Were We Wrong? - Wild Hearts 

That’s fair. Again with a dedicated developer it would’ve been able to be polished to a point where it would be enjoyable for most people. I haven’t had many problems on console so far luckily but a huge portion of the player base is on PC so it’s totally ruined for them because of optimization or bugs or just general lack of polish.

That’s awesome to hear! I wish I would’ve dug deeper sooner, I love monster hunter and was really excited when this was announced and when it released all I saw was negativity about it everywhere, which I should’ve tried for myself but 70$ is a big risk. It’s funny I redownloaded MH world and was playing and just couldn’t keep playing because I’ve already put soooo much time into it, and finally decided to try this. Glad that I did for sure

Still playing it?

@@TWHISPERER on n off yeah

It would be cool to see a capable developer like Capcom take some inspiration from some of the ideas and mechanics. Awesome point!

I didn’t realize that part either, that would be annoying though, but not enough to ruin the game. The EA account is free right?

You need an ea account to play any of the ea games made in the last 12 years. Whats your point....epic games requires an account for all of theres and capcom tried to force it in rise but nintendo refused it.

@@generalmits damn for once i'm glad nintendo did something

U needed a capcom account to play street fighter. So what are u talking about.

​@@Eyezthrulies it not the case for monster hunter but i can see they going that way with the next monster hunter. If i recall correctly, their other online games release in 2023 (exoprimal) also require capcom account

Exactly. PC version sucks. I have a decent rig and game just stutters a lot.

I play on PS5. I have a PC but stumbled onto the game with the EA pass on PS5, glad I did instead of PC I guess. That sucks to hear that it’s that bad, I guess it’s basically unplayable right? That would totally ruin the experience if the Framerate and optimization is that bad.

@@C0ntr4d1ct0r that’s super unfortunate, I played on PS5, guess I’m lucky I did. That would explain why the ratings for the game are better on PS5 than on steam.

I appreciate you taking the time to comment, you have some great points. I remember seeing Toukiden a few times and almost trying it. Would you recommend it to this day? Or is it to clunky? I played god eater, and I wasn’t playing it with monster hunter as the expectation so I actually enjoyed it. Great point to enjoy the games for what they are, not all will be up to MH standards but they also bring in more variety which is definitely better all around I think.

