Just How Hard is Monster Hunter?

[bjj hero]

My son is growing into an avid gamer, so proud, and is pestering for the latest monster hunter on the DS for his birthday.

Hes will be 7 and is fairly switched on but I was wondering if Monster Hunter will be too difficult for him? It's not something Ive played before an if its a fairly in depth mmo/rpg he could be out of his depth.

Can it be played "casually"? As in no need to form raiding parties and talk strats etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[NPC009]

Many missions can be accomplished as a solo hunter, but even then it's very much a game of patience. It's the time of game where you shouldn't walk into battle unprepared: you have to select the right equipment (going up against a fire breathing beast? Better wear something that protects against those flames) and take the right items along. Then you have to take the time to figure out how monsters act and attack them the right way (for instance, getting certain parts might involve cutting off a monster's tail or horn before slaying it). Aquired materials are used to make new equipment.

So, yeah, it's not just hacking and slashing away at cool looking monsters. These are challenging games that require an amount patience even many adults lack. At the same time they offer an incredibly rewarding experience if the player does take the time to play it properly. If your son is the type that will happily spend hours building complex Lego models, he may enjoy Monster Hunter.

 

[bjj hero]

He does enjoy his lego but it sounds like he could well get frustrated at that.

Thank you for the input.

 

[NPC009]

Probably, yes. Some kids are determined enough to stick with a game like Monster Hunter for years, but those are few and far between (the kids I know barely have the attention span for Minecraft). I know I would have had blast simply reading about the monsters in the game. Actually, that's something I enjoy now. It's kind of like reading about dinosaurs (what kid doesn't love dinosaurs?), but with a fantasy twist.

But if he's looking for a game to actually play, I'm sure there are more suitable choices.

Edit: Or maybe you could get him an older edition. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is less than $20 in many places. The online missions may be unavailable or become unavailable soon, but the singleplayer is very long. An older gamer could easily spend 40+ hours on the offline missions.

 

[King of Asgaard]

The first few quests are laid back, and the tutorials do a good job of introducing the bread and butter the series is known for. However, there comes a point where the difficulty ramps up sharply, and it could be a brick wall if the skill ceiling isn't hit.

You know your kid best, but if remembering attack patterns, recognising tells and memorising combos isn't something he's been inclined towards, give it a miss. Otherwise, go for it.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

There is a lot that you can do on your own but some hunts later on in the game definitely require a party. I think the main concern is the starting portion of the game: one of the hurdles of Monster Hunter is getting through the early hunts enough times to get better material to make better equipment and so on. It's kind of grind-heavy and a lot of people find it tedious since you don't really notice any progression until you're able to craft better items. It's a really rewarding gaming experience but for someone who is 7, it might be a bit too advanced. I don't know your kid though so maybe that kind of thing is right up his alley.

 

[bjj hero]

Cheers guys, Youve been a great help. I think well give Monster Hunter a few years. We'll stick to x-com which were doing as a team right now.

 

[Scarim Coral]

If you have played Dark/ Demon Soul or Blodborne, then Monster Hunter is kind of like the easier version to those but it can still be hard!!

It similar due to you have to learned the monster attacks and patterns while getting to know your character armor and weapon strength and weaknesses too! Also the games has limited do overs althought MH is fairer compared to the Soul series (it's not a complete game over as you have three tries to slain the monsters and if you fail altogether, you just lose the entry fee to do the quest and the items you used in the quest and also not keeping and loots you got along the way)!

Also the game itself is a grind in that all you do is slain the same monster over and over to gather its parts needed to craft the armours and weapons which when completed it will advance you abit until you need to repeat the process again.

While I know full well how repeatitive it can get, I still bought and loved it until now. I hit High rank recently and fighting the first high rank monster (crab) is given me a run for my lives and there is nothing I can do to upgrade my armor and weapon any further!

In saying so I haven't tried online yet as iI kind of had a bad experience on Tri online (RNG group are bad and alot of noob callings)!

 

[DEAD34345]

For a 7 year old!? Jesus. I'd rate it as way, way too hard personally. Then again though, the difficulty and satisfaction of succeeding in Monster Hunter is pretty much the entire point, and some people when faced with a solid brick wall of difficulty will just be driven to keep hacking away at it until it's gone. Depends on the kid I suppose, no 7 year old I know of would get particularly far in it though. Then again, very few people I know (including myself) would either.

