Monster Hunter still stands out as one of, if not the best, online co-op experiences I have ever had. I came in at MHtri on the Wii and it was a blast. I tried the demo for Rise last night and I am pretty excited to have an advanced, yet still portable Monster Hunter.
However…
It sounds like there will be no way to do voice chat in Monster Hunter Rise. Not even the funky Switch phone app thing is going to work. I guess this is another fatality of Japan users being able to do local co-op or something. Even before the pandemic, western world gamers all mancave to each other via the internet. It really is a downer as MH really excels with communication and I can’t see it being the same thing with relying on emotes and sticker expressions. Am I wrong? Is there going to be some way to do voice chat? Monster Hunter just isn’t the same without @merryprankster in my ear cheering on a good full charge GS hit or yelling, “Chap, STOP monster farming” when I stop for some a blue mushroom or honey.