First time poster here.
I bought Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for 3DS quite a while back, pretty much because of the glowing review by ProJared. He really made it sound like my type of game. However, when I started playing, I found a few things kind of bugged me:
- There's just SO MUCH to learn. There are systems on top of systems on top of systems, and you don't even get to familiarize yourself with one before 2 more are added. It gets pretty intimidating when, after a few hours of playing, I'm trying to remember tidbits that had been mentioned earlier or wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Maybe the game is designed for people who are familiar with the series, but it certainly isn't easy to just pick up and get into for a series newbie.
- The controls seem oddly archaic. Your protagonist controls like a tank, and a lot of the attacks have long animations involving movement that make it surprisingly difficult to aim precisely. I felt like I was playing a 1st generation N64 game, which was weird for a series that has had many iterations and tons of time to refine their controls into something more intuitive. To be fair, I don't have the circle pad pro, and I'm now considering getting one if it will make a big difference.
- I know it's part of the mechanics, but I can't stand when games have "damage/sharpness" meters on weapons and "hunger/stamina" meters on my character. It bugs the crap out of me to know that every action I take is costing me something I will need to replenish, forcing either a time limit per trip or planning/preparation to make sure I won't run out of anything. I get that that adds tension and forces the player to consider what they do with their time more carefully, but I'm the type of player that likes to take my time, explore as much as possible and not have to worry about arbitrary limitations (probably why I never cleared Majora's Mask).
Now, I imagine if I stick with it, get used to the mechanics so they become second nature, get immersed in the various systems enough that they start to make sense and become less intimidating, and get a circle pad pro for more comfortable control, I'll probably really love the game. But that's a really high barrier to have to get over just to start having the fun I hear so much about. For comparison, Disgaea was easier to get into and offered more satisfaction earlier on, and that's one of the deepest, most entertaining series I've played.
