It's a good game for people who like the gameplay loop. Grind -> Hunt -> Get New Equipment
Base RISE has a good story, and the story isn't intruding every damn quests which I personally didn't like on WORLD.
It is more faithful to 4th Gen games. One could say the Skillbind skills are just the Hunting Styles of MHXX/GU!
Let's talk about the Wirebug. This was genuinely a good idea, alongside the map being expansive that you can wallrun pretty much anywhere that isn't the map's borders, at the detriment of not having recognizable set pieces on the places where the large monsters are fought in. Sure, the Shrine Ruins has alot of cool spots, but the Sandy Plains, the Flooded Forrest, Frost Islands and Lava Caverns? Like, can you even remember every places you fight monsters in? It's just flat terrain surrounded by rocky walls. They didn't really want players to do slides, and it lacks environmental traps and interactables.
However: the point is making a route towards the enemy. While the game doesn't boast the multiple layout of multiple "floors" in each areas (there's just the surface, and the caves really), the restraint to have two bases in each maps and the inclusion of spiribrds is a good idea.
Why do I think it's a good idea? First off: If you are stupid and impatient, go to a monster without hearing a colorful bird chirp. Anyway, the inclusion of spiribirds mean that hunters will actually come across gathering spots and hunting helpers that they can quickly interact with.
Hunting Helpers is genuinely a good idea. It's temporary items that gives you advantages and replenishes every several minutes or so. Like I said, if you are stupid and impatient, then all you will do is attack, and spend more time healing than actually getting an advantage over your targets.
Are you really not going to grab the Puupet Spider, the Blast Toads, the Escuregot when it's already on a route towards the target?
And here's what I'm saying: Because of all of these mentioned, you make routes to the large monsters and collect stuff. When they run, you then give chase, but not stay on the roads they travel. You run up that wall and grab the Hunting Helpers and gather some stuff along the way! Optional Subquests will give you armor spheres even!
Compared to World: You go to the map, go to the nearest base, and then fight the monsters. Because there's nothing along the way that gives you advantages, when the monster runs away, you just go to the nearest base it runs to. It's very simple.
That's enough describing the hunting gameplay of RISE. Let's talk about the grinding and getting new equipment. Instead of grinding to get decorations in hunts that are random, you just specifically make them, like old gen games!
The melding pot... I personally think it was not useful in World. In RISE, it's kind of exciting because you really wish for a skill that would add up to your build, and then you get it!
And why did I mention decorations? Well, rather than needing the entire set of an equipment to actually get the skills and skill levels you want, you use the decorations! Then you can just mix and match different equipments!
I genuinely like Bloodlust, Coalescense and Dereliction, and Heaven Sent armor skills, and then for decorations, I add Hellfire, Blast Up, Steadfast, Bubble Dance. These skills really makes use of the Switch Skill Swap, and I rarely cart.
Oh wait, this is SUNBREAK addition. Anyway, this is what I pretty much meant.
You hunt monsters for the decorations and then get the thing!
And for some reason, I always get the decorations I want. Their materials are always easy to get.
Now, there's one thing that base RISE has that people did talk about. The Rampages.
I know, I know, you see it, you raise your eyebrows, but really, the Rampage Quests have enough tension in them that it's quite enjoyable and rewarding to finish them. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks it's an experimental but welcome sight for a unique gameplay introduced like with old games. And, it's actually fun enough and doesn't overstay its welcome.
Like, you really don't need those Defender Tickets. You can just play the game and ignore those Rampage quest.
I know, SUNBREAK doesn't have it, and I think it's for the best. Monster Hunter isn't that kind of game, but this is the kind of arcade experiences we do need to have that actually contains the hunting aspects!
Now let's talk presentation. Disclosure: I use JP Dubbing because come on, they're Japanese. I genuinely love the introduction to the large monsters with the old man singing and the instruments they use.
It shows the monster doing something it would do by its lonesome instead of just screaming at your face after you dodge cluelessly around it which I didn't like in WORLD because it was predictable and repetitive!
I personally love Kushala Daora's introduction. Oh yeah, let's talk about the large monsters! They don't have bullsh*t attacks that can make you angry! Like take Kushala Daora. You know in World... you know what, I'm already getting angry thinking about WOLRD's Kush. Kushala Daora in RISE, both HR to MR, actually is fast and has good movesets! No kidding! Almost all bosses don't have bullsh*t attacks that makes you waste time waiting for them to stop so you can attack, and that's because of the Wirebug. Because you can just wirefall, the gameplay's pacing is much more faster. If you are skillful, you wouldn't have to wait for your hunter to stay on the ground all day, make tea, doomscroll, check his emails and then get back up. Just LT+A and you're back in action!
All in all, after 160 hours playing this game, I can definitely recommend it compared to World which I angrily criticized. And really, if you are not impressed by the graphics, keep in mind that if you played it on the Switch, it really made you feel like you're back on the PSP days. Dying from Alatreon.
