlock).





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"Re(2):finally played monster hunter" , posted Tue 17 Apr 19:30:post reply

I've registered around :
- 300 hours on MH Freedom
- 90 hours on MH2
- 200 hours on MH Portable 2

My advice : I can't consider playing any MH alone ONLY. Let me explain :

You'll need to play alone at the beginning, and the single player game is very very good and quite statisfying (can be frustrating too, untill you learn how to use your weapons of choice).
Then you'll reach 50/70 hours of gameplay. At this point, you'll have done most quests designed for single play. But here the catch: to continue upgrading your armors/weapons (the main motivation for playing MH), you'll need stuff you can only get by playing quests designed for multiplayer (stronger monsters).
You still can do the multiplayer quests alone, but it will be long and hard (some quests are impossible if you're not some king of god).

So, if you like the MH series, do as I did : get MHF (great game) or MHP2 (better game-if you know Japanese basis). Then get Xlink Kai (free software), Wifi Max (not so free wifi plug in)and play online with your PSP. It works like a charm (most of the time) and has a large community (I'm SamsonMH in Kai).

For your information, even after 200 hours, there are still challenging solo quests to keep me busy when I'm away from my computer.

Welcome aboard ! :)

PS : where did you find a playable demo of MHF2 ?





[this message was edited by Samson on Tue 17 Apr 23:09]

exodus
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"Re(3):finally played monster hunter" , posted Wed 18 Apr 07:37post reply

It made a good impression probably because of the graphics and general solid universe, I guess? Just seems like a decent and relatively balanced game, though I don't like being kicked back to town/the beginning of the level when I'm KOd.

I basically won't play a game on the PSP, so that's right out, sadly. It's just too much work to carry it around and whatnot, and if I only play it at home, might as well use a console and get the full experience.

I'll see about Monster Hunter 2... and Samson, no worries about hitting the 50 to 70 hour mark, I never will! I don't have nearly that much time to play a game, unless it's on DS and I can play it on the train on the way to work :)

Oh and - I played the game at a press event capcom threw last week.





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"Re(4):finally played monster hunter" , posted Wed 18 Apr 17:27post reply

quote:
I'll see about Monster Hunter 2... and Samson, no worries about hitting the 50 to 70 hour mark, I never will! I don't have nearly that much time to play a game, unless it's on DS and I can play it on the train on the way to work :)

Oh and - I played the game at a press event capcom threw last week.



The solo part of MH2 is far better than the one in MHP2. Lots of little things that up the interest (the bounty board is one of them, why did they remove it ??).
But unless you can play online with a jap PS2 game, you'd really better go for the PSP version. Multiplay is so good (and the only way to get the better stuff in the game).
And the playing while going to work is a strong point too.

Last thing : I can assure you I don't have any time to play either. But once you'll be caught in MH, you'll find the time (sleeping is so overrated). ;)





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"Re(5):finally played monster hunter" , posted Wed 18 Apr 17:37post reply

quote:

The solo part of MH2 is far better than the one in MHP2. Lots of little things that up the interest (the bounty board is one of them, why did they remove it ??).



How does it compare in content otherwise?





Samson
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"Re(6):finally played monster hunter" , posted Wed 18 Apr 21:13post reply

quote:

How does it compare in content otherwise?



MHP2 is a lot like MHP : a village with a blacksmith, an elder, a training camp, a farm, a shop, an old lady seller, a Guild Hall, your house.
The elder gives solo quests, the Guild Hall gives multiplayer quests.

- all MH2 monsters/weapons/armors/maps.
- 2 new monsters (and corresponding weapons/armors).
- no big flying island monster anymore.
- no PvP
- you can still upgrade armor, but not upgrade them to S/U versions (you have to buy a new pieces)
- no monsters value fluctuations board
- no "real time" day/night : some quests are during day, others during night, it's fixed
- no seasons
- no bubble quests
- no village/house upgrade

As you can see it's MHP2, not MH2 for PSP...It was kind of a let down at first, but the game is still great.





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"Re(5):finally played monster hunter" , posted Thu 19 Apr 01:43post reply

quote:

Last thing : I can assure you I don't have any time to play either. But once you'll be caught in MH, you'll find the time (sleeping is so overrated). ;)



haha...well I have several jobs and only play games seriously on the train. I beat puzzle quest, for instance...a week and a half ago. kind of ridiculous!





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"Re(6):finally played monster hunter" , posted Sat 21 Apr 00:08post reply

Hey, a little question for those who already played MH2 for PS2... Would it be hard to understand/play for all of us who are non-japanese speakers? Because there will be no US version of this game, am I right?





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"Re(7):finally played monster hunter" , posted Sat 21 Apr 07:48post reply

quote:
Hey, a little question for those who already played MH2 for PS2... Would it be hard to understand/play for all of us who are non-japanese speakers? Because there will be no US version of this game, am I right?



I was able to explain this a lot better in the past, because I was fresh off of the game, but I would say "no", it would not be too hard to play. If you can't read ANY Japanese, I think it might not be worth it, but if you are at least familiar with the language, I think it's okay.

The thing is, a lot of the names of things in MH are nonsense or silly puns anyway, so "understanding" them is kind of relative. It's just complicated because there's SO MUCH stuff. If you can't read Japanese at all, then you're going to get lost in all the items and such. You don't need to know what they ARE (as in you don't need to "understand" them), but you should probably be familiar enough with the language that you can recognize letters when you see them.