​@@samtheashen the one I was playing is Kiwami (expanded version of 1st game), so I'll talk about it. I would not call it "clunky" though it's originally was a 2013 psp/vita crossplatform game. It plays smooth and comfortable (perhaps a bit too much, haha). Main difference coming from MH (which bothered me at first) is that it doesn't focus that much on "preparations" or "hunting/simulation" things (that was especially strong in early MH), also it's not similar category difficulty/challenge-wise (even though there are pretty strong bosses closer to endgame/postgame, and there are options to make challenge for yourself via various means, the main flow of game is more chill/relaxful, unlike MH where each new boss can take many failed runs before you succeed, let alone Dark Souls). Then, what's Toukiden about, you would ask? Lemme continue (sorry for big reply, haha)... Best thing about Toukiden is that it gives you various thingies to "toy around", and how it's combined with overall experienced being streamlined (as i said, it plays super smooth). The main loop is simple and classic - you have hub where you can change equipment, buffs etc. and then choose missions. There are ofc various weapons to choose - long sword, bow, gauntlets, spear etc. They are perhaps not as in-depth as recent MH games (tbh I felt ovewhelmed by Rise, considering I played MHFU before it), but they are unique/balanced enough among themselves, and it takes time/dedication to master the usage of this or that weapon. Also they are pretty fun to use! I like how some of them give you ability to perform aerial combat - most notably chain & sickle (kusarigama) with which you can imitate Attack on Titan battles and dual knives (can climb enemies Dragon's Dogma style a bit). You have lock-on mechanics so you can lock-on and lock-off freely (remember I said game being not clunky) for you advantage, and in case with some weapons like spear your lock-on point is not the whole enemy, but specicif part of it (which helos). Some other weapon types have parry or block options, and some are kinda complicated with stuff to keep in mind (i think rifle is kinda reaching MH/GE complexity, dunno). Oh, and gauntlets are just fun because you can punch demons Hokuto no Ken style, it just feels satisfying when you succeed. The main "catch" of Toukiden combat is that bosses have, like, two healthbars. 1st healthbar represents physical body, you erase it when destroying limbs (body parts), after that you gain aceess to damaging spiritual body and can finally reduce 2nd healthbar. After you got rid of body part(s), you need to "purify" them - by that you collect materials that would be needed for weapon/armor upgrades/creation, and also it would prevent enemy from regenerating limb back to place. Also after certain attacks you can get enemy into "raged" mode where it does more crazy attacks but in return the whole body is spiritual so you can go all-attack (be careful though lol). This system can get a bit tedious at times, but there are extra things that helps to get it more varied. I mentioned "weapon classes" above, but there are also "mitama" cards. You collect them (represented as historical warriors from past) and equip. Firstly, they provide you "battle styles" that add another layer on top of weapon choice. You are getting 4 skills to use during combat - first one is always health recovery, three others differ from chosen style. Some give you attack buffs, others boost speed and stamina, another one would give you teleport or stealth ability, there is also style that helps you purify monster limbs as fast as possible. But what's more, each card gives passive boosts as well, and they play important role too. You can have up to 4 (out of 12 from progression tree) boosts enabled from such card, and you can equip three of them for weapon. Many of them are traditional atk/def buffs, but some are more curious like vampire health from attack, the ones affecting your weapon special, or specific ailment defense. And you can freely swap around these cards... in the end, game gives nice options to "build" your character, toying around weapon choice (also including elemental damage if needed), battle style choice, and all those passive boosts - when it all comes together, it's pretty fun and gives you enough stuff to experiment. In the end, even if you stick to selected few weapons, you still can vary the way you play with this things, at times reaching some crazy stuff you'd not think about. When I initially played the game, I was not paying attention much to it and was just doing missions and sticking to one weapon - that bored me, as a result. But some time later when I revisited game I started diving more deeply with what I can do - and it ended up more fun and amusing. Another thing that caught my attention and helped me to get hooked on game was story. In Toukiden, story is very much fleshed out so the narrative is strong. Even though as portable title it was pretty... laconic in the way how it's done (mostly dialogues with characters and plenty of mails to read, though there is a douzen or smth of epic cutscenes), but for me it was immersive enough. The first half of games perhaps felt a bit ordinary/cliche - but I would not say it negatively, its the opposite way maybe because you can recognize yourself or friends/family in characters and it helps with growing attacked to chars. The second part (which came with expansion) is more lively with story, more dynamic and there is intrigue, thats where I got super excited for it. Though perhaps for some players it would be "eh, just a usual anime". But for me, story and characters clicked enough to enjoy it much. Also there is big amount of jokes to laugh at, and also plenty of heartwarming moments. Story mode lasts for 13 chapters (though 3 chapters are fillers as they were post-game grind content), and there is also a cooperative mode with 17 chapters as well. They are chosen separately. You cant coop the story, but you can coop the cooperative mode. Also you can play everything with NPC ai bots (both campaign and coop). They are very good, and can carry you through the most of game kinda, but you always have option to choose how many you want to take with you, and most story missions allow you to go solo if you really want as well. As i said above, game overall does not feel as hardcore as MH or smth, especially if you play with npc. In fact, the challenge comes more from being efficient. So its not about dying from monsters, but more about how good you play so your time spent is quicker. Then again there are ways to self-impose challenges if you want, e.g. playing solo or doing extra missions that unlock closer to end of game. Post-game enemies can be pretty tough, and there is also a boss rush mode where you get additional cards and materials. But for MH veteran there is not much stuff to compare if you expect certain things. Overall, its a game that initally bored me but at some point I gave it 2nd chance and ended up loving it. It has cool ideas and fun to play, but you need to push yourself and game a bit to get most of it. Also personally I liked story and music, so that's that. Oh, and there are tenko (fox animals you give food and take on missions so they help you with gathering etc) which are super cute. Now, there is Toukiden 2 - a sequel that I havent played yet. Can't comment much of it for now, but most people say its better than first game (and some like it more than WH). I know TK2 has openworld (did it before MHW), has grapple hook hand (so each weapon can have aerial combat), reworked mechanics with ability cards and how you upgrade/forge weapons, added mechanic to completely destroy enemy limb so it wont regrown etc. etc. etc. So perhaps give that one a try instead, if you want. Well, hope you'll find this interesting and story for huge wall of text :) best wishes!

