“no one plays Monster Hunter for the story” 

hope you all enjoy my video! It was difficult to summarize all my thoughts into something cohesive. Monster Hunter’s message is to acknowledge our history and learn from our mistakes (be one with nature). Ironically everyone in the game and most players miss this message, and I think it’s actually part of the experience. And those ignorant of the message are the exact people the series is parodying. “The combat is the most important part of the game”, is an absolutely true statement, and it only acknowledges the mentality of the human race and proves the message of the series.

I believe when ppl say that "mh had no story" they mean it didn't have a "story" as codified by contemporary videogames (dialogue and cutscenes) which is correct. Many of those who say it do also see the contents of the older games that you describe but they associate all that with the word "lore". It's just semantics, although I do think ppl tend to discredit old mh insights

The Guild comes across in the older games as a sort of corrupt organisation. I really would love to explore more about that.

The main story I really follow (and was sort of said in stories 2) is “we humans want to live and when we are threatened we defend ourselves even if it’s not the morally best answer”

Honestly I adored the character dialogue of MHTri and 4U, the characters were all entertaining and a bit goofy in a feel good way. Yet during the serious moments, they still feel natural. I remember some quests sounding so dangerous to the casts of those games, that even the quest girls (Moga Sweetheart and Guildmarm) ask you to stay. I forget which specific quests those are, but I swear there's dialogue like that! It really caught me off guard. There's something special about there not being a clear cut narrative, but a continuity. It's as if MHTri's story takes place over months, whereas World's takes place over a couple weeks. I miss that presentation. Though MHRise's Chitchat is an awesome inclusion, I actually spoke to just about every NPC in the village between urgents!

Also I’m a fan of monster hunter I lost my eyesight a few years back due to some unforeseen complications. However thanks to muscle memory, understanding sound design, and a lot of other stuff I’m still able to play a series that helps me appreciate biology and ecology in the real world. I know I already commented but this series means that much to me

I think Capcom / the MH team clearly do want a good narrative for their games with their attempts at trying to have one, they just don't really have anyone who is especially good at writing them. Resident Evil had a similar problem until Capcom outsourced the writing to someone else for RE7, which became regarded as one of the best in the series. As you say with LotG, I think there is potential in-universe and much of it stems from the guild and their disregard for the world. Having the main story push come from the the ecological effects of the guild's short sighted insistence on seemingly catering to the spoiled nobility would allow MH to reconcile both 'the balance of nature' aspect they keep trying to insist on, as well as letting them keep their comedic quest descriptions people like. Also, re: Kushala, I'm a bit skeptical the Tower is literally built from thousands of slain individuals. The ecology video makes it clear Kush are unique in that they regularly produce entire skins that can be harvested without killing it. Kush are a renewable resource in that regard. The rarity of shed skins in game for such a nomadic animal could also be explained by the ancient civilisation collecting so many of them.

I think the lack of the story or the subtle-ness of the story telling makes the game feel more alive because in real life there’s not really a story and if there is a “story” it’s usually subtle

I fully agree that there were great stories in the older games. Just yesterday I was talking in discord with a few fellow hunters how great it was back in Tri/3U, you felt like the whole situation was personal, be it your rivalry with Lagiacrus which was a major threat even though it wasn't the cause of the earthquakes, or the fight against Cedeus to actually save an entire village. Paying attention to the NPC's dialogues, you could feel the high stakes, and you could connect with them even better. Even now that I'm almost at 1000 hours in 4U, 3U is still my favorite

I think when people say they don't care about "the story" they mean the superficial plot of the given game they're playing. Yes, there is a deep lore and story behind why Monster Hunter's world is as it is, a tale of greed and wrath at the hands of mankind and it's downfall by the very thing they foolishly thought they could control: Nature. MH takes place after what could be described as an apocalyptical event that left the old civilizations to ruin because mankind was too self invested to see the bigger picture. They had to start from almost scratch, with only a few relics from the past that were preserved. The Wyverians played a big role in humanity's recovery, teaching them how to both fight AND conserve nature. Hunt only when needed, and give back to nature what you took from her. But in game, when the village is in trouble due to an encroaching monster, it's hard to not want to fight it, since we are players who have an incentive to hunt bigger, stronger monsters. We as players are given the simple task of hunting a new monster when it becomes a threat and taking it's parts to be repurposed as gear. This isn't the fault of players, but the fault of the developers making the game clearly about fighting larger than life monsters while being subtly about the purpose. When people say they don't play for the story, they more than likely mean the characters that the game wants you to interact with to provide context for the events going on. I think 4U does this the best, but even then it's less about the grand narrative (the scale of Shagaru and finding it's origin) and more about... well, the friends and foes you make along the way. World's story seems to thrust it's characters at you and tells you you should be be invested in them in a very inorganic way. The only character I liked in World was Aiden, because he was the Ace Cadet and therefor I already had an emotional connection. Rise is an improvement, the the characters are more one dimensional, so it's a step forward and a half step back. So I don't blame people who gloss over the story or the lore because "must smash monster with big weapon" is one of the biggest reasons people play Monster Hunter. But I do think, at least with some of the newer games, that the moral MH tries to teach is somehow lost on even older players.