There are several, very good (Japanese) guides online that can get you through if you can just "recognize" things. Although there were numerous people on messageboards that were more successful than I was with the game (I imagine they had a lot of spare time) that got through with absolutely no Japanese knowledge whatsoever.





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"Re(8):finally played monster hunter" , posted Sat 21 Apr 14:24post reply

Well, I guess I'll give it a try, anyway. In the end it's just a matter of wasting a DVD, not that I'm going to cry for burning a useless (to me) game...





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"Re(9):finally played monster hunter" , posted Mon 23 Apr 17:07post reply

I'd say Japanese language basis are a must.
MH is about gathering items to build equipment.
One way to gather is to fight monsters, but you also have to fish, mine, pick up plants and such...
MH2 is really complex regarding gathering. You have 3 seasons, and day/night. It changes what you'll find at a certain spot.

MHP2 simplified this a lot (no day/night/seasons).
Nonetheless, you'll spend a lot of time searching the web for where to find this fucking "grey scale"...





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"Re(10):finally played monster hunter" , posted Mon 23 Apr 17:18post reply

I forgot to ask...is the weapon balance in MHP2 the same as in MH2? If I had to pick one thing wrong with that game, that would be it. There's a fairly lengthy point where using anything but a sword and shield is self-defeating, and the bows are all but useless.





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"Re(2):Re(10):finally played monster hunter" , posted Mon 23 Apr 22:12post reply

quote:
I forgot to ask...is the weapon balance in MHP2 the same as in MH2? If I had to pick one thing wrong with that game, that would be it. There's a fairly lengthy point where using anything but a sword and shield is self-defeating, and the bows are all but useless.



I'm not really qualified to discuss the balance of the game, but from my point of view, tachis are the best weapon overall. Big damage, fast, mobile, "fury" gauge that prevent bouncing and allows nice damage output. Only drawback : no guard. You get hit once, you roll away, you get up with tachi in hands, you're being charged, you die. If lucky, you're KOed and you die right after ;)

What I see on XLink Kai :
- GS are less used than before (lots of tachis)
- Horns are very rare
- SnS are not so common
- DS are rare
- Lances are rare, more gunlances
- not a lot of hammers
- guns are rare
- bows are very used

I like bows...only end game ones though.
They're clearly not as good damage dealers than other weapons, but they're fun to use. Even old boring Lao Shan is fun with a bow.
I won't use a bow to solo anything G class but with other people, it's quite efficient.
It's common knowledge pierce shots deal more damage. Spread is only good to inflict poison or paralysis...





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"Re(6):finally played monster hunter" , posted Wed 25 Apr 03:24post reply

quote:
haha...well I have several jobs and only play games seriously on the train. I beat puzzle quest, for instance...a week and a half ago. kind of ridiculous!



How was the ending? Did you save the world with that last, perfectly swapped 5x chain? :)

I was seriously considering importing the PSP MHP2 after my former Japanese roommate basically failed an entire semester of school due to its PS2 counterpart. I have to see what the fuss is about.

Oh, and the fact that levels aren't really important is really attractive to me.





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"Re(3):Re(10):finally played monster hunter" , posted Wed 25 Apr 10:42post reply

quote:

I'm not really qualified to discuss the balance of the game, but from my point of view, tachis are the best weapon overall. Big damage, fast, mobile, "fury" gauge that prevent bouncing and allows nice damage output. Only drawback : no guard. You get hit once, you roll away, you get up with tachi in hands, you're being charged, you die. If lucky, you're KOed and you die right after ;)



The issue I'm seeing in MH2 is that there's an extended period of time where SnS is by far, the best option. Tachi are quite good until you reach the "sharpness wall" and they start bouncing on everything. It's quite a while until you can get one with sufficient sharpness to handle mid-level monsters. Of course the "rage" thing helps, but it's just not as effective as using the poison SnS.

Lower level gun lances are also useless (although they become more usable once you can get decent elemental ones) and low/med level hammers are only useful on crabs. Bows are completely unusable until higher levels and still only effective in groups.

I think there's a lot of freedom of choice later in the game, but for an extended period in the "middle", there isn't a lot of (effective) variety. The poison and stun SnS are just too good.

(Of course, I'm just babbling about MH2. I don't know a thing about MH2P.)





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"Re(4):Re(10):finally played monster hunter" , posted Wed 25 Apr 17:14post reply

quote:

I think there's a lot of freedom of choice later in the game, but for an extended period in the "middle", there isn't a lot of (effective) variety. The poison and stun SnS are just too good.

(Of course, I'm just babbling about MH2. I don't know a thing about MH2P.)



- Deathprize was HARD to make, you need to beat lots of hard monsters until you can reach the Tower map, where you'll find items to make it. By the time I could make Deathprize, I had several better weapons (tachis and hammers)

- The Poison Axe is still a good choice

- I really wanted to use tachis, so I've used them early in the game. I've never felt like they were crappy. Not so much bounce. The same can't be told of GS or hammers...you have to use their big strikes not to bounce.

All in all I wouldn't tell what weapon is better, but the vast choice sure is great. If one weapon (or weapon type) was so much better, you'll always see people with it. That's not the case, it's always fun to check other players equipment in the guild hall...
Exception : Devil Slicer (thunder tachi) is VERY present.

I'm currently doing the trainning quests. It's quite satisfying to own these monsters with really basic equipement(but it feels like their HP are low).