​@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 Wow, that is a huge reply! It obviously was a huge effort on your part so seriously thank you for taking the time to write it all out. I honestly couldn't find a better in depth look at Toukiden, awesome job. It sounds super interesting, I love Dragon's Dogma and the ability to climb on the monsters so that aspect seems like an awesome feature. The fox buddy is also sweet, I love a good animal companion in any game. The weapon system sounds pretty interesting, seems like some weapon options I havent seen in MH or WH, the hook blade seems really fun. If I try it I would probably go to TK2 first, the grappling hook is definitely enticing. The card system is a cool unique mechanic too, you mentioned they are based on historical warriors which is a really cool way to connect to the real world. You mentioned the story was solid although a bit typical anime first half which I definitely don't mind at all, I always have a better time with a game if I can get into the story. I never found myself particularly attached to any MHW character or plot line, so it would be a nice change. Awesome reply, I really appreciate you taking the time to break it all down and write it all out, your awesome!

@@samtheashen glad to hear. Though, still keep in mind that those games had this or that limitations, perhaps smth was still a bit rough etc. etc. I really hope that WIld Hearts isn't last attempt in genre from Koei Tecmo. Anyway though, I'm getting impression that Rise of Ronin is their most important upcoming title, which success might be defining. Some people say that they see Rise of the Ronin taking many of things from Nioh 1-2, meaning that it might end up being niche/hardcore game, instead of eeeeeeh "Japanese Assassin's Creed" some youtubers were hyping it. And Wo Long before that felt like an experimental side project to test some mechanics, or so people say.

@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 that’s pretty interesting, I didn’t realize rise of the ronin was Koei Tecmo. They have a solid foundation for sure (I think) I’ve had Rise of ronin wishlisted on ps5 forever now, was a little worried when the graphics in the screenshots looked pretty rough but I’m still gonna get it when it drops, I liked Nioh alright, I’m a massive souls fan so anything similar is usually right up my alley. My whole first year of content on YT was Elden Ring PvP lol

That’s awesome to hear. I agree it’s a solid game, I’m glad to have tried it out. I appreciate you letting me know you liked it!

@@tbatrics nice! Playing on the game pass you don’t really have anything to lose (except a little time). I had a lot of fun with it overall. You have a favorite weapon yet?

Wow, I would say it’s definitely worth it at that price. Not much to lose at that point! Have you played it on Xbox?

That’s definitely fair. I know the main reason I got into Wild Hearts is because I already played through 300+ hours in Iceborne which is a lot for me. It’s funny I just started a new iceborne character and it’s a blast. I do miss certain things about WH though like the gliders and ease of movement. aesthetic or design of WH areas are really cool too, I really like the medieval Japan.

That’s a solid recommendation, I have actually played it on switch, it was pretty fun. Being on a handheld switch kind of hurt the experience though. I’d imagine it would be much better on pc or console

That makes much more sense. I must’ve gotten the second hand info that the game was terrible gameplay and mechanic wise, which are both really solid in my opinion. Optimization being bad would definitely ruin it and EA really dropped the ball there and just gave up. Lost potential all around, which is why we all hate EA..

I feel like that’s a pretty hot take for it to be live service, I always assume the worst for any game live service and see it as a downside. But I guess if they did it right, live service could’ve been good for this game. Seeing new monsters maybe every month or however they would do it, would be pretty sweet. But then again, monster hunter didn’t go that route and it’s like the gold standard. Maybe that just speaks to the Publisher/Devs, EA just too focused on pumping new games out. You’re right though, the core gameplay was awesome, and live service would be far better than no service!

@@samtheashen Yeah, i think people that would enjoy the Hunting-Genre are just used to the Live-Service like approach Capcom is doing with MH. At least thats how I see it, so the first updates they pushed out were great! Sadly they just stopped after 4 months

@@ImRoosevelt but monster hunter also did the live service aspect in a pretty good way. It had a lot of updates and dlc and extra quests, but you also have the option to play offline. That would’ve been great for wild hearts.

Did you ever finish it? It definitely sucks they left it in the dust, it’s got a ton of potential. I feel like it would’ve done a lot better if it had a developer or publisher that put some heart into taking care of the game.

@@samtheashen The game was good.

EA dropping it: SURPRISE!

That’s awesome to hear! I haven’t tried multiplayer, but I definitely agree it feels more fluid. I went back to MH World after this video, much slower of a pace. I was definitely missing the glider and all the kemono stuff you could build.

Thank you for checking it out and leaving a comment!

Seems like thats the biggest downfall, the pc performance problems. It's crazy how different the console version performed.

Definitely a fair complaint. Thats been the general consensus in the comments. It’s a shame they didn’t end up having it optimized like they do now on console.

I would say you’re right. Which is super disappointing considering if they would’ve put more time and patience into taking care of the game, it probably would’ve been much more successful. Nothing hurts like lost potential..

