Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Is this game a cosplay genre or something? By the time the game is released, there will be more promotional cosplay than there are of original costumes.

They're going all out with the collaborations this generation.

Don't forget that there's the Link outfit, Hero's Sword, and Hero's Bow in MH4. As well as Mario + Luigi cat outfits. Inuyasha's sword is also a frequent flier in the collaboration department, as well as the Pirate J gear, which is from JUMP (hence the J). Plenty of other stuff. MH is a huge deal in Japan. It's just that, for once, the US is getting it's own collaborations. They usually replace the event gear with event winners, random stuff they draw up, or absolutely nothing (Freedom Unite got no event gear because they were too lazy to make new models).

These cameo sets aren't going to detract from the amount of main game content if that's what you're worried about. Compared to the weapons and armor from the monsters themselves, all of this will make up maybe 5% out of all the equipment across the board, if that much.

A "G" title (now "Ultimate" for English localizations) for Monster Hunter is always a very huge deal, as it allows them to add new monsters they may have not had the time to finish for the main game, and add new or alter existing mechanics, and above all else is kind of like a celebration and thank you of sorts from Capcom to the fanbase in terms of the content they add, so these cameos is basically icing on the cake, only added after the main game is completed. Cameo armor like this also allows for Capcom to make the players work for them in most cases, with the quests being pretty damn hard for some of the equips.

As a note, MH4G has the most monster content since MH2G. So...I expect lots of fun.

My copy doesn't arrive until Thursday, so no fun until then though...

So... The game is awesome. I love it.

 N3DS Impressions

Especially with the N3DS. The game feels a lot smoother with the improved hardware, and anyone who had an issue with the sweet spot 3D before will like the new and improved 3D, although it can lose track of you which basically blinds you. I'm hoping some future firmware upgrades will refine it. The C-Stick is weird to use (It doesn't move. It's just a nub that senses pressure), but I never used the extra analog that much anyway (I use the hell out of ZL and ZR for horizontal camera movement, especially with Bow). It takes getting used to, because ZL and ZR are inward from L and R, which is different and at first it's easy to accidentally press the wrong one. It's also nice to have Start+Select where they should have been in the first place, although easy to forget they're there now since the 3DS had them in the wrong spot for so long.

I don't have any problem with where the power button is, because it requires an immense amount of pressure to hit, so there's almost no chance of hitting it accidentally, however I don't feel the same way about the game cart. My pinky goes there naturally and I feel like I'm going to accidentally push out the cart at any time. I have to consciously move my pinky whenever I adjust how I'm holding it. Probably my biggest issue with the N3DS.

 Some Game Impressions, though mostly weapon related

My friend, who mains Charge Axe, said that they improved everything about the weapon including adding several new combos and overall completely increasing its damage.

I haven't gotten a chance to check out any melee weapon changes yet, though, as my Blademaster set was completely obliterated in the import and I have no intention of getting a new one without it being G Rank and having Sharpness+1, so it might be a while. My old set went from Sharp+1, Evade+1 and Crit Eye+1 to Crit Eye+1 with lower defense than it had before. It's completely useless now and I'm not going to work on making it functional.

However, they made it so that Bow's aim vertical is kept between aims, which is a HUGE improvement because there were issues in MH4 where you'd have to aim down constantly because you're at the top of a hill ([or vice versa]since they went crazy with the Y axis on maps), and you would spend more time aiming then it took to charge, which also took away your ability to move while charging. It's a small change that makes the weapon so much better to use in those areas.

If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer if I can.