Capcom’sMonster Hunterfranchise has been growing in popularity over the last few years thanks to the back-to-back successes ofMonster Hunter Worldon PS4 and Xbox One, followed byMonster Hunter Riseon Switch. Both games made huge strides in world design, movement, and accessibility, later coming to PC in each case. It seems someMonster Hunterdesign ethos may have even inspired Game Freak’s latest venture,Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Legends: Arceushas been compared toBreath of the Wild, and this makes sense. That blockbusterLegend of Zeldagame helped launch the Nintendo Switch in style by taking a typically linear action-adventure series and applying its history to an open-world formula. Plenty of games have exhibited traces ofBreath of the Wild’s DNA in the ensuing years, and the explorable vistas ofPokemon Legends: Arceuscertainly seem reminiscent. Yet the gameplay loop in thisPokemontitle seems more akin to aMonster Huntergame, which means Capcom might be interested in what Game Freak got right about its requests system.
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Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Monster Hunter Rise’s Similar Map Designs
InThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Hyrule is completely openand Link has the ability to climb most surfaces. By contrast,Pokemon Legends: Arceushas a few maps like segmented chunks of an open world, and while players cannot climb every surface they can call upon Pokemon to help with traversal. This design is closer toMonster Hunter Rise, in which there are a handful of open maps that players can’t fully scale without the help of mechanics such as Wirebugs and rideable Palamute companions.
The wayMonster Hunter RiseandPokemon Legends: Arceushandle their missions are also similar. In both games the player starts off in a hub area (Kamura Village andJubilife Village, respectively) from which they organize their supplies and interact with residents. Some residents have requests for the player to take on, often revolving around encountering specific monsters or gathering items from a particular area they can choose to explore.
Monster Hunter’s encounters are more often about killing or capturing boss-like creatures, which is different fromLegends: Arceusasking people to capture specific Pokemon or fill out their Pokedex entries. However the idea of going to a map with the sole purpose of gathering materials is similar, be it Unique Mushrooms from theShrine Ruins inRiseor Hearty Grains from the Crimson Mirelands inLegends: Arceus.
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What Monster Hunter Can Learn From Legends: Arceus' Requests
One key difference in the way Game Freak handles requests is thatPokemon Legends: Arceussees most missions come directly from an NPC in the game world.Monster Hunter Riseplayers pick up some missions directlyfrom the residents of Kamura Village, but most are simply posted on quest boards in the single-player village or multiplayer Gathering Hub. YetPokemongoes one step further by making certain quests also exclusive to NPCs found out in the field.
This particular idea is cribbed from other open-world games, as there are plenty of moments when Link inBreath of the Wildor Aloy inHorizon Zero Dawncome across a traveler in the wilderness who has some request.Pokemon Legends: Arceusmakes these requests somewhat more cumbersome by having the character only be accessible from that location, meaning trainers have to return if they’ve been brought back to Jubilife Village for story reasons. However, having these characters out in the wilds of Hisui make the world feel alive, especially when theDiamond and Pearl Clansare meant to be living entirely separate lives.
With wild Alpha Pokemon able to attack players in this environment, there’s little excuse for aMonster Huntergame to avoid sticking more NPCs in its wild areas because they would be in danger. The world inMonster Hunter Risewould feel more lively if fellow hunters or curious explorers appeared throughout a map like the Frost Islands, offering players additional requests that could be completed on the spot. WithRise’sSunbreakexpansion set to come out later this year, there may be room for something like this to be added. Even if it isn’t, Capcom should take notes for whatever projects come next.
Monster Hunter Riseis available now on PC and Switch.Sunbreakreleases summer 2022.
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