Monster Hunter Vs. Final Fantasy

I can I only dream of what SquareEnix themselves could create using Capcom's formula for success yet I know absolutely far to few ppl even realize what all Final Fantasy games are missing, some more so than others, and that is auto-attack, auto-block, auto-dodge, auto-parry leaves you with very little control over combat at all whatsoever when the engine itself dictates for you the outcome. When Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise knocked down SquareEnix from off top of highest sales in Japan, and everyone else too for that matter, I don't know why SE never tried duplicating and beating MH using thier own FF mythology to do such. Instead with FFXIV they replicated and made a better WoW FF game which might not have been such a bad idea, it just wasn't competing against the greatest game of all time. Which to me leaves me wondering why SE does not imitate the best.
Before SquareEnix ever even existed, there was Square themselves and another game developer named Enix, who crafted a niche genre called Tactics Ogre. After Tactics Ogre had already made a splash on the video game market Square wound up creating thier own Tactics style game which turned out to be Final Fantasy Tactics. Just knowing this scenario unfolded in the past and that now SquareEnix, in the present, has yet to take a stab at making thier own style Monster Hunter game leaves me scratching my head.
Does anyone outside of Japan even realize how great a game franchise Monster Hunter really is?
Does SquareEnix themselves think a Final Fantasy Monster Hunter MMO would not sell outside of Japan?
To me FFMH online would be the perfect game. I just wish others and SE themselves knew what I was talking about sometimes. What bugs me the most is probly that Capcom insists on keeping thier best selling franchise on trash consoles, ie. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on 3DS and not PS4. >< #EndRant
http://monsterhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Monster_Hunter_Frontier_G

Ummm.... I think you missed the memo.

http://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-explorers-is-crystal-chronicles-meets-mon-1682733258

Square-Enix are not the innovators they were in the 90s. With games like this, Gunslinger Stratos, FFXIV and many others, they follow but no longer lead, as many companies do.

Also, others have tried variations of the Monster Hunter formula as an MMORPG and failed in the past. There is still no indication that the formula works even in Japan as an MMORPG, let alone the rest of the world.

Thanks for heads up. Yet it's just like MH4U in that it appears they both play on trash systems. Atleast SE seems to be trying to compete tho which is good but far too few ppl still reckognize MH which is not good if we never wanna miss another MMO port to PC that never made it outside of Japan and Korea like Monster Hunter Fontier never arrived here at all whatsoever.
I already mentioned it but here
MONSTER HUNTER FRONTIER G MMO

The 3DS is only trash to you because you are in fact, outside of Japan where handhelds actually sense over using a console or PC.

There is a heavy reason why Phantasy Star Online 2 hasn't left Japan as it is not even successful enough there to warrant the English release that was promised years ago. Phantasy Star Universe, while a very nice system that did make it to us, still failed in the end.

This is just one example as there are others if you happen to look them up. Its not as simple as taking everything MH and letting thousands play on servers.

You aren't the first to think an MH MMO would be awesome and wouldn't be the first to voice this either.

Personally, I have a game series I wish people knew more about as well. With the resurgence of interest in Gundam, maybe someday I can see a REAL Gundam game show up in English:



As deep as Street Fighter, as fast as Marvel VS Capcom, more robot action than Virtual On and more fun than Smash. Nobody I have ever seen play this game has ever hated it.

Im more into What's > Final Fantasy not What's on my wishlist to arrive from Japan to America. I wanna bring attention to what SE should've done to combat within FFXIV itself or Capcom themselves does what they should do and bring thier MMO stateside.

Realisticly speaking tho it won't happen. Not because MHFG ain't amazing but more so that Capcom in thier minds think MHFG will not sell well enough to bother. So either way I just wanna bring attention to what ppl are and have been missing out on all along.

Yes, I've already seen much about this title but the fact that its being released on last gen systems is already a strike against it for the English market.

It also follows the path of PSO2 and PSU in its targeted audience and marketing. Which is why although it lives, it is by no means the success it needs to be. By all past indications, it will still fail the same as the others because it is not enough to stand out.

Even old PC grapics and systems is > Nintendo handheld trash >< It atleast looks modern if not bleeding edge PS4 superiority. FFXI is the same along those lines.

Monster Hunter Frontier G Trailer



As much as I am obsessed with FFXI and love SquareEnix, I already know, and have known for years what game is #1 and it's not FFXI nor FFXIV. That's for certain.