If you have played Dark/ Demon Soul or Blodborne, then Monster Hunter is kind of like the easier version to those but it can still be hard!!

You think Monster Hunter is the easier version!? I've clearly played a different game to you, because my experience of Dark Souls is that it's the Monster Hunter I can actually win.

 

[gigastar]

The best advice i can give that nobody has mentioned so far, is to also get the game for yourself then you can play LAN or online together with him.

However, if he does take to it then MH4U is a game that you may still be enjoying together well into the summer.

 

[Roboshi]

I would advise against Monster hunter, as most of it requires a lot of reading, especially in the early stages along with quite a bit of mathematics when it comes to making your armour.

I think this could only work if there was a co-op mode and he could play as a cat person alongside yourself, but that is not an option yet (there could always be upgraded versions on consoles later).

Alternatives? I'll be honest I can't think of a game that is very similar that would be right for that age but I think if you let him try the previous zelda game on 3DS.

I am impressed your kid's managing X-com though that's pretty advanced for his age.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Imagine Dark Souls. But you don't have the Mask of The Father and your precious +10 Zweihander to save you.

It depends on the game, but yeah: starts off fairly easy, just some fetch quests with annoyingly small text, and then it goes off the slippery slope of pain and anguish.

 

[bjj hero]

I am impressed your kid's managing X-com though that's pretty advanced for his age.

Hes got the combat down and hes not bad. He goes to outflank and sticks to cover. He gets bored if there is too much research and base building wanting to get back to the action so I tend to walk him through that.

He crapped himself the first time he saw a chryalid. He did it when I was at work:

"Dad, I got all of my soldiers turned into zombies. I had to run my last one back to the plane"

In his defence he only had 2 plasma weapons so my research path probably could have been better. I'll take some responsibility for that. Hes due to see the walker soon so well see how he reacts to that.

 

[Mutant1988]

It's a great way to raise tolerance for chores.

You know, since so much of Monster Hunter is like a chore. At least at the start of the games. I've only played Freedom Unite though, but I can't say I enjoyed it nearly as much as say, God Eater Burst.

I'm still sure it should be fun if you play it in co-op. Most games are. But yeah, Monster Hunter is on the deep end of the Monhun type games, requiring the greatest investment of all of them. I don't know if there's anything more casual on the DS though, since I don't own one.

Do you have any other consoles?

 

[JCAll]

Honestly, kids are better than a lot of people give them credit for. I remember beating games that I could never get through today as a kid, because I just dedicated so much effort into doing it. The games are incredibly slow paced, but kids definitely have the free time to do the grinding if they get into it. And they are fun games to get into.

 

[Lufia Erim]

Honestly, kids are better than a lot of people give them credit for. I remember beating games that I could never get through today as a kid, because I just dedicated so much effort into doing it. The games are incredibly slow paced, but kids definitely have the free time to do the grinding if they get into it. And they are fun games to get into.

I agree. Kids tend to do better are games that can be beat with a little practice and perseverence. But then again Mh is really hard. There is a the difficulty curb is nice as it ususally eases you into things, but once you hit high rank, all gloves are off . And when you hit G rank, not only do you need skill, but luck as well, as things tend to 2 shot you.THEN if you somehow manage to get pass that, you have Apex monsters who will one shot you and deflect most of you attacks.

Especially if you play online ( which is required to unlock some offline quests) people expect you to have proper gear for the quest you are on, and god help you if you die twice during one mission. It's definately an awsome game, just not for everyone.

 

[kissthebottle]

I will back what most other folks have said.

I feel like I would have hated Monster Hunter as a kid. Sometimes even now, I lack the patience for it and completely disengage. I have to be in a really specific mood for it to enjoy the game. It's a game that doesn't offer a lot of off the bat, instant gratification. It's a love/hate relationship for sure.

It definitely lulls you into a false sense of security in which the first part is fairly simple, but then when it gets hard, it gets HARD.

 

[lechat]

monster hunter tri is one of my favorite games.... and i will never play it again.
you can seriously spend 8 hours farming the materials and equipment to fight one monster and lose it all in 10 minuets and be back (nearly) at square one. i seriously don't have the patience for that anymore.