It's almost funny how everyone celebrates environmental story telling delivered through personal interactions with the world and the lore in videogames (like in dark souls for exemple) but when it comes to monster hunter be like "who cares about the story ? I just want to kill big monsters"

I'm going to say the storm serpent plot made me think a bit in Rise. Even though killing them was the correct choice for protecting the village and the surrounding area it's a bit fucked up we had to kill a couple and abort their kids. Also made me wonder if letting them live and sacrificing the village could lead to a better outcome since their species has existed for this long without the entire ecosystem being destroyed.

I was with you until you slept on world and rise. World and rise did pretty much the same things that you claimed for the other mh games to do. While base world's story was okay, it did set up a good lore about there being elder dragons as strong as or even stronger than elder dragons out there and I'm talking about the 5 creation dragons. The existence of the 5 creation dragons in a completely different country other than the old world really built on how vast the world can in general be AND how there's endless things to discover out there, just like all the comparisons of real world that you gave but didn't think it to be important to point out cuz apparently everybody likes to sleep on world. The rotten vale is pretty much a collection of dalamadur and that's just one example of us figuring out story in the game through lore. Iceborne built up on everything base world set and even made Nergigante relevant by making him basically the godzilla of the Mh verse. Not just that. Just like with gore magala and the hunter rivalry, world also built up the rival between Nergigante and the hunter and thar didn't had a conclusion till the Mr 99 quest in iceborne. A dragon that's the embodiment of bioenergy, a dragon that created the earth and a dragon whose sole purpose of existence is to make sure that nature doesn't goes out of balance. If you can't see all these heavy lores then I'm sensing bias. I haven't played rise yet but if people are sleeping on world this much then I can guarantee rise is getting the same treatment. I agree with most of the things in your video but don't put one thing down just to prove your's right

I would agree with the statement in the title. Most MH games' stories can be summed up in 3 sentences max and boil down to "Our village is plagued by X which we believe a monster is causing, go hunt it". However, that doesn't mean that I believe the world building of the series is weak or not needed. I love the little details Capcom puts in the villages and maps, I love the music, I love the ecology videos that establish the monsters' personalities and place in the food chain, making them somewhat believable, if a bit fantastic, "animals". So yes, I put gameplay first in a MH game and I believe the PLOT of these games is irrelevant. But I love the world and atmosphere these games create and immerse myself in them. I spent hours chilling in and decorating my hunter's abode. Edit: I also love the opening cutscene of freedom unite, showing weapons and armor being crafted.

"I have a 3 hour MH4 video I want to make" is a complete 180 from "this might be the last video on this channel" from 5 months ago. I know how difficult it is to create content for others, and if you don't have it in you in the end, I'd rather you be happy than bogged down by a creative hobby that no longer feels fun or fulfilling for you. But I'm not gonna lie, hearing you say that you have another 3 hour epic video that you want to make has me unbelievably excited! That Dos video was great and led to some top quality conversation with a friend who I hunt with. I very much agree with your points in this video and have honestly never thought about the fact that the dialogue between players of "are we the monsters?" actually parallels the in-universe debates so 1:1. Fantastic observation. And I gotta admit. I *know* I've told friends in the past "don't go into this game expecting a story. That's not what it's about." Before. . . And I never really thought about how that. . . Isn't as true as I used to think. MH4 did have a decent story - nothing to write home about but it worked. And the feel of the world and the characters and their struggles has always felt genuine... Up until World/Iceborne where none of the logic really made sense. Hopefully Sunbreak has a bit better narrative than Rise and World/Iceborne did. Or at the very least I hope it feels more aligned with the ideas of the franchise as a whole - keeping balance with nature. Certainly I think the new land we'll likely be visiting has the possibility to at the very least highlight some contrasting hunting philosophies. That could be neat to explore. Thank you kindly for the videos! I've really been enjoying everything I've seen so far.

You could say similar things about many classic Capcom games such as Megaman, Devil May Cry and Street Fighter, none of them are particularly praised for an amazing storytelling but they all have a surprisingly rich lore and can definitely deliver a good narrative when they try. I'm guessing Capcom actually holds back quite a lot on the narrative specially for MH games, they have a firm stance on that series style and that's just how they want the game to be.

I think the more important "story" in monster hunter, is the story of *you* , the player, the hunter. I don't think MH needs a narrative. It just needs to sell a good atmosphere for *you* to make your own story from.

Aside from the actual gameplay, I enjoy the "set dressing" more than anything else. The simple sense of standing in these lavishly-detailed, cheerful villages and grandiose environments is enough for me. I don't need a big cutscene-packed story, in fact it becomes on an obstruction more than anything.