Trust me, I wish for things along the same lines as you. I played the hell out of the other MMOs that made the attempt and supported them until they ended.

If possible, I'd be playing PSO2 in English with all my friends while going to tournament as a Gundam VS competitor. FFXI would be what I'd play on the side instead of stagnating because I can't find a good MMO to play.

Are you saying Phantasy Star Online cuz no offense man neither one of those games you mentioned is remotely close to or even in the same league as Monster Hunter. I'm sure, and I know, ppl love Pokemon to death but that does not make Pokemon a Final Fantasy killer. Sales figures inside Japan itself do and if ppl were more aware of Monster Hunter then it would be a global epidemic outside of Japan as well. Which is exactly what I want to see. Vids of this game should be viral and ppl knocking down the doors of Capcom demanding some action taken to ensure we get to play this game stateside and worldwide. That and SquareEnix needs to start trying harder at being #1 instead of that lolgame you showcased developed by them. >< #pathetic

I personally hate games with combat systems like Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy games give me something I want which is strategy based combat where I have to plan instead of execute. There are plenty of games on the market being made with the Monster Hunter style, leave that to them and keep being the SE that makes good turn based stuff.

Do they? Where? Cuz last I checked FFXI has been abandoned by them and FFXIV ain't exactly strategic combat compared to FFXI. I'm not saying stop making FFXI style games. I'm saying make more styles and stop imitating WoW.
Btw - What are those games that do MH style combat? Idk any whatsoever other than that SE attempt shown.

Monster Hunter Frontier G hasn't done as well as its handheld brothers either and although doing better than Phantasy Star these days, follows the same path. Can't ever say neither as there has been more than 2 PS MMOs.

Even in Japan, people still prefer MH not on console or PC or even Vita because its best on 3DS right now. Outside Japan, people konw of MH and of Frontier G but that's not enough.

Even the English-made examples of similar systems on an MMO have failed so a Japanese-made one would be even less likely. The English market wants different things from their MMOs and Frontier G would have a niche audience at best before it failed too, which may even take down the Japanese version as well due to lost funds if history repeats.

I wish it could succeed but there is not much of a chance of Frontier G succeeding outside Japan. Even the Gundam VS series has a better chance of succeeding because of renewed interest in Gundam and the growing interest in the battle arena scene in tournament. Even with that going for Gundam VS, the best that Bandai-Namco will do is realise a new IP, Rise of Incarnates, that isn't enough like Gundam VS for anyone to want it.

Failure comes from bad marketing alone. Which is the problem. If you think MHFG wouldn't sell as well outside of Japan as it does inside then you are mistaken. Just like Square was mistaken not bringing to America almost half of thier Final Fantasy franchise pre-FF7. The only thing that allows failed sales is lack of or bad marketing.

Monster Hunter Frontier G5 - Trailer (HD)

Taking SE's recent track record into account, I am more inclined to hope and dream that Capcom would/will learn from SE's strengths and formulas and out-Final Fantasy the Final Fantasy franchise. In other words, I have more faith in Capcom producing quality that is worthy of the Final Fantasy games than SE.

I bought FF Type-0 recently. What a disaster of a game. Basic combat mechanics, a story that is filled with gaps and no character development. What is worse is that it includes NONE of the elements that made any FF titles great, and incorporates almost all the bad ones unique to FF.

To be honest though, I only bought it to get my hands on the FFXV demo. What a waste of nearly 10 years of marketing and money.
It seems the entire budget was spent on aesthetics and voice acting talent. Past the characters having unique personalities that shine through very early and the beautiful graphics that make up the realm, there is nothing good to say about the game. The combat system is dull and slow. There's no skill involved whatsoever. It is very basic buttom mashing. If you can hit X and Y you're a pro. This mind numbing combat system's flaws vex me in particular because Square Enix don't seem to be able to get it right despite several titles worth of practice - but it seems the situation is going from bad to worse.

When SE parted with the turn-based RPG combat system, a lot of us were like "OK, lets see where this goes". We became ok with it in XI and even learnt to enjoy it. But that's it. Every single title since XI has demonstrated a declining trend in gameplay.

We suffered through all of the FFXIII's and their spin offs, hoping that it was a phase. Only to have an even more mind numbing combat system manifest itself in FFXIV 2.0 - fixed rotations, fixed dodging dynamics, fixed sequenced fights that required memorizing and no innovation. How dull!

