User blog comment:Plexioth- xD/Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate/@comment-4819590-20120412101514

My impressions with the game so far:

I just got the game last week. Honestly I would have gotten it sooner but since moving back to Japan I've been fairly busy with apartment/utility/bank account stuffs. Anyway, on to the game.

So far its been a blast. The graphics look crisper than in Tri, and the quality of the sound and video is amazing. Some monsters (I noticed it in Rathian first) look more detailed, and some areas like the tundra just look stunning. I love some of the changes that were made to the game. The addition of new weapon classes that weren't in Tri is nice, and one notices right away that the dynamic shadowing adds more depth and atmosphere. It may seem like a small change, but I think its a very positive one.

I do want to say that the loss of subquests does make the quests much shorter, and in general offline is quite easy for MH vets. Also the tweaks made to the day/night system seem a bit odd, as the ability to play most quests in both day and night way a nice touch to Tri.

Also a note to those thinking of importing the game since there has yet to be a non-Japanese release date announced: I do not think this game is very import friendly for non-Japanese speakers. The game is very Kanji heavy, and even though I have what has been described as a high-intermediate speaking/reading level, there are tons of kanji that I see in this game that are not in common use. This had made item mixing and decoration application somewhat difficult, especially with the small font used it makes it hard to see. Normal conversations with NPC is still fun though, as the characters are still funny and interesting to talk to.

I would say at my level, having studied Japanese intensly for the past 5 years, I am able to understand about 75% of it, that's how much kanji is in use in this game. Just a warning, if you speak very little Japanese or none at all, it will seriously impair your experience in this game.

Most of what has been changed is a big improvement over Tri. Just a few things that I listed here strike me as odd, but otherwise I prefer this game more.

This really is more of a Special Edition of Tri, and feels very much like it. The original opening movie for Tri, ad well as the concept video for Monster Hunter 4 are even included as a bonus.