I hope for MH6 we get a story driven by sub text. I have to give props to icbeorne with fatalis arc though. It actually delved into nature vs humanity a lot more than I was expecting and even made us question the actions of the guild, painting them as a questionable organization with how they covered up black dragons. Also the dialogue was just generally good with Safi’Jiva update and onward. Actually went back to their roots with topics of how threatening nature can be to humanity. It was a bit out of place to be fair, with the handler having out-of-character moments of dialogue being all serious about humanity and nature but it was refreshing still. I think since 4U, that was the only time I was invested in MH lore that was actually ingame rather than what a wiki or twitter post said .

for decades i never play mh for the story, but i do always get curious and read most of the lores. back in portable eras i always read the books by the bed when bored and surprised when they're missing around gen 4-5? reading those lores and monster descriptions adds those mystery factor and i love it

Listening to mhtri theme always makes me cry, is the game that completely changed my taste of videogames and the first game that I was truly invested in. It will always have a special place in my heart :')

hey man, just wanna say from a fellow old school mh player you're a blessing on youtube, keep it up

MH story telling and world building is beautiful, with nothing but grunts from characters and the storytelling is almost entirely what you observe in the world. Great points

I really like that specific part of it. The adventure and story is crafted by the player. The moral questioning of humanities place in the universe could be the story but it also might just be about how some dude or lady wanted to protect their caravan friends or how another dude or another lady wanted to protect their small village from a rampage of monster who were making everyone's lives worse. It doesn't have anything concrete or set in stone it's about how you feel about the characters and people you see along your journey. That's why I love everyone in kamura village because it feels like one big happy family. Some people feel love for it and some people feel detached from it but at the end of the day it's how the player and the hunter go through their adventure as a part of their world that decides what the story is. I honestly really like it because it leaves you to craft your own story.

3 Ultimate was my first and even though I was bad at it, I always thought that as the village's hunter my work was "necessary" and that this world had evolved with the hunters influence, that I was part of nature. I'm one of those people that read the quest details, and even though they're often for petty reasons, there IS a reason. World (and Rise to a lesser extent) nailed the "we are studying this environment, we do what we must to survive and thrive against and along nature". God this series is great...

I absolutely love your videos, the thought process and time put into them is fantastic. I look forward to your drops and I feel the exact same way. Thank you for putting this out for not only new but seasoned veterans as well.

I think Rise has shown me that having a game where Monsters are slain so easily makes me feel way more like a butcher than someone trying to live with nature in a healthy way. I like the idea of repelling monsters and showing them human villages will not move. But also that we will not attempt to over take nature like the tower of scales.

The psp days with freedom had an impact that really does come from the experience that is monster hunter. It allowed you to come up with your own story! That yoko quote hits me really hard though, without any words the music of monster hunter has always stood out as something that peers into the human spirit. It radiates a kind of passion that made me want to keep on going through hard times because the experience and memories i have with the music exceeds any other form of entertainment out there. Even in the worst of days you can just go turn on your favorite village theme and have a bit of peace. Its just a video game right? Thats just all it is, just hunt monster, do the big bonk and thats it right?

Masterful work as always. It's good to see that my feelings about the series are shared by so many other people. Please keep doing this amazing work.

THANK YOU!!! I'm so glad that you share my view points on the Monster Hunter series and the narrative interwoven into all the games.

Thats some deep stuff man. I'll be backing to this few times to take it in. Thank you for this

I like your chanel a lot man, for veterans of the series this content heals the soul.

I've always sort of struggled to understand why I enjoyed the older style of MH games, even as someone who started with World: Iceborne and worked their way backwards. Before this video, I thought it was because the combat feels a bit more grounded and believable, which World had enough of, or it was because I enjoyed the overall lack of a hud that allowed me to immerse myself a bit. After this video, I've come to realize that what I enjoy about the older games is that they make an effort to feel LIVED in, like the people are trying to matter to the people that they care about. The Quest Gal from 3-Ult comes to mind whenever she talks to you while giving out key quests. I'm probably speaking a bit of nonsense, this kinda stuff is a little large for me to wrap my head around, but I hope it makes enough sense for you to have enjoyed reading :)

i mean...there isnt really much of a story at all, there is a charm in the dialogue with the characters you meet and the mystery of which monster is causing problems for whichever village or area you are protecting, but in terms of "Story", its just a glorified tutorial. MH4U and World/Iceborne had the most direct "Story" out of all of the games as far as im aware, a tangible plot, minimal, but tangible, they existed. For example, in MH3, there are earthquakes, and it spells doom for the people of moga, but all the game does in terms of plot, is; "IT MUST BE THIS MONSTER!!" *Fight Monster* "Nope its not that one!" and then proceed to do that with about 3 other monsters until you find the correct monster at the end of the hub hunts. MH4U had some unique story segments with gore magala, where you fight him on a unique map, and then they take you to an expedition zone while two NPCs struggle to limp away, and they are physically there!! which was NOT common for that to happen, then there was the backstory with the commander and the kushala which was a nice bit of info, and helped hype up the majesty and danger of the elders, as well as seeing other hunters hunt stuff and show off their moves, little things like that are special in this franchise and are always appreciated. But playing the games for the plot? like....monster hunter has less story plot than fruit samurai, its a means to serve as an entry point and introduction for each monster and zone you will be encountering once its all over, its meant to be "Okay, you beat the story! youve fought each monster at least a single time, and visited pretty much every zone, now put it all into practice and go enjoy the other 90% of the game!"

