So, is the 3DS a dead platform?

My son got one for his birthday, since his older DS has a wonky touchscreen at this point (rough use of the stylus in earlier years…). Was very concerned myself about longevity, but Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Monster Hunter 4 next year helps.

I’m thinking of getting a 3DS XL next year mainly to see what all the Monster Hunter craze is about. In general, I like Nintendo (eg Zelda and Mario) and other Japanese-style games.

I looked at the Vita and almost got the nice bundle deal from Amazon this week. The hardware looks good, but it doesn’t seem to be doing too well in Japan (eg, not many consoles sold, no new Monster Hunters), and there were just like two games I would be interested in, with the rest being non-exclusive ones that I could just play on PC or full console.

The 3DS has been a disappointment for me as a platform. Much of my gaming is on iOS these days, and when I do use the 3DS I generally have the 3D effect off, because I find it more of a distraction trying to keep my hperfume system positioned perfectly than providing any actual utility. So it is basically a better looking DS.

I loved the DS, so that isn’t a bad thing, except there has been very little compelling software for me. I did recently play Zero Escape, which was good (though not as good as the original 999) and am currently working on the newest Layton, which is better than the previous game so far. The only other game I’ve played is the Ghost Recon tbs game, which seems good, but didn’t real me in.

I guess for me the 3DS is like the original PSP: it had games I liked but I didn’t play them much (in that case because I was playing the DS).

The 3DS has been a disappointment for me as a platform. Much of my gaming is on iOS these days, and when I do use the 3DS I generally have the 3D effect off, because I find it more of a distraction trying to keep my hperfume system positioned perfectly than providing any actual utility. So it is basically a better looking DS.

I loved the DS, so that isn’t a bad thing, except there has been very little compelling software for me. I did recently play Zero Escape, which was good (though not as good as the original 999) and am currently working on the newest Layton, which is better than the previous game so far. The only other game I’ve played is the Ghost Recon tbs game, which seems good, but didn’t real me in.

I guess for me the 3DS is like the original PSP: it had games I liked but I didn’t play them much (in that case because I was playing the DS).

If you really want to see what the deal with MH is, I suggest the WiiU. MH is a coop game through and through. The 3DS version will not support online coop, so unless you have a few local people to play with you you will kinda miss out on a lot of what makes MH hunter great.

Which is to say: just try harder. You’ll eventually get used to touch controls. The younger generation already has.

Nah. Games designed for swipe/tap control work fine, but anything that tries to use a virtual joystick/gamepad on a flatscreen device is compromised.

I disagree. Games for the iPhone/iPad that try to replicate buttons/joysticks are horrible. Games built for touch/swipe can be good or bad, just like any other game. But, touch screens do a horrible job replicating buttons.

Hmm. Thanks for the tip. What’s the coop like? Is it easy for people to drop in and drop out of online games, or does one need to commit several hours at a time? And do people have to sync up such that they’re all similar levels?

Co-op works well. Its been years since I played the Wii game but I don’t recall any issue with finding randoms to play with online. I did use a USB keyboard to communicate as most bosses require good teamwork and strategy to take down, its very neat that way. Setting traps and coordinating when to use certain items is a huge part of the game, the Wii community was always helpful and friendly, never had real issues with strangers.

Since most of the sessions are usually just quests to take down large monsters, bosses really, they can range in session time. You get the best rewards for capturing bosses alive, which is usually a difficult feat that requires lots of special crafted resources and equipment compared to outright killing your target. This is also what made the game so special and unique especially in co-op. Essentially fights can last between 10 minutes to over an hour depending on the challenge of the hunt.

It’s really addictive and the carrot is ever dangling with new stuff to do and create with each successful haul. It’s a very different kind of experience from other types of games given the structure is less about exploration and more about resource management and combat planning. I loved it and look forward to the next iteration.

It’s basically instances trying to take down some big dragon of some sort with 3 other people. I would say the average run is about 15 min or so, but it can take a lot longer depending on the challenge. It’s actually quasi MMO like, but with action combat and no healer/tank/dps nonsense. Stats are important, but skill trumps them, much like in a Demon’s Souls game.

It does help if people are similar level, but that just tends to happen because of the way quest availability is tied to rank.

The concept of “drop-in, drop out” doesn’t really apply here. Basically you join a “room” with 3 other people and then do quests together. It’s not really a linear game though, so there is no where to drop in or out of.

Be warned though, the game is super deep and very complex. Definitely a read the wiki kinda game, particularly as you try to find those rare materials.

Still, MH is easily my favorite game series. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys loot, since I think it is probably one of the best loot grinds out there.

Thanks guys for the helpful info. My play hours are usually kind of sporadic, so it’s good to hear that sessions will take only an hour or two at most.

I wasn’t planning on buying a new full blown console system, but now I’m reconsidering that just for this game, haha. The game really does sound like something I’ll enjoy, and coop does sound fun. And I definitely loves me some loot.

Yeah…I couldn’t have cared less about WiiU until I found out MH was coming to it. Though be warned, being a MH fan is kind of a miserable existence of owning “Monster Hunter Boxes” (Wii, WiiU, Vita) since Capcom refuses to put the game on a main console.

Heh. I never got the Wii and since WiiU seems to have backwards compat support, at least I’ll be able to use it to play the Wii Mario and Zelda games that I missed.

Hm, it looks like MH4 has only been announced for the 3DS? Is it likely that Capcom will eventually release “MH4 Alpha Plus Ex HD etc” for the WiiU later on? Seems like that’s what they did with MH3? All these MH variations are really confusing.

Are the different region versions of MH games usually compatible for multi-player, or can you just play within your own region?

Impossible to say, and honestly it’s entirely possible MH4 won’t come to the states at all. Capcom doesn’t bother to localize a lot of MH games. That said, I suppose if TriU does well Capcom might be more likely to bring more titles over to the states.

Also, Tri was never on a handheld, it was always Wii only. You might be thinking of Portable 3rd, which it a different game.

The original Tri had 3 regions, US, EU, and Japan. These were separate servers so playing between regions wasn’t possible. I’m not sure what the plan for TriU’s servers is.

Don’t be silly. There’s no way MH4 isn’t coming westward, even if Nintendo ends up publishing it.

Pretty dead, yeah.

Especially when Nintendo’s own games aren’t as good as they used to be. May be subjective but Phi in Skyward Sword, come on!

I almost dread what they will do in Zelda 3DS, perhaps a little video window at the bottom screen where Miyamoto walks you through the game, step by step (forced)?

But beginning with the Nintendo 64 era, it’s always kinda the same with Nintendo (excluding Nintendo DS and perhaps GBA).

250K 3DS units sold last week. That’s 50% down from last year. The DS outsold the 3DS last week as well. 275K for the DS.

Guess that’s why they just dropped the price, haha. Yikes.