Monster Hunter Tri Music

By ARCHON

The creators of Monster Hunter 3 certainly have a handle on what makes a game feel epic. The environments are beautiful and sweeping, the weapons are ridiculous, the monsters are crazy huge, and the sense of accomplishment after a well fought hunt is palpable. Its good to know then that all of these characteristics are backed up by a score of music just as epic.

You can always count on the music to really set the mood in Monster Hunter Tri, whether you are walking out across a huge sandy plain, wandering into your village farm, or encountering a formidable beast in the Flooded Forest.

YouTube user Tristya has posted much of the Tri Soundtrack on his/her channel. Check it out to listen to what I'm talking about. I wonder if this will ever make it to CD, like another one of my favorite games did?: Shadow of the Colossus (a game I think Monster Hunter Tri takes a cue or two from).

Better Know a Monster: The Great Jaggi

By ARCHON

Zanzibar and I have already created guides for each of the weapons you will find in Monster Hunter Tri. Along those same lines we thought it might be a good idea to feature the boss monsters that you will encounter in the game. Knowing each monster's behaviors and weaknesses is essential to victory. So first up: The Great Jaggi Guide

The Great Jaggi is the first boss monster you will encounter. No doubt many of you have moved well past this foe and killing him is quite easy. But for the rest of you starting out with base level weapons and armor the Jaggi is a formidable opponent.

When he first spots you he will run towards you. Don't hesitate to attack as it usually takes him a few seconds to start biting and ramming. If you see him scratch at the ground, that's your chance as he's gearing up to roar at you which gives you an opening to land several good hits. He will also stand on his hind legs and call for help. Take advantage of this window to attack attack attack.

The Great Jaggi's main attacks are a sideways bite, a tail whip, and a hip-check that will send you flying across the screen. His bite and whip can be blocked but his tail will often reach around your defense, so I suggest rolling out of the way and counter attacking. The Jaggi will turn sideways and leap at you for his hip-check. Block this if possible and get in a few swipes of your weapon. He usually does each of his moves twice or three times in a row. So, if he's just tail swiped, WATCH OUT, another one is coming.

One of the things that makes this foe difficult is all his tiny Jaggi-lackeys. Although they don't do much damage, they will routinely interrupt your swings and occasionally knock you down. Use a horizontal weapon swipe (with the GS, Lance, Longsword, or SA) or a Hammer spinning attack to clear the area every now and again. Pellet ammo is recommended with the Bowgun for this task

The Great Jaggi takes pretty equal damage most everywhere on his body except his head which is the most sensitive. So strike where ever you can but aim for the head. With careful dodging and counter attacking you'll have him down in no time. Good luck!

IGN Review of MH3

By ARCHON

So just short of a week before the release of Monster Hunter Tri IGN.com has posted a review of the game giving it a final score of 8.8 (out of 10) and an editors choice award. Here are some of the highlights:

"There's a significant time commitment associated with getting the most out of Monster Hunter Tri, but those who put in the hours will find the game offers the kind of satisfaction few other titles can deliver. "

"When it comes to high levels of difficulty in videogames, there can be two types. There's difficulty built to pose a challenge and that can be overcome with careful planning, perseverance, and skill, and there's the type of difficulty that's completely unreasonable that's meant to mask a lack of creative design ideas, technical limits, or simply to pad gameplay hours. Monster Hunter Tri's level of difficulty is the former. It's a tough game that readily tosses you into situations where laziness and lack of focus can swiftly result in failure. Yet its challenges aren't so difficult that they step beyond the bounds of sensibility."

"Each weapon type is essentially a character class, offering distinct rhythms of movement, attack, and unique special abilities."

"Monster Hunter Tri isn't a game for everyone. It's a dense product with a learning curve higher than most other Wii titles available. It requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes."

"For those who prefer games that reward skill and offer huge amount of options for varied play style, character customization, and a vast amount of content, look no further."

Check out the full review here.

IGN gave the game a final score of 8.8 which is good but I get the feeling (and so do many people based on the comments on IGN.com) that the positive language in the review suggested that they would have rated the game much higher. Looking at the reviews of other games on other systems but without having actually played the full version of Monster Hunter Tri I do kinda of think it should have received a higher score; but just like the review itself, thats an opinion. 

I think if anything this has convinced me that this is a fantastic value for the price and a rewarding game. I'm as excited as ever to play it come April 20th.

Monster Hunter Tri Trailer from 2009

BY ARCHON

This Monster Hunter Tri Trailer is an oldy but a goody. Clocking in at over 3 minutes long, the great mix of breathtakingly gorgeous pre-rendered cut-scenes, action packed bits of gameplay footage, and the epic music all combine to send geeky chills up my spine. Watch this and you won't be able to tell me that you don't want this game

Better Know a Weapon Part 4- The Long Sword

BY ZANZIBAR

So the big idea here is the more you cut the stronger it gets and then you unleash your built up energy in a flurry of attacks. Basic combo is overhead slash,thrust, rising slash.  The Long Sword (LS) also has an evasive slash to make up for it's lack of blocking ability, with the wiimote/nunchuck combo or CC (Classic Controller) set to attack with the right stick you can control which direction you dodge after your slash with twist of the wrist or flick of the thumb. Setup 1 with the CC only had a backwards dodge.