your in-game perspective about the games culture & narrative is awesome

3u intro in the beginning?? U going for the heart strings

This feels like a clash of storytelling styles cause while MH can be/is the story of *you* the hunter and how you go about creating your story I think most people don't really like that. It'll either go over their head or it'll be something like "oh you see how i killed that bull shit monster? That was sick bro" they'll never see it as "maybe we're the monsters"

I mean while I wouldn’t say that rise and world are intentional parodies, monster hunter has always been about how civilization reacts to nature and vice versa. How the “civilized” guild would do things, and how the more traditional wyvernians would do things

Awesome, I’ve had some of these same thoughts and feelings and I really got into MH through world. Thanks for this, your content has really made me want to go back through the older games.

Man, I was expecting another 3+ hour video. I need these long talks while I work. That was some deep sh*t though.

Monster Hunter has a really formulaic story, but the characters and their relationships with the monsters(Chief with Lagiacrus, Admiral with Rajang and so on) make them stories worth paying attention to.

Definitely changed my perspective on these games. Great video!

We make armor and weaponry using the enemy's hide, scale and bones... We are the monsters 💀

It could be interesting if in the next title they had each environment actually be impacted by the player and their hunts. The more you hunt the less balanced the ecosystem becomes and then the later parts of the game could be about restoring that lost balance

Great video, I really enjoyed the commentary on the meta nature of the story and its relation to the player base. Keep up the fresh and unique videos!

It’s a bit of topic but the message you described at the beginning that mh tries to teach is exactly how I wanted to tell my friend who joined in the 5th generation and mainly saw the game aspect and didn’t understand why it barely have any story

Mh3u will prolly always be my favorite game in the series. The ceadus fight like you said was an amazing story moment. You versus the nature you live in. You fight him on his turf not yours.

Every Monster Hunter game has a story, i play it solely for that based off of the hunters seen in the in-games intros and/or case arts: 1. Monster Hunter Freedom 1 - the story is about "Hunter 1" who resides in Kokoto Village and aims to be a monster hunter, he defeats a Rathalos which seemed to be a big threat to the village nearby and is rewarded by the village chief(the Hero's Blade) soon after he helps the village take on a Lao-Shan Lung. The rest is history. 2. Monster Hunter 3 TRI/U - the story is about "Hunter 3" who comes from an unknown region and is requested by the Mogu villagers to take down a Lagiacrus, he takes it down and then is tasked with slaying Ceadeus, the one monster that was causing the tremors around the village from earlier. Hunter 3 manages to fight it off till it flees and is regarded as the hero of the village. It could be possible he's a permanent resident of Moga village since the villagers have said they never had their own hunter before Hunter 3's early arrival. 3. Monster Hunter 4U - the story is about "Hunter 4" who comes from an unknown region, he's on aboard the Caravaneer's ship, he's aims to be a hunter as he helps the Caravaneer and himself get out of a predicament from a giant monster attacking their ship in the desert. They eventually get to Val Habor and gather crewmates in search of a shiny ancient relic's origins - kept by the Caravaneer, as he travels he gets close to the answers of the relic. Along the way, Hunter 4 and everyone else runs into a viral monster known as the Gora Magala and is defeated by Hunter 4. Eventually, the Gore Magala molts and then flies off to a certain place - that being - the Sanctuary in the region of Cathar, where Hunter 4 and the crew finally learn the origins of the shiny relic. Hunter 4 is then requested to take down a the monster who then poses a threat while having a connection to the relic at the Sanctuary, the Shagaru Magala, the monster who was once a Gore Magala. Hunter 4 slays the Shagaru Magala and is then praised for his efforts. He and the crew then departs from Cathar to elsewhere. (Theres more to the story but i didn't finish the game completely) 4. Monster Hunter Generations/U - "Hunter G" (shes basically an errand girl for the Wycademy, i didn't get to the flagship monster at the time since the game got so boring with ongoing oridinary quest after quest and OP important monster quest after monster quest, ugh, i had to skip it, but i'll come back to it). 5. Monster Hunter World/Iceborne - the story is pretty straightforward just like MH4/U don't have to explain much. (Still playing it currently, busy) 6. Monster Hunter Rise/Sunbreak - "Hunter R" is a resident of Kamura village, he aims to be a hunter, is tasked with taking on numerous quests slaying and fighting off many monsters that threaten the village till he is then tasked with slaying a more powerful monster that suddenly appeared a Magnamala. Hunter R slays it and is praised for his bravery as he is rewarded the "Hand-me down sword" from Fugen. (didn't finish the rest of the game to progress the story but i'll come back to it).