Now with FFXV you have ALL of that combined into not something that is mundane in any way, but exceptionally bad...exceptionally boring...exceptionally easy.. and most of all, exceptionally consistent with SE's downward spiral towards total and utter ***.

Pick up a basic game like mario cart, super smash bros or DMC and you are likely to get more entertainment and fun out of it in 30 minutes than hundreds of hours playing a post FFXI Square Enix title.

Capcom and others should see the gap in the market and fill it. Everyone who is an FF fan is ready to jump ship and become a loyalist to anything that slightly resembles the previous generation of Square games. The "E" in SE is for "Embarrassingly bad".

T0 is great.

Monster Hunter Frontier G - Introduction Video

The sales of FF 2,3 and 5 weren't as great even in Japan and were even criticized there upon release. That's why they decided not to release them in America initially.

The only reason they have sold as they did was because of popularity after 7 came out. And even then, they've had to be tweaked from their original versions and people still don't cite any of them as close to the best of the series.

FFVII was heavily marketed because there was something to heavily market and they had some confidence it would succeed. Even then, there were plenty of rumblings that Square was scared out of their minds.

In regards to Frontier G, who would do the marketing? Capcom USA can't because they don't have the expertise to market that type of game and Capcom Japan has even less knowledge in the matter. And hiring an outside firm is expensive for a company that needs outside funding to make their latest Street Fighter.

And what would they market? An MMO on older systems which doesn't stand out enough in the sea of free-to-play MMOs? When companies with similar combat systems have already failed? And why pay for that when you get a similar experience on 3DS? Capcom would need to release an HD version for current systems but where's the money for that? Especially if there's no confidence it will make Capcom new money even in Japan?

Bravely Default, FF1-11, even 13 was slow enough to call turn based. One of the reasons I disliked FF14 was that they broke from tactical combat and into a more character action orientation.

Like I said I don't play those types of games but Monster Hunters combat didn't seem any different than games like Dark Souls or The Witcher series. You could probably just google Action Role-Playing Game and find a huge list of games that have the same style of combat.

Monster Hunter Frontier G - Opening Cutscenes

If Capcom USA used these videos that you've shown, it may only attract that niche audience that I was talking about. Only the people already in love with the MH series would care and not even all of them. Sega made the exact same mistakes with PSU and at least they released on the systems that were current gen back then.

None of these videos make me want to play this game and I actually have interest in playing this type of game. Failaras, I'd be interested in your opinion after see these videos.

I'm fine with opinions. I understand and understood not every game suits every last individual particular desire. I was more pointing out what makes this unheard of game so popular in Japan. I don't mind, although I don't believe it personally, if ppl think such a game on PS4 by either SE or Capcom themselves, especially since MH is amazing everytime, would not sell outside of Japan being too niche of an audience. Every single time I mention this franchise nobody has a remote clue of the game I speak of and being how great MH really is IMO it's makes me go into great length and detail all I know and experienced playing the game. That's all. With all due respect I don't personally feel as if thier is a game anywhere near as good as this one when it comes down to it. Hopefully more and more ppl become aware of it's existence and Capcom starts localization and translating all there is that they produce for the Monster Hunter franchise especially the MMO editions.

What you don't see in vids is that there is no xp. No leveling jobs. No grind whatsoever. You just work your way up the ranks from one lowend Hunt to the highest tier of Monsters to slay. This game is all You vs Megaboss. Each Dragon, Monster, or whatever has it's own set of AI behavior and set of attacks and moves.

The one and only downfall to this game is longevity. Since Capcom ain't quite the master of RPGs that SE is the storyline is pretty much nonexistent. That and offline versions that ain't updated run out of targets to tackle. Other than that SE could learn many many things from this game cuz MH ain't just some run of the mill no frills hackfest like some other games I could list.

Yeah, I end up doing the same with Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost, queuing up videos and praising it for its ease of play, impactful-looking attacks and trying to pull at those who had any nostalgia for Gundam Wing, Zeta or even the original series with videos featuring suits from those shows.

Monster Hunter can be greater but it is missing that something to make it appeal to those outside its regular audience.

Gundam, unlike MonsterHunter, is a well known franchise. That's my only qualm with pitting known vs unknown. I don't watch anime and I never played any of the games but I know it exists cuz of it's fame and marketing without you having to bring it to light. It's already known. I heard of it. That is the opposite of what Monster Hunter is. No anime. No marketing or very little to the point where you don't even realize you're not even seeing 1/3 of all incarnations of the series being brought to your country. Which is exactly what it was like during FF early years on NES then SNES up until PS1 gave FF recognition amongst the gaming masses. Same story. Different franchise. Now in the present tense, not one single FF game, no matter how good or bad it really is arrives without delay. Unfortunately Monster Hunter does not share the same worldwide attention that it deserves.