Yeah the pricing is really dumb for sure. I’ve seen that a lot, and I’m almost positive I’ve read that Sony/playstation gets the final say in setting the prices, not the developer or publisher unfortunately.. I got ea pass for 5-15$ to play wild hearts, dead space remake, seemed like a better value

It’s in sale now in Europe ps store

Thank you, glad you liked it!

Definitely true, they messed up and totally flushed a ton of potential down the drain. Especially bad for Pc players because the performance is so bad. I’m playing on PS5 right now (5$ EA pass just for this game) and performance has been great. Wish it was the same for every platform.

I agree it is really good, and could’ve been a bright spot of the genre if EA would’ve acted like adults and taken care of the game that they already put millions into. Guess that’s what happens when you take no pride in what you create or release.

Wow! It's definitely a great game, what do you do in the endgame? what keeps you engaged after you discovered all the monsters and upgrades and stuff?

That’s awesome, I think I mentioned that the umbrella was my favorite weapon in the game as well, the parry system is the whole reason I use. I’m always a fan of a defense system with parries. Was the platinum trophy tough or time consuming? I wish they would’ve gave the game more support, it definitely has a ton of potential. I’m happy with getting on the EA pass, I’ll try to platinum it and probably move on to something else.

@@samtheashen did you try using umbella to fly in the air? i enjoy such tricks in games haha (and yes i loved wirebugs in MHR)

@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 Hmm I’m not sure I’ve actually flown with umbrella, I’ve done the jump attack to fly forward some but I think that’s it.

@@samtheashen it seems you can chain together various attacks to make those motions longer. Yeah it's not "flying" actually, but when using together with environment, it can be pretty cool. I saw it in video called "WILD HEARTS - WHY RUN IF YOU CAN FLY?" which demonstrates it. Dunno if it's more than you already tried or not, please tell if you try out more :)

@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 I have not tried the chaining of attacks, I will have to give it a go. I know i've set up multiple springs in order to glide a bit further, so it is something i've been wanting to do! I'll reply on here when I try it out!

I never played at launch, I can definitely say that the performance issues are gone for ps5 at least. I know I’ve heard people still have problems with performance that make the game unplayable on PC, haven’t heard anything on Xbox. The palette change on the monsters frustrated me a lot.. i was impressed with the roster at first but then saw that a lot of monsters were either re skinned or just made slighter bigger with the same moveset for all variations. From your point though, I just heard that the game was awful all around. I never once heard that it could be great if performance and optimization was properly handled. Which is on me, but it’s still all I heard. The game does have a ton of potential and unfortunately for all of us, EA is in charge of wasting it.

I do want to remind you that monster hunter world and rise also have pallete swaps of the same monsters with different attack patterns and different names. (Seething Bazelguese, Furious Rajang, Black Diablos, Savage DevilJho,Gold Rathian, Azure Rathalos, etc.) Only difference is Wild Hearts has an abundance of them which is a shame

That is definitely something that would totally ruin the experience. I just farmed the ice wolf for like 12 hunts, if I lost that I might drop it..

That’s awesome to hear from a MH player, I can say I absolutely agree that EA sucks, they’ve screwed us so many times it’s impossible (almost) for redemption for them.

That’s a great point, the game would be waaaaay better off in another publishers hands. EA doomed the game because of impatience and greed.

From what I’ve heard and seen, yeah unfortunately it’s abandoned. Which is definitely a shame because it has plenty of potential and if they stuck around with it it might even earn them a little credibility, I’ll keep dreaming I guess 😓

Alright that is a fair criticism but there is also a giant Ape Rock and an Ice Wolf which are pretty cool. They space out the variety a bit too much

@@samtheashen they are Just monkey rock plant and Wolf ice plant. Lol.

That sounds about right, performance would be a deal breaker. Good comparison with MH, if EA would’ve supported Wild hearts like Capcom did MH, I’m sure it would’ve been an entirely different end result.

That’s pretty interesting, I assumed it’d be similar across the new consoles, guess not! So I guess ps5 is the way to go, still be nice If they optimized it for every one

Definitely a shame they didn’t support the game. A ton of wasted potential, they could’ve easily put more time and money in to fix things and add new monsters and areas stuff like that.

Fair choice for sure, I would say the right choice with the price still at 60-70$. Are you on PC or console?

Hmm I think it's by far biggest crime is the terrible pc optimization, other than that, I think it changed enough mechanics and designs to not be a total ripoff at least