Awesome video! I felt that flood of emotions hearing you talk about the story in Tri, and I loved your comparing/contrasting between the elder dragon presentations in MH 2/3/4. When games like Dark Souls and Fallout get heaped with praise for their subtle story-telling through gameplay and environment, it makes me sad that MH storytelling is brushed aside when it accomplished a similar feat.

Thank you, this is such a thought provoking video.

This is really interesting because I kind of experienced something strange when I was playing Rise/Sunbreak awhile ago. It was after I had defeated Primordial Malzeno and I kept fighting it for it’s armor which was amazing, but every time I killed it, I felt bad. Every one of the monsters you hunt is canonically a request or contract you accept or receive, at least I’m pretty sure. But for Primordial Malzeno, it was just trying to get rid of the Qurio. And for it’s first fight you repel it, NOT kill it because you and Fiorayne realize it isn’t causing or pushing the Qurio we’re trying to stop, it’s actively fighting it. The “optional quest” you get for it afterwards, has you actually kill it. And I felt bad because I was trying to get better gear, but in doing so I was killing an ally. It made me think a lot and this video reminded me of it. Amazing video, just thought I’d share

Glad your still uploading, love your videos

i first played MH with 4U and I love the story so much, the "Caravanier" (It is the french name since I don't know the english name, it is the guy in red, and yes I main insectglaive, as a french it is the law even if I play more with the LBG now) was my favorite character, he looks charismatic and was a cool character I hope to see some story with a narrative as good as 4U in the future Don't forget the old time... JE SUIS MONTE

Imagine if youtube was filled with content creators like you I can literally feel the effort and passion in this video weather I agree with the message or not the passion remains

bro i love your mind, you look deep behind the surface with an philosophic like level!

I’m exited Jacob but it’s 3 AM and I must sleep I’ll edit later… Amazing video. The only monster hunter game that has maybe a weird story or less “different” Is probably GU and they still had a story throughout the game. Ahtal-Ka, and Nakrakos also create opportunities to think about monster and the ecosystem as well as our place and the lore. I think 4u was the best game to capture the best of both words “stoping the cycle and your place vs A drama story”. Can’t wait for the 4u video but no pressure at all take 3 years for all I care. Since the moment I found your channel I have found it hard to disagree with a majority of your monster hunter talks “most random stuff probably comes from the dos video but we have a 4 video guide from you and the bois”. We can only dream for more fog…

Brilliant. Thanks for sharing this.

You, i didn't knew your channel, now this video will forever be in my philosophy list and I will subscribe right now. Hope you keep the good work cause I have good hopes on you man

Great video Jacob! I mostly agree withy your points, but I am curious, you talk about the greatness of Dos' story being its environmental story telling, how the attentive player can put together the meaning behind things without actual exposition. You then talk about MH4 and argue that capcom could and should make a more compelling story driven drama-- these seem to me to be different arguments. Personally, I think that taking a more Dos/Souls direction with the series would be to the games benefit, allowing the culture of the game and its overall aesthetic combined with some cryptic clues for the attentive to craft the world.... Do you think that having a more explicit and directed story might actually take away from that, or that the two could actually be complimentary?

I made whole sets for lore and would grind for hours a day to learn more in mhfunite2 the lack of lore always pushed me to find more.

Think if capcom went a crystal chronicles route with things. You make a hunter, you join a a caravan leaving from your village. You get to go on 3-4 quests before returning to your village with your loot where you then get to do the standard non questing things. Get the stuff from your farm, turn the loot into gear, accept more quests. Then you set out again. You can find other towns along the way where you can make other gear from. Such as maybe your starting point is near the desert, there you'll find all the desert monsters and materials but something like a plesioth would be rare. Your village doesn't know how to work with that material but if you go to a port village they know exactly how to work with it. Along the way you could run into other caravans, maybe a few that have been destroyed by monsters or get hints of an elder dragon that is wreaking havoc somewhere.

I love this! Personally can't relate but it's certainly given me a lot to mull over. I'm the other camp of people, I just pop on some headphones and death dance with the monsters cx

Bruh this video is deep with lore and the bigger question of life be it in the context of the game or in real life and I Focking Love it!

With how vacuous the treatment of their setting is in Rise I don't think they have the right to make the playet kill a pregnant dragon who wants to protect her offspring. The english localization even changed dialogue to make Narwa evil whereas in japanese she's just following its nature.

the world is soooo immersive, in its unique non-verbal, interactive way, when you had set out to fight a monster and after a look around you decided to gather some mushrooms to stock up on supplies, you're right there in the middle of it. I never wanted to skip cutscenes before world... before it was in your face, state of the art, long winded, video game story telling without compelling characters. And i want to mention Stories 1 in this, because it's such a beautiful world on par with 4u (they're really similar sometimes, believe me when i say this), even though of course, the messages of the games in some aspects are different. You don't work together for a village or caravan to gain their respect through your feats, but everywhere you appear as a rider you're first met with shock, especially in the big port city. You do still prove your worth and gain acceptance for your profession as a rider and further societies understanding of monsters and monsties, in that world. Messages aside, Stories 1 is similarly successful in building an immersive world like 4u, through the low amount if speech, through nothing but atmosphere and stunning sights. Really really awesome game, It ran horribly on citra and had a bugged visual effect for like 30% of the time, but it was unbelievably beautiful still. ps: bless Marika Suzuki for her absolute bangers like Cheeko Sands and Trese Desert battle 1 (i've never heard a violin be so funky before), couple of my favourites.

