User blog comment:Lord Loss/Discussion of the Week: Generation 2/@comment-1685631-20130212204200

Gen 2 will always be where my heart lies in MH. I've put so many hours into Unite and had so much fun doing it, and I'll always be able to go back to it. The monsters were difficult and inspired, the weapons were incredibly varied and impressive, and playing with three other friends in one room is an experience that one needs to have at some point in their MH career.

Weapon wise, 2nd Gen had an amazing lineup. Longswords, my perennial favorite, is both powerful and balanced in these games. Gunlances, while clunky, certainly hold their allure. The Bow is a stellar weapon and anyone who thinks it weak or useless has not beheld its grandeur.

I'll make a special note on Hunting Horn here. To be honest, I highly dislike the changes in the moveset in 3rd Gen. They're obviously designed to make combat faster and more action-packed, which is something I'm a little shaky on. I personally preferred the way HH worked in 2nd Gen. It lent itself to more strategy and teamwork.

Monster wise, this is a great leap forward, and personally, I think some of the best designs have come out of 2nd Gen. You've got Tigrex and Akantor, Narga and Ukanlos, the crabs, the G-rank Subs, Rajang, and many more. Not only that, but these fights really have substance and challenge to them (Akantor excluded). Their designs, for the most part, are very thoughtful and imaginative, and I liked how the natural part of MH began to emerge here.

2nd Gen is by far my favorite generation, and the one that I will continue to play long after I've abandoned the rest of the series.