A long-running franchise in Japan, Monster Hunter has only really “clicked” for the West in recent years. A challenging, no-hand-holding style of adventure RPG, the Capcom series started way back in 2004 on the PlayStation 2 and has captivated the world since, even spawning a movie starring Mila Jovovich (proof that you’ve truly made it as a video game franchise). Monster Hunter Wilds is now right around the corner, and with the last mainline entry, Monster Hunter World, bringing in legions of new fans, anticipation for this stunning-looking sequel is higher than ever.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto on his recent visit to Australia, to talk more about the expectations for Monster Hunter Wilds, and how the team are catering to all kinds of players.
Checkpoint Gaming: I bought the very first Monster Hunter on PS2 a long time ago. It was great, but it was very hard to play, and very difficult for newcomers. Monster Hunter World changed that and made the series more approachable. How has that approach impacted the development of Monster Hunter?
Ryozo Tsujimoto: So one of the things was, before World, it’s not like we had the intention of making the games hard. It just resulted to feel like it’s very hard. So when Monster Hunter World came out, we actually had time to look back and say, “Okay, what’s required in this game, what’s required in Monster Hunter, what’s needed in Monster Hunter?”. So we had a lot of time thinking about these concepts, and talking to more people. So then we revised things… things that we thought were common sense, weren’t common sense for the player. So we placed a lot of emphasis on “Okay, what’s the misunderstanding here?”
One of the big changes that we made from World is we’re showing how much damage is being put in. We actually put in a lot of research into how the users around the world play. So in terms of the attack, we wanted to make sure that the players knew where they were making an attack. Was this the right place to attack or the wrong place to attack? And in the previous titles, in the older games, we tried to show that by saying, “Oh, if you attack here, for example, the skin, you’re going to be able to see lots of cuts and bruises.” And that’s how we were able to show you’re doing the right thing. However, it seems to me that that didn’t work out right. And so, because in action games, there’s always going to be a right or wrong answer, that’s a very important thing for the players to know what’s right and what’s wrong, which is the reason why we decided to put in the damage instead.
“…we want to make sure that [finding the Monster] goes smoothly so they can enjoy the big part of the game instead of being blocked by the other features.”
Checkpoint Gaming: Monster Hunter has a dedicated fan base that values certain traditions of the series. How do you balance that – keeping the fans happy, while also innovating to make sure that new people can come in as well? Balancing innovation with tradition.
Ryozo Tsujimoto:
So whenever we think about Monster Hunter, we think about both the old players and the new players. We want to make sure that they’re both happy. And so whenever we put in the new challenge, or we’ve put in the new changes, we want to make sure that we can still do the old stuff. So if you go to the very small minute detail, for example, the Palicoes, you have the option to be able to have it all in English, but we also have the option to have it in the Palico, the feline language as usual. So that way both the new and the old players are going to be happy with the change.
Also, when we researched the first-time players who quit, we asked them, “Okay, why did you quit?” We had a lot of responses. Say, for example, they could not find the monster to hunt, or they couldn’t escape, they fainted, they couldn’t do anything, and that’s why it’s too hard.
What we’re trying to keep in mind with Monster Hunter Wilds is that we want to make sure that the players enjoy the battles against the monsters; the action part, that’s the biggest part. To get to the battle with the Monster, we want to make sure that goes smoothly so they can enjoy the big part of the game instead of being blocked by the other features.
Checkpoint Gaming: So having been involved with Monster Hunter yourself for over 15 years now, how has your approach to making Monster Hunter games evolved over that time? Were there any previous games where you learned a lot and that influenced how you make Monster Hunter today?
Ryozo Tsujimoto: In terms of approach, it changes all the time. It’s not as if one title changes, or we have this one principle; it’ll change every time. So we always put a big emphasis on how we want the players to play Monster Hunter. So for example, if we look at Monster Hunter Rise, because it’s more like a mobile game, played on handheld devices, it should feel easier to play, and more suitable for that consumer, as an example. It’s not so much about because it’s less challenging, but it’s more that it’s easier to pick up and play.
When the game goes into development, it takes a few years to develop. So that’s why we always have to think ahead. “Okay, how do we want the players to play this game? How and what should Monster Hunter be in a few years?” That’s always our approach.
Checkpoint Gaming: There are so many awesome-looking monster designs across the entire series, and in Wilds specifically. What is that process like? How do you design new monsters? Is that a big collaborative process? How do you come up with these new designs every time?
Ryozo Tsujimoto: When we think of a new monster, we always think “Where is this monster going to come into the title?” As in, what order is the monster going to appear in? What kind of field is it going to come in? And then how it’s going to appear in the game. So if we look at Monster Hunter Wilds, and look at Chatacabra, I know it’s not exactly the biggest monster, but it’s a large monster, especially for new players. The game doesn’t make sense if all of a sudden we put in a big, strong monster coming in with big, strong attacks. If we start with him, players can’t adapt to these strong attacks immediately. So we made Chatacabra more on the linear side of design; he won’t be attacking in a large field, more like a single punch attack here and there, so players can adapt, and know what to avoid.
Then, if we look at the Arkveld – the monster on the cover – we want to make sure that, because he is the main monster, we want to have him stand out as a cool design on its own. We always think with a theme in mind. So with Arkveld, we think about White Wraith. And we think about, where does it belong in the game? Also, where does it belong in the living ecosystem of the game itself, and also, how is it attacked? So that’s what we think of.
Checkpoint Gaming: Thinking about your journey working with the Monster Hunter series, what keeps you passionate about continuing to develop Monster Hunter games after all this time?
Ryozo Tsujimoto: What keeps us passionate is the Monster Hunter players, because we always think about the players. And these players are always waiting for the newest titles. Luckily, Monster Hunter is a game where we can think about these players, and we have the environment, not just based on how the game sells, but it’s a multiplayer game, so we are able to hear lots of opinions from these players. That’s what keeps us motivated to make sure that we make something that fulfils their wants
We also have to make sure that to keep all the players happy, we always have something new, to keep them playing and make sure it stays challenging.
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Monster Hunter Wilds launches for PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 on February 28.
Five Star Games flew Checkpoint Gaming to Sydney for the purpose of this interview.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