About the Themes of cycles in 4u its also note worthy the name of some gore/shagaru magala quests such as "stop the wheel"

I did play the series and enjoyed the stories in mh, as for world felt my adventure of World was more of an observer than a protagonist. Where most og your target assignments are observation. And most attempts to do direct actions ended showing how small is humanity to the monsters. They failed to capture zorah magdaros, despite guiding it off to destroy the new world it would leave a new world for the monsters to explore as shown in the guiding lands. You failed to neutralize xenojiva at the end of world, and so does with shara, however your failure wouldnt matter because nergigante would show up to finish the job you failed. The new world is mostly observed and the humans actions could not bring change. Its like to show how fascinated the humans are with the new world yet how unneccesary we are for it.

That last paragraph on the first screen about how the hunter is in balance with nature and how he struggles to coexist with the brutality of nature is the fundamental flaw of this amazing series of games. I understand they try to convey that feeling, but they fail so spectacularly and yet seen completely convinced they achieved it somehow. I don't think they can really do it without going through a revolution similar to God of War 2018 or similar. And I'm not sure that would even be a good idea, but I'd be interesting to see at least.

As a bow hunter irl there is no story to why we do what we do. The hunt is the story and I personally believe the "lack of story" is intentional.

This is a long post, but, I hope you enjoy. To me, Story is one of the few things Iceborne did better than World-in terms of *why* you have to kill the final boss. When Shara Ishvalda is tunneling under the continent, destroying parts of the environment, and scaring species we didn't know were present into revealing themselves it creates a clear and understandable reason for the player to find out what's causing all the commotion. It is basically MH3 Ceadeus 2.0, the boss isn't intentionally malevolent but it's presence could unknowingly spell the end for you along with the environment. Where World flunks in its story telling is failing to show us what an Everstream actually is, why it's important to the inhabitants of the new world, and why you don't want Zorah Magdaros taking a skinny dip in it. In that same vein, we also don't have a clear reason for why Xeno'Jiiva is a problem. We suddenly needed to kill it without understanding what it was or its place in the ecosystem. What could've helped World's story is a greater focus on the Tempered Monsters, who exist because the high density of bio energy makes the new world a breeding ground for them. You have to get stronger because they are trying to get stronger, and even something as bottom tier as a Jagras can one shot you if it gets enough bio energy. On top of that, it should've introduced the Elder Dragons Kushala, Teostra, Vaal, and Kirin in Slay/Repel Quest much sooner-before you slayed Nergigante-so that you could see how important their affects on the environment are. The fact that their presence forces other monsters to vacate the map could've been used more aggressively to slow the rate at which players could hunt in the environment without having to get rid of the Elder Dragon first. Do this early enough-say, the beginning of High Rank-and have the Elders act like Iceborne did with the roaming Velkhana, and you effectively have a form of pseudo seasons from dos. And this is what should drive us to defeat the Flagship and Final Boss of World. The Elder Dragons are disrupting the ecosystems across the new world because they can't go to the Elder Recess without being preyed upon by Nergigante. Therefore, you must slay Nergigante so that Kushala and Teo (and theoretically Vaal and Kirin) can enter the recess and leave all the other maps alone. However, true to his position as a Flagship, Nergigante is a *hint* and slaying him is like curing the symptoms instead of the disease. There's a reason he's here in the Elder's Recess and not chasing after the Elder Dragons on other maps, there's a reason Elder Dragons are frequenting the New World. You need to find and fix it because the New World is hotbed for catastrophe. You should want to slay Xeno'Jiiva, not because he's just FIRING MUH LAZAR, but, because he is a Honey Trap for multiple Elder Dragons. Remember the Lunastra in Legends of the Guild? That is both the result and a _taste_ of what Xeno troubles the world with. It should be your hope to find the source and prevent another Zorah Magdaros sneaking into the Everstream. Honestly, looking at all I typed and back on the game, World's Story might've (or even should've) been attempting to show us how the monsters and hunters are actually very similar when it comes to living in the new world. Nature is about conflict, competition, pressure, and perseverance. You have to fight, you're in the middle of an evolutionary arms race where all manner of creatures are trying to find and secure their own place in the world. Where this theme might be jarring for those that try to defend the environment from our advances is that the game is also not telling you to apologize for it. You may be a new group colonizing the land, but, that doesn't mean you have any less right to live here. You may be challenging Nature, however, so to are the monsters that have their Turf Wars, Sub Species/Variants, (Arch) Tempered to make a bid for resources and power. Sort of helps that two characters are drumming opposing themes to players in Iceborne. That is the Field Team Leader and Seeker. The former was born in the New World, to him, this is his home-your home-and you should fight that much harder for your piece of the pie. But the Seeker, almost acting as an outside observer, is looking to the bigger picture. If we are a piece of the puzzle that has taken up the role of keeping monsters in check, what then or one day will keeps us in check. We are all connected in nature no matter what stance we take in how to approach it. Thx for reading. Good video, btw.

