User blog comment:Aandrew07/Tri's second anniversary! (Among other things)/@comment-1712810-20120423030930

Prior to the announcement of Monster Hunter Tri, I was totally unfamiliar with the Monster Hunter series... I had no clue of its existence whatsoever. ... But when I saw that trailer for the Wii... showing the Jaggi and Aptomoth chase, and the iconic Rathalos squaring off with the new threat that was the mighty Lagiacrus... I was instantly hooked.

I'm a very big fan of monsters, and I was compelled to begin learning everything about this "Monster Hunter" series. That's when I found this wikia, and began immersing myself with the knowledge contained here. Everything fascinated me... the sheer amount of customization this series had to offer was simply incredible to me. With so many different armors, weapons and monsters... it baffled my mind why this series was so obscure over here in the States... and why the hell had I not known of it sooner? ... Me... a guy who LOVES this kind of stuff! I felt bad... like I had missed the big party... Had I known that such a game as Monster Hunter had existed earlier, I would've bought a PS2 and played the hell out of it. Alas...

Anyway, the months before Tri's release, I spent much of my time surfing the net, constantly looking for new information on it. I watched videos of varying quality on YouTube, particularly those showcasing the armors and weapons. ... Looking back, I find it quite amusing that I fancied myself a Greatsword user. I was 99% certain that would be my weapon of choice... but as I found out later, it was actually the worst weapon for me...

Such good times those were though... I bookmared several websites, including Capcom Unity's blog, checking daily for more juicy details. Eventually, I even began doing a little editing here... nothing much really, mostly just simple translations revealed from official sources. Switch axe and monster names for the most part I think. Truly though, I was already addicted to this series before even playing it...

When the free demo was released, I went bananas! I have no idea how many hours I wasted on that thing... likely more than 30... I was hellbent on killing that Rathian before time ran out. At first, I thought it couldn't be done... but one day I finally pulled it off... just seconds before time ran out. That was one of the most satisifying gaming experiences I've ever had... and on a mere demo... Of course, needless to say, I abandoned dozens of quests and used a lot of foul langauge whenever Qurupeco just summoned the Great Jaggi instead.

And when the game itself finally came out... I was all over it. You couldn't get me off my Wii... played like crazy. I was hellbent on unlocking the switch axes, since I had discovered they were in fact my most favored weapon. Upon crafting my first one... that's when I really went to town and dominated. It didn't take me very long to clear the offline mode... I had challenges of course, with this being my first game. My first Barioth and Diablos hunts were simply disastrous... although I handled Agnaktor fairly well for my first time... Defeating my first Lagiacrus felt so epic though. Not quite the same way as defeating the demo Rathian, but pretty amazing regardless. Lagaicrus remains my favorite to date, but Bracchidios has become another big time fav of mine. I REALLY want to fight that guy!

My online experience with Tri was mostly positive. I got to hunt with friends of mine, and met a lot of other cool people. Like most everyone else, I had some "technical difficulty" that marred the experience a bit, and the occasionall douchebag who begged for help with his or her Alatreon Urgent Quest... in a completely unrelated room... but aside from that, I cherished my time online. Had some very memorable moments... like the time a charging Rhenoplos actually broke off a Diablos' horn... or when an Agnaktor finished off a Deviljho with a body slam... the list goes on and on!

I've come to truly appreciate what Monster Hunter Tri did for me. It introduced me to an amazing game series... Had it not come, I might've never known about the Monster Hunter series as I do now. ... I find it unfortunate that it gets a lot flak from other players. Yes, I realize that Tri didn't have as much content as the PSP titles, far less armors and monsters... and since Tri was my first Monster Hunter title, EVERYTHING was brand spanking new to me! Whereas the vetern players clearly only had a handful of new experiences in comparison. So with that in mind, I can understand where the negativity stems from... but regardless of that... even if Tri didn't have a whole lot offer, what it did have was awesome in my opinion. And hell, I put in more than 1000 hours into it!

Not sure why people don't like the underwater battling either... personally, I find it more fun than the ground combat... I don't find it clunky or clumsy at all... *shrugs* I really don't know how to answer the criticism on that one because... the underwater mechanics simply work for me. I don't see or feel what the problem is... Anyway, I really hope they'll keep it around in future generations. Love hunting my leviathans. <3 Really want to hunt down that Plesioth underwater too. Hunting him in MHFU just felt so... I dunno, lame? I mean, he really belongs in the water... although, that chicken dance run he does is pretty damn hilarious.

I went on to play MHFU... bought a PSP just for the sake of having it. Although, it seems I should've waited for the Vita... which apparently has a superior version... that 2nd stick must feel real nice... Regardless though, I found myself engulfed in it, even without a working online. I did find G-Rank tedious... almost unbearably at times... They really hit you hard at that rank. From that, I now understand why some veteran players have complained about difficulty issues. ... But I think the broken hitboxes were a serious flaw that needed to be mended. I can't tell you how many times I cursed at my PSP for getting cheaply KO'd from that... but it was A LOT.

That said though... I don't feel like my accomplishments in Tri are any less significant, not in the least. Yes, it may have been an easier game in comparison... but to me, it was my first stepping stone towards becoming the hardcore hunter I am today.