Monster Hunter steals the show in latest Nintendo Direct
Capcom’s Monster Hunter series stole the show at September’s Nintendo Direct Mini. The long-running action series debuted two new games coming to Nintendo Switch in 2021, and even saw its own dedicated Direct broadcast afterwards, offering fans extended details.
The first was Monster Hunt Rise, which launches on 26 March 2021. A brand new entry for the franchise, Rise gets its title from the emphasis on verticality in the game, with hunters being able to ‘rise’ up sheer cliff faces or unassailable buildings thanks to the use of a friendly critter called “Wirebugs”. These creatures can also be used in combat, allowing players to latch onto rampaging monsters and zoom in for rapid attacks.
Monster Hunter Rise also introduces a Canyne (no, that’s not a typo) companion called Palamute, a giant dog-like creature you can ride as a mount. Traversing the world on Palamute’s back not only gets you around faster, but preserves your stamina. He can also join in in combat, making the big blue good boy an indispensible aid. More of a cat person? Fear not, you’ll also be able to take a Felyne (also not a typo) Palico out into the field with you, serving a support role.
While little has been revealed on the story, the signature monster of the game is a fanged wyvern called Magnamalo – a spectacular boss battle waiting to happen, no doubt. Unlike the recent Monster Hunter World, which launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2018, Rise is focussing on the portability of the Switch, with an emphasis on local multiplayer. This is a nice call back to the earlier games in the series, which really took off on handheld formats such as PSP, PS Vita, and 3DS.
If you prefer a more traditional RPG experience, Capcom also announced, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. A sequel to the narratively driven Monster Hunter Stories that launched on 3DS in 2017, this looks to continue the spin-off series’ focus on story-driven adventures rather than rapid action and meticulous hunts, with a young ‘Monster Rider’ named Red investigating the strange disappearance of Rathalos dragons. This isn’t due out until summer 2021 so further details are under wraps for now, but more will be shown later this month at Tokyo Game Show Online, from 25-26 September. One thing’s for sure – it looks beautiful.
Interestingly, both games will share some degree of cross-compatibility, according to Capcom. This may extend only to the trio of new amiibo announced alongside the games – Magnamalo, Palamute, and Palico – but we’ll be interested to see how they connect. Monster Hunter Rise can be pre-ordered now, and will coming in both standard and deluxe releases.
The Nintendo Direct wasn’t just the Capcom show though – the streaming broadcast was focused on games coming to Nintendo Switch from multiple third party developers and publishers.
Other titles included Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm and Exercise, a follow-up to the surprisingly successful exercise game, which uses the JoyCon controllers to give players a real workout. This features more modes and several new trainers, including one named Karen. We presumes she’ll want to see your manager if you don’t get those reps in.
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny was also finally announced, after being teased as far back as 2018. The light-hearted turn-based strategy series set in a succession of quirky underworlds will return in summer 2021, with a protagonist who becomes more powerful each time he dies. The series, notorious for letting you unleash frankly ridiculous damage on enemies, will now have max damage figures in the quadrillions, and characters who can be levelled up to one hundred million. A cameo of Laharl, protagonist was also glimpsed in the trailer.
Disgaea 6 wasn’t the only strategy title revealed, as it was followed by Empire of Sin, another entry in the genre but set in the real world during the height of prohibition and in the heart of the Mafia underworld. Focus seems to be one a woman named Goldie Garneau, playing the better known male crime bosses off each other as she consolidates her own power base (obligatory “YAS QWEEN!” here).
Other titles shown included Rebellion’s Sniper Elite 4 Italia, out winter 2020; The Long Dark, a “true survival” game which is out now; golf game PGA Tour 2K21, out 25 September; Supergiant Games’ Hades, hopping from Epic Store exclusivity to Nintendo Switch and also out today; the delightful looking Balan Wonderworld from Square Enix, a puzzle platformer set in a circus fantasia with big Nights into Dreams energy, finally had a release date of 26th March 2021 confirmed; and Rune Factory 5, announced back in February 2019, finally got a wide release window of 2021. The RPG/farming hybrid series – originally a spin-off of Harvest Moon – may be of particular interest to gaymers as it allows players to control a male or female character and includes dating and marriage. There’s no word yet if that includes same sex relationships, but it’s something we’ll be keeping a close eye out for as the game’s release approaches.
Nintendo’s final surprise was the reveal and release of Moon Studios beautiful Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the follow-up to the stunningly animated Metroidvania Ori and the Blind Forest. After a successful launch on Xbox One, the game is available on Nintendo Switch as of today on eShop, with a stunning – but expensive – limited edition physical collection containing both Ori games and a host of extras coming via iam8bit.
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