It's funny cuz I started out with FU, and the story for me there was that of hunter going up against Tigrey and then the guild quests and eventually Fatalis in both FU and 4U. I kept that same character for Tri and 4U, but when Generations came out I switched my characters name, but kept my Palicos name, thus in a way saying that that Hunter either left to go on a separate quest, retired or died, yet in the back if my mind I left it unanswered. I decided to change my hunters name on a whim before playing Gen, so when my old hunter was referenced, it really surprised me. Forward to World, I kept my Gen Hunter name and Palico, and with how meh the story in game was I decided to go with my own story, up until then end, where I decided to think of Fatalis as my old Hunter being taken over to fulfill that bit of Fatalis Lore in the game, thus concluding that story as well as World, and with Rise, I once again decided to change my name and start over new, in a foreign land with new palicos. When you yourself kinda write a story for yourself in game based on the events that go with it, it's only a matter of how fun you want to make it, for its your own story that you're playing as.

The best line from monster hunter stories 2 came from Reburto, a hunter. "we're all just trying to survive." In rise, I did not feel happy after killing the final boss, despite my hunters joy. They were just trying to survive, same as kamura village. Following their instincts. On the other hand in Sun break, it felt more like what a hunter should be. someone who's ment to help keep nature balanced.

whoa, didnt know that the pokke village theme had a vocal version

woah I was listening to the album that outro song was from just a couple hours ago lol (song used is "A Pair of Footprints", really chill) do you listen via khinsider for the à la carte album too? Curious where, because it's so damn obscure

I wish I could always referred your video until a hundred years later when MH is the way of mankind.

Damn thats deep bro. I wanted to write a long comment expressing how similar I feelt about it and why, but ive already deleted all ive written twice, so Im just gonna say yes.

Where I can listen to that Pokke Theme with vocal?

Can someone link that Pokke village vocal theme at the end? That was really beautiful!

great video would really like to know which video the background reel of the first minute comes from!

I love ❤️ all Monster Hunter”S, I make up my own stories. Love your channel because any attention given to MS is welcome. Thank you 😎💪🦖

I like how your character has a CB equipped most of the time 😍

what is the title of this song remix in 17:00 i know its pokke village but cant find the version with vocals

There's also more to writing than just a narrative or plot, like for example developing the monsters. Taking a look at Zinogre for example, you can look at it like Thunder Wolf yay and be fine and dandy but that's not all there is to it and there's a certain adoration you achieve for this series because there IS more to Zinogre like Zinogre doesn't naturally have thunder abilities but exists in a symbiotic relationship with a different insect and is able to command and absorb those insect's latent powers to give the illusion that it controls lightning BUT that's not all there is because we also have accounts that young Zinogres sometimes can't handle the relationship and are actually killed by the Thunderbugs at extremely young ages. BUT that's not all because we also have variants like Thunderlord which is able to take in an almost uncontrollable amount of these Thunderbugs thanks to a genetic mutation BUT that's not all because there's also a subspecies of Zinogre with a symbiotic relationship with another type of bug that eats Dragonfell berries and this Zinogre is able to control Dragon energy from it's bugs. And things like this are literally all over the place for almost every single Monster, even things like Blangongo are just Blangos with enlarged tusks that serve as the Alpha of their groups and less Blangos will fight religiously for it HOWEVER these tusks are the only things the Blangos worship so if a Blangongo loses it's tusks it's troupe no longer follow him even though he is the strongest and largest Blango without his tusks the Blangos avoid the Blangongo and stop defending him. There's so many monsters in this franchise and they are all created to feel like fully realized creatures even if they are fake. If this was just a dumb action game we'd just have big Trex's that shoot laser beams but it's not because there's a page of lore for how that Trex lives and it's interactions with other monsters and it's impact on ecosystems. and not only that but how other monsters deal with that Trex. If you compare to another Monster based franchise like Pokemon there's very little lore for how each Pokemon lives and gets it's power and how those Pokemon fit into ecosystems, Pokemon for the most part just lives by the rule of cool, why is there an electric Zebra? Because Zebras that can shoot lightning are cool. It's one of those things that just makes you love this franchise because you can go into it with no thought or constant thought and you're almost always rewarded for asking questions like "how does Rathalos have both fire and poison in it's moveset?" but it's also not hamfisted. That whole lore about the Blangongo? An NPC doesn't just have a lore dump about all that, those tidbits are all hidden by various things like quest text, part description and the fight itself all teach you these things.

