Friday, May 31, 2013

This morning's Japanese Nintendo Direct sold me on Gyakuten Saiban 5 and Monster Hunter 4

And possibly Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate as well.

Honestly, I've been thinking of hopping onto the Monster Hunter train for a while now, so the admission that I'm strongly considering picking up 3U and 4 probably isn't much of a surprise.

My sudden interest in Gyakuten Saiban 5 (aka Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney--Dual Destinies) is a bit of a shock, though, as this long-running series barely registered on my radar in the past (despite its rather glowing reputation, I should add).

Here's the trailer that sold me on the game during this morning's Japanese Nintendo Direct (which can be viewed in its entirety here, by the way):



And here's the trailer that seemingly pushed me over the edge in regard to Monster Hunter 4:



Monster Hunter 4 will hit Japanese store shelves--as well as the virtual ones of that region's 3DS eShop--on Sept. 14, while Gyakuten Saiban 5 will be released there on July 25.

Are any of you planning to buy either or both of these 3DS titles if and when they leave Japan?

14 comments:

Matt said...

Not sure if you heard, but Ace Attorney 5 has been confirmed for an eShop only release in the West, and because of that, I'm unsure if I'll pick it up as I'm hesitant to spend large amounts of money on the eShop, given its current state.

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, yes, I've heard the news about Ace Attorney 5's NA release. Sadly. I still think I'll go with that version in the end, though, as I doubt I'm going to know enough Japanese to get through the JP version anytime soon.

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

Just to warn you If you do end up getting MH3U, the being of the game is very slow at least in the village. You have to play a bit before quests open up and the first several are gathering quests and others have you hunt small monsters that barely put up a fight. I think Port Tanzia lets you do big hunts from the get go but you'll want to do the village 1st since that's designed to get you use to the game and port quests are harder plus you'll want to upgrade the farm. Though once the game starts to get going it doesn't stop. While the village doesn't have G-rank quests and is missing some monsters it's still very meaty in content. It took me 80 hours to see the credits. Also if you want to uses multiple weapon types throughout the game I suggest switching back and forth to the ones that interest you early on. I've been using the switch axe and din't try another weapon type in till later on and it made much harder to get use to since I'm fighting more challenging monsters. Also don't worry about having to making a lot of different armor sets. There's are items that let upgrade your amour so you can chose 1 or 2 amour sets that fit your play style if you don't want to make a whole bunch of amour. I mostly used the Great Wroggi and Barroth sets (both monsters appear early on in the game). I only really found myself making new amour sets when I hit high and G rank and just end up making the high and G rank versions of the previously mentioned amour sets. As for the controls, if you heard that there clunky they're not as clunky as some people make them out to be. The controls are designed to make the weapons feel as if they had weight and for you to consider the timing of your attacks. Also once you get Cha-Cha and Kayamba (they're A.I. controlled partners for solo play) bring them along. They've saved my butt quite a few times. Also organize your item pouch so you know were scroll when you needed a certin item (the item pouch has a limited number of slots). Also when you open up a menu the game does NOT pause (you can still move your hunter around even when using menus). Also all quests have a 30-50 (mostly 50) minute time limit but I've been able to beat quests with plenty of time to spear usually. Sorry for the wall of text it's just there are a lot of things to consider when playing a Monster Hunter game that if you don't know can make the game overwhelming but once you get used to it all you might have a very rewarding experience that most modern games can't rival.

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

I can't really blame Capcom sine the series is rather niche here. Most people probably only know of Phoenix Wright because of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Plus who knows may they'll charge less for it (though I wouldn't hold my breath for it since this is Capcom we are talking about after all). It's also better then what South Korea is Getting with MH3U since there getting a eshop only release of it in English. Also while I'd rather them give a physical/digital NA/EUR release for MH4, I would accept a NA/EUR digital only release because it's better to get a digital only NA/EUR release then NA/EUR getting no release at all.

Zaphod65 said...

I'll be picking up MH4 if it comes to North America, but I imagine it'll take awhile. I'm in no hurry, since I'm 140+ hours into MH3U and still have plenty left to do. I just hope they follow the same strategy and release MH4 for the 3DS and Wii U at the same time. I like being able to move my save file back and forth.

thegaygamer.com said...

I'll definitely be picking up MH4 if it's released here. The question for me is if I'll pick up MH3U before then.


I also like the idea of another dual release, by the way, but I wouldn't want that to horribly delay the NA release of the 3DS version.

thegaygamer.com said...

Yeah, I'm not expecting to get much, if any, of a discount on Ace Attorney 5. Which is OK, I guess, as the alternative is to not get it at all.


I'm really hoping MH4 gets a full-on physical/retail release, but I'm not going to worry about it either way.


Hell, I just hope we actually GET the game. You never know with Capcom--especially if MH3U somehow didn't sell well here.

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks for the info, Sam! I have to admit, a lot of that was over my head, but that's likely because I still don't know much about this series. Anyway, should I go ahead with the purchase anytime soon, I'll be sure to let you know if I need any help/have any questions :)

apricotsushi said...

I'll definitely wait in hopes that MH4 comes out in English so I can support that release! If this time next year we still haven't heard a peep, though, I might consider importing... Capcom has been a little hit and miss with Monster Hunter releases, but from what I've heard MH3U has been selling pretty well for them, so I definitely hope they'll bring it over.


I'm happy to putter around in MH3U until then, but I'm definitely keen on the online functionality and other new features of MH4. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to go hunting together?!

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, I certainly hope we hear something about MH4's NA release before this time next year! If we have to wait that long, I may import the Japanese version myself :|


BTW, I'm definitely getting MH3U at some point this year. The question is, when? Probably not for a while yet, I'm afraid.


Regardless, I really want to get it so I can learn the basics of the game and not completely embarrass myself when you and I go hunting together at some point in the future :)

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

I'm thinking there's a pretty good chance Capcom will bring MH4 to NA/EUR since MH3U is apparently doing well for them. From what I've heard MHP3rd HD ver. was supposed to be released outside of Japan but it didn't because of issues Capcom was having with Sony of America.

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Duel Destinies might have some of the best graphics I've seen on 3DS so far. MH4 isn't bad looking either.

thegaygamer.com said...

I think there's a good chance we'll see it, too. Fingers crossed!

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, yeah, I completely agree. The 3D models for the characters are especially great, I think.