The thing is if your using set-up 2 on CC or Wiimote combo then you don't have the right thumbstick to adjust the camera; hopefully this will be fixed by release. 


The the spirit gauge will fill up and glow red at it's peak this is the time to unleash a spirity combo by repeatedly hitting R on the CC. This combo has a tremendous amount of power behind it with each slash doing 120% of normal damage.  The running speed while the weapon is out is faster than the Great Sword and falls in pretty close to the middle as far as all weapons are concerned. The attack speed is fairly quick with good reach and the evasive slash can be combed into from any attack giving it good mobility.  


Happy Hunting.


Check out our other weapons guides here:
Great Sword
Sword and Shield
Hammer

Better Know a Weapon Part 3-Hammer-time

BY ARCHON

Monster Hunter Tri's hammer is a slow-moving (but not as slow as the Great Sword) mostly offensive weapon with a wide range of attacks.

 

Unsheathe and strike upward in one motion by pushing "x" while moving forward. Hitting "x" while standing still will prompt your character to simply retrieve the weapon from his back (though any time I'm getting out a hammer I'd want to come out swinging!). Hitting 'A' will trigger a quick horizontal strike that stops directly in front of your character; 'X' will result in a downward horizontal strike, and hitting 'A 'and then 'X' in quick succession will yield a quick two hit combo.

 

If you successfully land a downward strike, keep hitting 'X' for up to a 4 hit combo as you strike at your enemy and hit the ground, dealing elemental damage as well.

 

For many weapons holding down "R" will cause your character to block. The hammer has no blocking move so make good use of your dodges and dashes to get out of harm's way. Instead, tapping or holding "R" for a second or two triggers a wide horizontal (almost diagonal-upward) attack. Keep holding "R" and your character will crouch into position and charge this attack. Hold it long enough to see a quick flash from your hammer, and you can release a devastating spinning attack perfect for clearing out those pesky jaggis. You can even move (at a pretty good pace too) while charging this attack! Be careful though as after releasing this your character is vulnerable for a few seconds while regaining his balance. Keeping this spin-move charged also depletes your stamina.

 

This weapons has medium to short range. It has none of the reach of the Great sword or the Long sword, but it on par with the switchaxes and outreaches the simple Sword and Board (shield). Oddly, it looses effectiveness and must be sharpened after a while. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to put a nail in a board and had to stop to sharpen my hammer just to get the job done!

 

The Hammer is one of my favorite weapons and has a satisfying mix of power and varied attack. Try taking it out on your next hunt!

Monster Hunter Tri Monster: Gobul

BY ARCHON

New videos featuring the terrifying underwater Gobul. I am NOT looking forward to facing that thing, and when I do I'll make sure to have friends with me to help take him down.

Monster Hunter Tri Demo Qurupeco walkthrough

BY ARCHON

Someone from Capcom-unity has posted a video that serves as sort of a walkthrough of the  Qurupeco hunter on the Monster Hunter Tri Demo. There are a lot of ways to approach a hunt and your technique will most definitely vary depending on which weapon you choose, but this video is helpful none-the-less. He takes down this difficult monster rather quickly using a switch-axe (the first several times I tried this hunt I ran out of time) and imparts techniques and tips that were both new and very helpful to me, being a Monster Hunter n00b.

For instance, did you know you can roast two steaks at once? Did you know that you can jump off a cliff at a certain point in the demo and end up in a completely new area? I didn't!

 While this is not a step by step of how to beat the Qurupeco, following his lead with bring you a lot closer to victory

Better Know a Weapon Part 1-Sword and Board

BY ZANZIBAR

1st in a 9 Part Series

The sword and shield (S&S)is the go to weapon set for versatility in melee combat. It sports the fastest attack speed of any weapon in the game along with having the fastest walking speed while the weapon is drawn as well. This is balanced out by having one of the lower attack power, 4 or 5 swings with the sword and shield combo is roughly equivalent to one swing of the great sword.

S&S has a basic 4 hit combo with 3 sword swings and a shield bash to it, there is also a horizontal slice to vertical ascending that is good for hitting things overhead. The shield can even provide some offense with a 2 hit combo . Underwater things change a little with a 3 hit combo or a shield hit followed by vertical slash that makes you rise up.  The thing to note is any time you connect with the shield it counts as blunt damage rather than slicing, if you can get some head shot with it then it will daze your quarry giving you time to get some extra damage in.

On the defensive side you do have your shield which you can use to block with, it's not as complete as the lance's shield and you will stagger and take a hit to your stamina so watch out! You can attack out from behind your shield but it's only one hit and it leaves you open. The last thing to note with this weapon set is that you don't have to sheath your weapon to use most items, simply block like normal and use your potion or trap at the right time and your ready to go.  Happy Hunting!