Watch 26 minutes of Monster Hunter X gameplay
Jump for joy (with any weapon now).
Monster Hunter X (pronounced "Cross") now has a Japanese release date of 28th November along with a slew of new details and gameplay footage.
YouTuber Arekkz Gaming has captured 26 minutes of gameplay footage from a Japanese Capcom livestream and boiled it down to some of its more salient points in the more convenient nine-and-a-half minute video below:
Perhaps the biggest new addition in Monster Hunter X is four fighting styles that can be performed with all 14 weapons. The Aerial combat style lets you jump with any weapon, another focuses on countering, a "Guild" style preserves the classic control schemes we all know and love, and a fourth style is still under wraps but our YouTube presenter/translator Arekkz here thinks it has something to do with "super moves".
In previous Monster Hunter titles blocking could only be performed with a few weapons while jumping was limited to MH4's Insect Glaive. The Super Moves, meanwhile, are unleashed by filling up a meter by either receiving or inflicting damage then hitting a prompt on the touch-screen.
We also catch a glimpse of the new Prehistoric Forest hunting grounds along with the new beast Dinovaldo. There's some old maps as well with the Forested Hills from the first Monster Hunter getting a remake for this iteration along with the Valley from Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. And of course some old monsters return, like the series' staple Rathios and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite's Nargacuga.
Monster Hunter X will feature four villages with three from previous games (Yukumo Village from Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, Pokke Village from Monster Hunter Freedom 2, and Kokoto Village from the first MH) along with the brand new Beruna Village. Like Poogie the pet pig in Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate, Cross will feature these lamb/sheep-like creatures that can be cuddled; something that not only looks cute, but will randomly give you items as well.
In other Monster Hunter X news, the game's producer Shintaro Kojima explained the title in a recent Famitsu interview (via Siliconera). "Old and new elements cross over together [in the game] - so it bears the connotation of mingling," Kojima explained. "Moreover, the letter X looks like it divides the given space into four... so four hunting styles, four large main monsters, four villages. They're all crossing."
Monster Hunter X still doesn't have a confirmed western release, but seeing as how Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate was the best-selling series entry in the west with over 1m units shipped, it would be surprising if Capcom didn't localise it for Europe and North America.
For the full 26 minutes of Monster Hunter goodness, here's Arekkz's capture of the original Japanese livestream:
