For all the success and mass-appeal that Monster Hunter has in Japan, the series never seems to catch on in the West — but it should. Capcom’s four-player cooperative action RPG series isn’t as brutal, opaque, or as dark as From Software’s Demon’s Souls, but it’s still equally as rewarding: demanding the same painstaking levels of observation and skill to topple massive monsters — only to later turn them into weapons or accessories that match your trendy hunter’s hat.
I’ve spent over 11 hours with an import copy of Monster Hunter 3G for the Nintendo 3DS and have only begun to scratch the surface; but I’m happy to report that the transition to 3DS looks admirable — with advanced lighting systems and better controls in place. The Japan-only title includes enough improvements and gameplay to tide over fans until Monster Hunter 4, the next true sequel of the popular action RPG series that’s bound for 3DS. The only downside of this portable installment is that you’ll have to play through a majority of Tri again — or at least you will in offline mode — and even if you’ve spent considerable hours with the Wii version, there’s no solution in place to help import your save file onto a 3DS.
