Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS, Wii U) Review

Three years after the North American release of Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii, an enhanced version with some removed but mostly added content was released for Wii U and 3DS. The biggest draw of this version of third generation Monster Hunter is the inclusion of G Rank, another rank above the previously highest High Rank that adds a lot of content and significantly more difficult challenges than in High Rank. This review will judge this enhanced version on Wii U on its own merits.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate plays mostly the same as the previous two generations of Monster Hunter games before it. Players begin the game slowly and tediously collecting materials before they finally encounter a monster, and as the game progresses players continuously fight more difficult monsters using equipment they obtained from monsters that they defeated earlier. The combat is overall a a generally standard 3rd person action game, with the most defining characteristic being the extreme commitment to attacks that is required, especially compared to how little hunted monsters have to commit to their attacks. There are no levels in Monster Hunter, so players can only become more powerful through their skills or through defeating monsters and taking their parts to craft more powerful equipment. Crafting the equipment with the higher numbers is not the best strategy in Monster Hunter though, as equipment provides skill points that build to a combined total for each skill between all equipment and each skill needs a minimum number of points to have any effect. There are many systems that players will need to learn in Monster Hunter that could extend this review beyond reason but overall it is safe to say that depth and amount of content are not a problem with this game whatsoever.

However, similar to third generation Pokémon games, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a surprisingly large break away from those previous two games in terms of shared content. This is not to say Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is lacking in content, as there is plenty of newly created content that is much more well-designed and varied than the previous two Monster Hunter generations, which was filled with many monsters that shared the same moves with little variety. Third generation Monster Hunter games also have vastly improved hitboxes and remove a lot of the frustrating battle mechanics from previous Monster Hunter generations like getting tripped by monsters that are turning around. This arguably better designed combat does make the game noticeably easier, though, but this review considers it a worthy tradeoff. Controversially the western version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate introduces 50 base defense on all players that while understandable for its potential to help newer players in a region with much fewer experienced players, makes the already much easier combat compared to previous generations even easier, though it becomes progressively less relevant in the endgame.

In terms of sound Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is basically as good as one could expect. The majority of the songs are far from memorable but none of them are particularly bad either. Thankfully the endgame monsters generally have some of the best unique songs when you fight them. The sound effects are similar to previous Monster Hunter games and they work fine despite how strange they can often be. Overall the sound is not a highlight of the game but it hardly hurts it either.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on Wii U is far from technically impressive. It is essentially a remastered version of the 3DS version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate that released one year earlier in Japan, but with added online support. Geometry detail is still very low and the new textures are not enough to save it. If it weren’t for Monster Hunters tasteful art style it would be an eyesore. The only area that is somewhat impressive is how much better the online system in this game is compared to most Wii U games.

As with most Monster Hunter games, the plot hardly exists and the world is interesting but hardly developed.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is easily worth full price on Wii U. There is much more unique content and fun to be had in this game than in most Wii U games. Even new players who only play to the first credits roll will get their money’s worth. More dedicated players can easily spend hundreds of hours playing this game. This game also has some value for owners of the 3DS version as save data can be transferred between it and the 3DS version, though this alone obviously doesn’t justify paying full price.

Overall the reviewer would give this game an 8.5 out of 10.

If you decide to purchase this game through one of the links below this blog will receive a commission.