While Gundam is well-known because of its long years and impact in Japanese culture, its brand diminished outside Japan in the early 2000s. The Gundam VS series in particular is only known for the first two entries on the PS2, which were generally criticized by American reviewers for being slow and clumsy. Gundam doesn't have the attention and care outside Japan that you think it does. Just ask any Gunpla fanatic or anyone who imports the dozens of games and anime Japan has made since.

Sunrise and Bandai don't even have real English branches anymore for marketing and localization of Gundam products.

Monster Hunter, on the other hand, is not diminishing in its brand at the moment, as seen with the latest game. And the reason only 1/3 of the series has released to American audiences is because most of the other 2/3 are minor upgrades where the English versions are the final upgrades.

And Monster Hunter does have an anime with another coming out soon along with manga and a rumored English language movie.

Like I said, Monster Hunter is great but still missing that something it needs to break out. Maybe you don't like to hear it but it is lacking in ways.

Also, my country gets the same games you do. Don't think I know nothing about Monster Hunter just because I'm not American.

[MHF-G】炎角竜『ヴァルサブロス(烈種)』初討伐！【赤ディアブロス】フルHD
What it's missing is English translation.
This is definitely not true. Beyond the offline version of MH3rdG That was brand new on PSP never arriving stateside and also evey single MMO version, which is Monster Hunter Frontier and then MHFG, none of them are rehashed old material MH games. I'm sure there's more I haven't mentioned as well but the main point being that the MMO version has continual updates with new Monsters, weapons, armor and never dies just like FFXI didn't for years and years yet we will never see it due to the idea that Capcom holds the same perception you have, that it will not sell enough and is a niche market. Yet RPGs inside America sell just fine go figure.

And money to form a proper localization as well as maintenance. And that's nothing compared to the marketing it needs. Capcom Japan will not take away its profits from handheld or risk killing the money made on this game so far in Japan on something this uncertain. They are still hurting from Resident Evil 6 as well as having to take money from Sony to even make Street Fighter 5.

Even the Tencent Monster Hunter Online has a better chance of making it than this game based purely on its better graphics appealing to people and being better for marketing. Tencent even said that they had some interest in releasing it internationally at some point but I hope they don't. That game looks like it sucks so much compared to an actual Monster Hunter.

And again, MHFO needs something to appeal to people outside the fandom.

Out of the 11 main games in Monster Hunter, only 3 were Japanese exclusive. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd and its HD version were the only non-upgrade that wasn't released to English audience. As for the spins-offs, nobody wants to play Poka Poka Airou Village or the iOS game. That leaves Tencent Online (MH fans hate it) and Frontier G.

I don't think I missed anything but if I did, feel free to correct me.

And its not just how much money they could make like I said. Its also about having any good reason to even try. Add that with start-up and continuing costs and that good reason shrink too dramatically.

The Monster Hunter community isn't even organized enough to say, "Hey! We want this game here and now!". At least the Megaman community attempted to do so and those for Type-0 actually got what they wanted, sort of.

What you touched on I think comes down to this. Square used to make Japanese games for Japanese ppl. Then they musta studied thier American competition and for better or worst adjusted accordngly.
Capcom ain't trying to please the whole wide world with Monster Hunter. They have thier target audience and create the same magic that SE used to make when crafting FF games or so it seems. SE tries too hard to please everyone which never works. Alienates the core fanbase that was there since the beginning.

http://monsterhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Game_List
I don't wanna pretend as if I knew something I didn't. Only ones that matter personally to me were the 3 I named.

There's pretty much no way for S-E to create a Final Fantasy game that would appeal to the fans of the old games. Most of the talent from those games jumped ship nearly 15 years ago and the there are way too many artists and not enough talented technical, battle and gameplay directors.

I only think of The World Ends With You and Bravely Default being praised by the majority of the English audience and the former wasn't even developed all the way made by S-E. Even Gunslinger Stratos was developed by Byking with its sequel made by S-E only by following the blueprint.

Like I said before, S-E is no longer a leader in anything. They only take the original ideas from others and try to put their spin on things. And too often, they slap on the FF brand to make it sell more as well.


I checked that list before anything and it matches up with what I said about the released games.