What's the vocal theme that plays at the end?

I think it'd be cool if the story was actually more focused on at some point. Maybe you could explore the commission guild as well as the more civilised part of the world they'd inhabit be shown in a chain of quests, similar to the one for Fatalis in Iceborne.

This is something I wrote as a preface for a critique of Rise's locale themes about a year ago: "One of the strengths of MH's soundtracks is that they manage to evoke different emotions based on what each song is assigned to. If you were to say, swap Tigrex and Nargacuga's theme, it would feel plain wrong. Not just because you've already associated each piece with their place, but because each piece is tailored perfectly to said place in the games. I think Tri, or 3U's OST nails this. The Deserted Island theme evokes a sense of grandness, and of scale. Going into the 3rd generation they really wanted to give the sense that MH was entering a new era. New engine, new mechanics and overhauls, even Rathalos got a makeover. Tri's intro being pretty over the top sells this I'd say, and the heavily orchestrated and "epic" Deserted Island theme does this too. I think Capcom wanted to flex with this theme The Sandy Plains theme evokes a sense of adventure I think, it's very... I wouldn't say lighthearted, but it's optimistic. It's meant to parallel the player's excitement of seeing their first new locale after the intro one, and realizing there is so much more to go. The Flooded Forest as a locale pushes the player out of their comfort zone with the most water zones in the game, and the tightest areas. The music reflects this, along with being very fitting for a dreary swamp. This theme feels nothing like the previous two. The Tundra is a certified banger! It brings the energy back up from the Forest, with Gigginox and Barioth being some of the weirdest, least conventional fights in the game. Like them, the music is a bit discordant. Finally, the Volcano. This is when it starts to set in that the game is nearing it's conclusion. I believe they purposely tried to make the Volcano theme sound anxious, on top of being the "heavy" theme for the heavy monsters. Being surrounded by lava is already suffocating enough, but they also went for trying to make tangible the feeling of anticipation for completing the game. TL;DR, this theme builds tension. And of course, Ceadeus Phase 1 and 2. Phase 1 pays off the tension by letting you soak in the spectacle of the huge ass whale, and Phase 2 delivers and the epic finale. It's worth noting that they really made Ceadeus final phase music different from any previous theme, bar White Fatalis maybe. Really fits with 3rd Gen being "the new era", and them wanting to show what they can do now. And of course, Deviljho theme fits Deviljho to a T, same with Mohran and Alatreon. I won't explain those" MH doesn't overtly tell a story with it's music like many games do, with complex evolving tracks from to moment-to-moment (like a film soundtrack). But it's very consistent in establishing tones, and running those tones parallel to where you are and what you're doing. And to me, that's a huge part of MH's storytelling.

The only thing that triggers me from the story aspects of monster hunter is when story characters start taking credit for work that you did or acting like they were part of that fight almost perfect example was MHW at the end of shara ishvalda fight

Monster Hunter is a world where you can truly tell a story in it, I just think it would be better told through a movie than a game.

Really looking forward to your 3 hour long mh4u video

Masterfully said

Where can I find that Pokke village theme remix at the end?

I really do hope the next mainline monster hunter brings back some of the more immsersive aspects of the older games.

In a dream world, you’ll make a 3 hour video for EACH monster hunter chapter 🤣

You’re like the monster hunter philosopher

It's all riding on MH6 there is so much they need to do and I hope that it has the true soul of monster hunter. It would be so cool if at some point in the story the neglect of the guild or greed from the village you are in leads to a problem that arise in which the hunter is negatively affected. That could be a sub plot and if not done the player will be affected until they right the wrongs of the npc characters, so you could either try and fix things early and get back to the rest or make it the whole story. Another cool thing would be a spin off game about guild knight and other guild sanctioned individuals that help keep civilization in check.

in mh4u i never craft hunter's armor because that's what ace cadet wears when he shows up to val habar and i always view him as a sort of rival. i never slay lagombi, only trap them, because i think they're the cutest monster in the game and i haven't got it in me to actually kill one. i like to mix kecha wacha and bone armor together, just because they look nice together. these are things i added to the story myself as the player.

this explains why i so much preferred monster hunter tri before anything else because i think aesthetically and thematically it just hit these nails so hard on the head.

I think Monster Hunter has one of the best examples of worldbuilding in any video game series. In my opinion Monster Hunter 4 (or maybe 3) had the best narrative in the series. The best thing about the series is that it allows the player to tell their own hero's journey with their avatar protagonist. I don't expect Monster Hunter to have a deep story and characters like The Last of Us, which uses what I call "Overt Storytelling". I even made one or two fanfiction short stories based in the Monster Hunter universe, one of which had my protagonist called Isla (who was born and raised in Moga Village) go on a hunt against a Nargacuga.

Today RU-vid is blessed

I would like to see a modern monster hunter with an atmosphere like that of 3u and a story like that of 4u.