User blog comment:Aandrew07/Discussion of the Week: Flagship Monsters/@comment-99.116.225.211-20120725204457

Rathalos: Gotta love good old Los. As everyone's stated, Rathalos EMBODIES Monster Hunter. There has never been a game without him and I would assume there never WILL be. He's like our Pikachu. Love him or hate him, he's the face of Monster Hunter. Design wise he is an epic win. Sleek, powerful, spiky enough for that extra imposing flare (pun intended). The King of the Sky is just such an awesome monster. As far as gameplay goes, he's damn annoying. I do love the 3rd Gen rebooted Rathalos. The original tended to be really predictable in his movements since he shared a good bit of his moveset with all of the other Wyverns be they Flying or Bird. He was just big and powerful so most of the difficulty comes from not being able to avoid the larger hitboxes and the sheer amount of HURT. His enraged charge seemed to always be a one shotter. In Tri, however, he actually feels genuinely DIFFICULT. He can combo you with a hovering fireball linked into a dropping pin attack. He's got more of HIS OWN moves and truly lives up to the name King of the Sky in that game. Final verdict is that he is a rocking design that deserves the place it has, but he hasn't gotten to really SHINE as an opponent until the 3rd Generation of games. And, for the record, the Azure Rathalos is my favorite of the 3.

Kushala: Now Kusha...not so much. I've only played Tri and Unite, so I've never felt him as a Flagship, but have fought him numerous times on Unite as a boss. He's so much fun because the whole time he trolls me with that annoying wind. It feels so GOOD to break those horns because then it's MY turn to do the ass kicking. As a design, he's definitely got it going on, but I feel he got jipped. The graphic rendering of him doesn't quite live up to the splendor of the drawings I've seen. In the game he's like a dull gray all over when the original drawing had him almost black with the sort of "metal edges" on him being a blatant, contrasting WHITE. He looks AWESOME like that. Final verdict on him is that I really like him as a monster, but not so much as a Flagship monster. Especially since I feel like he's at his best in Frontier...which we sorely need overseas.

Tigrex: THIS GUY... Out of all the Flagship monsters, I think Tigrex probably does the best job. He's the only one who's really made me feel like I have a damn RIVAL. Back in the day when Mamofu armor was the thing to wear and I accepted the quest "A Sinking Feeling" I thought I was a cool cat. Then Tig over here jumped in to see what all the hooplah was about. Must not've been me cuz I was straight RUNNING from that guy. Then, later when I get my bearings, I can have my revenge and attain "ABSOLUTE POWER". Yeah, not on the first damn try. Tigrex is just so powerful and, really, intimidating. In rage mode, he is just doom. Literal doom. Nowadays I can handle him but, really, it's not like I just walk in there and claim some carves unless my equipment outranks him. When Tigrex is the same level as you, he is just HELL. And HR6? "Land of the Tremors"??? Absolute MIND racker. At that point, I've never fought Tigrex because I was bored of beating him up with my High Rank weapons. Now he's back and with a BUDDY? It took forever to get past that. Anyway, on to his design, very original. It's been recycled and tweaked thousands of times after but this is the original psuedo right here. The large, Tyrannosaurian jaws and the funky ear fin things put together the iconic face of evil. The orange and blue work marvelously together and his G-rank equipment witht he red and blue is just sick. I really wish there was some quest similar to the One Horn Diablos Quest with a red Tigrex. Anyway, let's get to the final verdict. While I do love his design, he's not my ABSOLUTE favorite in that department, but I think he's the best of the flagship monsters in regards to function. He's CONSTANTLY coming at you in quests throughout the whole game, he feels very important. It never DOESN'T feel good to beat him either. Tigrex is such an asshole. I can't help but hate him for always getting in my way, but to love him for doing it. Tigrex is the eternal rival.

Nargacuga: After the immense success of Tigrex and his reign of troll, Capcom unveiled the second of the Psuedos. Nargacuga. The seeming antithesis of his brutish, berserker of a cousin, the Nargacuga is easily one of the coolest monsters of all time. And I'd love to talk him up but, let's face it, as a Flagship he didn't nearly follow up on Tigrex's act. In Freedom Unite, Tigrex is your rival and you don't even HEAR about the cover boy until High Rank. I know Unite's the expansion of Freedom 2 but, really, it would have been nice for Narga to really get his own game where the village is all jungle themed and he performed like Tigrex. Because, as a beginning hunter, facing off with this guy would be borderline impossible to do with him jumping around and slapping the sense out of you. Narga is a HUGE change of pace from the traditional giant monster coming after you. Before him, I would think Tigrex to have been the fastest Wyvern and he was like a truck trying to flatten you. THIS GUY brings the fight to every corner of the ring with his swift movements. He is a really, REALLY cool monster with wicked gameplay and a sick design but, as a Flagship, he really deserved more.

Lagiacrus: Lagiacrus. Just YES. I'm real big on reptiles and this design was a real treat to see. Before his name was released to us all, I'd always call him an Alligator Cobra and that in itself is just an horrifyingly amazing creature to image. Just looking at this thing is a joy in itself. Lagiacrus is just so FLUID in its motions and is a real joy to watch move. Quite the coincidence since he's the one to introduce underwater combat. I always laughed about OP he is as a concept. He is LIGHTNING underwater. You're done for. As for fighting him? He's almost like Tigrex. Taking advantage of your uncomfortability with the mechanics of the water, he really knows how to make you feel like you don't know what you're doing. His double hipcheck is just nasty too. I would always hate soloing this guy. He's real fun to challenge on dry land though. It's like a Kusha-horn-break moment because he's not nearly as much of a challenge on land as he is underwater and, from there, it's field day! Buut, then he goes back into the water and pleasantly repays you with his Rage Mode. Final verdict on this guy is that he's a brillaint design that I can honestly put on a par with Rathalos, but for a more exotic sense. He's like the Rathalos of the underwater combat gimmick. I hope to see him come back in a 4G or 5th generation.

Jinouga and Bracchidios: I can't say a lot on thes guys from personal experience because Capcom hasn't given us any of the games he's in, but from what I've seen in gameplay videos, they are wickedly spontaneous in all of the right ways. Very original fights, they change the pace from shit trying to RUN YOU OVER all day to monsters trying to very literally mash you into hamburger with ther paws and fists. Jinouga's electric charge mechanic and the little thundergbug gimmick is just awesome to see. It's such a creative element of hunting and gathering. As for the gooey goober, Bracch, his punching style (and roar) resemble Rajang to a noticeable extent, but with a nice Wyvern flare. The Slime Blast ailment is really cool too, especially since it's the first example of a monster being able to create traps in similar fashion to a hunter. You've really got to watch your steps with this guy. Their designs are really wild and funky, with Bracch being more funky than wild. Honestly, when I first saw Bracch I was...confused. But, after seeing him in action, he is one of my favorite monster designs. It's the functionality of his bulbous horn and his sheer TENACITY that makes him so cool. Just standing around, he's a little on the ugly side but, in a fight, he's a true marvel of enginuity. Now, Jinouga, his conceptual drawings had me confused as to what the HELL he was, but he looked REAL good once he showed up in those trailers. His design is just smashing. Fur and Scales have never went together so well. I have no final verdict on these guys since I've never fought them myself, so I'll just end on the note that they're amazing.

All in all, I have no favorite flagship. They all represent their respective games VERY well and are designed marvelously. Notice I didn't even touch their theme songs... too much win.