Review by: Michael Barnes

I love the 1981 fantasy adventure Dragonslayer. In the film, an apprentice wizard is tasked with slaying a massive, virgin-devouring dragon and to do so, he has to build a special spear and a shield made from dragon scales pilfered from the creature’s lair.

There is something very primal about the idea of preparing for a hunt, and the concept of the hero crafting special arms and armor to vanquish foes appears not only in this particular movie but also throughout the mythologies and traditional stories that serve as the basis for many cultural narratives, including those found in games.

Capcom’s Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii, the latest in a line of titles that have met with great success in Japan, brings this ‘primitive’ concept into a videogame context. Sure, there are potentially a hundred hours or more of striking, slicing, chopping, shooting, and stabbing beautifully modeled monsters in the game, but it is primarily a game about the anticipation of the hunt, the preparations that the hero must undertake in order to return victorious and with trophies in hand. And it totally reminds me of Dragonslayer.

Just like in the film, it’s really all about crafting items to go on the big hunt using whatever you can use from the bodies of fallen quarry. These trophies, ranging from scales, hides, feathers, and bones serve as the raw materials with which you will forge an arsenal. Gathering is as important as hunting in the game, not only to create armor from Barroth scales or a sword from the bones of a Ludroth, but also to craft day-to-day sundries such as potions, traps, bombs, fishing rods, and other tools that can be combined, sold, or bartered. There is no experience system, and the base character never improves- all stat increases, abilities, elemental effects, and advantages are functional of equipped gear.

There is also very little narrative, which may disappoint JRPG fans looking for another iteration of that story where memory-stricken fashion victims try to prevent the end of the world, but what little there is serves as a framework to tell the story of your own hunt, physically embodied in the equipment you carry.

In the single player game, the nameless hunter arrives in small fishing village beset by earthquakes caused by a massive, aquatic Wyvern named Lagriacrus that is encountered unexpectedly early in the game during a simple item collection quest. It’s a show of strength, a reminder to the player of their weakness and to galvanize the point that there is much to do before the time to confront the menace arrives. What’s more, it creates a lingering sense of purpose and destiny that hours of poorly written and translated dialogue have rarely accomplished. The encounter casts a long shadow over everything you’ll do in the game.