As I walked out after the Ryozo Tsujimoto gamescom asia interview, I had a thought: Monster Hunter has been on an explosive growth spurt, one that’s set to continue with Monster Hunter Wilds. WIth Monster Hunter World and Rise both sitting as some of Capcom’s best-selling games of all time and the larger audience reach with games like Monster Hunter Now, what started as a niche game outside of Japan has become a global phenomenon.
At gamescom asia we spoke with series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto about how the team is handling Monster Hunter Wilds- which has seen massive queues at events like Tokyo Game Show and gamescom asia as fans clamor to try out the new game.
A Monster Hunter Wilds By Any Other Name
One of these biggest challenges is maintaining the image of Monster Hunter- the game has always been quirky in its implementation, and maintaining some of that quirkiness over two decades is an important part of keeping fans invested.
“So as the developer of Monster Hunter, now that I’ve been, the series has been going on for over 20 years and the team has so much experience in making Monster Hunter games”, Ryozo says.
“Of course, actually just like how the fans have their own image of what Monster Hunter is like, we too also have a certain image, like: ‘this is what we feel a Monster Hunter game is like’ “.
“We really, really, put a lot of importance on not breaking that sort of image when putting out a new game. We want to put out a game that fans will also think like, see it and know, okay, this is Monster Hunter, but at the same time, of course we also have to add new components and new elements to take the games further and further evolve the series as well”
“Honestly, it’s really hard to talk about specific factors because, you know, there’s been so many iterations that I couldn’t possibly run through them all”, he adds. “It’s a game of balance and it’s something that we put a lot of importance on in terms of not breaking the image that fans have with a Monster Hunter game, but as well as having their own concept for each game and adding new things each time”.
Of course, if you’re pulling in new players, their needs need to be met too. According to Ryozo the game features a smart tutorial system, letting you choose just how much of the game’s systems you want to be educated on. He also says the game features something that might finally kill half of the questions on the Monster Hunter reddit: an in-game weapon recommendation quiz.
“The handler Alma, will ask you a bunch of little quiz questions that will help you kind of choose a type of recommended weapon for your play style”, he says. “Because one of the fan feedback that we often get is people will say like, oh, there’s 14 weapons, I have no idea what to choose. And they don’t know how the gameplay is for each one. So there’s that kind of like small components added in there in the beginning of the game that will help ease players into your typical Monster Hunter type of experience”.
Ryozo Tsujimoto Gamescom Interview: On Returning Monsters
There’s some questions you just can’t avoid at the Ryozo Tsujimoto gamescom asia interview: With every new Monster Hunter, there’s always the question of the roster. Hypothetically everyone would want all their favorite monsters coming back, while also having the coolest new monsters every time.
While Ryozo didn’t comment on the roster size for Monster Hunter Wilds, he did elucidate just how the monster design process comes along.
“So if we were to pick one or the other, it’s probably typically more the locales and the environments come first in terms of we will think about the general story and the plot line for this new iteration, and then play into that”, Ryozo explains.
“Like okay, well, as a player, you’ll first encounter this environment and then this environment. So then we have to map out the story and the environments first, and then we’ll think about the monsters that fit within the environments. So then the new monsters as well, like, they’ll probably think about, okay, we can design a monster for this environment that they will fit in”, he says.
“With regards to the monster design, of course, it’s not only affected by what environments they’re meant to appear in, but also by the timeline within the player’s journey that they’ll appear in. So, of course you have the main monster design, but you know you can’t have every single monster be like that sort of main monster, you have to have levels to that”, he adds.
While we all love cool jet dragons and ship-sized sand dragons, Ryozo stressed that early monsters need to fit the player-appropriate vibe.
“So, for instance, if it’s a monster that’s meant to appear earlier on in the game, we also have to think about to the player, how that should be designed to fit within that kind of player’s journey and the timeline that the player is experiencing”, he says.
Saddle Up With The Seikret
One of the hot topics of Monster Hunter Wilds design is the new Seikret. Building on two games attempts worth of rideable mounts, Seikrets are a very integral part of the Monster Hunter Wilds formula, doing everything from transporting hunters to even acting as gliders and holding on to your spare weapons. Given Wilds features a huge seamless world, the Seikret allowed those of us more geographically challenged hunters to not blow our quest time getting lost.
“We added the Seikret and one of the things we were able to do in Wilds was improve on the AI for the Seikret which if you ride your Seikret and you just like press one of the buttons, it does take you directly to the monster that’s you’re targeted”, Ryozo explains. So with the improvements that we were able to technologically implement into the Seikret mount system, I think it will sort of solve this problem players have had since in World.
It goes hand-in-hand with Monster Hunter Wilds biggest ideological push- one that sees the hunter spending more time out in the field rather than constantly going back to town. By having two weapon slots, Ryozo says it gives some hunters flexibility in changing weapons to better suit the monsters they encounter, or simply doubling down on their favorite ones.
“It’s up to the player to choose what they want to do. For instance, I myself definitely would just be going to bring two hammers because that’s my favorite!”, he laughs.
With Monster Hunter Wilds releasing its playable demo next week, me and many like me are already clearing out our calendars to get more time with the game. And yet, there’s an air of nostalgia to it. Just 10 years ago Monster Hunter was a game you only saw being played huddled in the corners of cafes, and now it’s big enough that a Ryozo Tsujimoto gamescom interview can even talk about things like the series iteration process as well as his love of blunt weapons.
One thing’s for certain, though, I’m interested to see how the big bold gambles with Monster Hunter Wilds pays off. From a talking protagonist to the seamless world, it looks like we’ll all be getting a taste of something radically new with Monster Hunter Wilds. Our thanks to Capcom and Ryozo Tsujimoto for the chance to chat with him ahead of the game’s release next year.
In addition, if you wanna check out the full list of questions, Rathalos Watch has the full transcript here:
