Huge Interview - Tons of Info

The interview from Famistu has finally been translated, and can be read here. Here is a summary of all the information I could find in it, but feel free to read the full interview.

Gameplay

- They are packing "absolutely everything" that they currently want to do with Monster Hunter into the game

- The move from PS2 to Wii has made a huge difference, and the entire game was reworked for that. The games so far were just expanding on the original, this one is reworked from the beginning to create a "totally new Monster Hunter"

- The game takes place on a "solitary island", surrounded by water

- You don't only swim forward. You can move back, left, right, up and down while underwater to make movement easier. Enemies can also move the same way

- You will need to breathe occasionally, it will be like the stamina meter. It decreases slowly so it isn't too annoying

- They are focusing on depth and a sense of distance underwater

- You can cut materials off fish to obtain useful items

- There will be pitch-black caves where you need a torch to see

Monsters

- Main monster is a huge, powerful sea dragon (the ruler of the seas) who can sink ships with a flick of its tail. You can fight it underwater or on land, but it needs to be lured into land first

- All the monsters have been "reworked from zero". There are many new monsters, as well as returning monsters (such as Ranpos) who will reappear but "feel new and different"

- The ecosystem will be much more solid and realistic. Monsters will interact with each other and with the world, an element that will be heavily reflected in the gameplay

- The monsters in the field are no longer in predetermined locations, but will move around the area. All the monsters in the area will move around and act simultaneously, and how they do that will change depending on the hunter's situation

- Until now, monsters have acted alone, but now they act with a "very distinct awareness" of other monsters. Even the smallest movement from the main monster can effect and change the situation

- You need to think to respond to these situations. For example, you can get a pack of smaller monsters and a large monster to fight each other before attacking

- The hunting will be "more solid than ever", but they want to "show off an appealing, deep ecosystem" in MH3

Equipment

- The process of obtaining material and creating weapons/armor has become more convenient and new elements were added, but there are no big changes fundamentally

- All the equipment has been redone, even down to the enhancement routes for armor and weapons

- There are new weapons with interesting new elements, which they can't talk about yet

Hunter Actions

- You can "feel a clear difference" with the actions used when hunting monsters. Some things didn't need to change so it isn't totally different, but they've added much more interaction with monsters so it still feels fairly different

- There is a hidden status system for the monsters, and your actions can affect their status. For example, there are many more states than normal, angry and weakened (such as getting hungry) that will affect the monsters in real time. They will be more like living creatures in MH3

- You can still hunt the same was as the previous games, but there is more to the hunting now so it isn't the most effective way

The Village and Town

- The village is for the offline mode only, the concept is "a village surrounded by the sea". The focus is interacting with villagers. The game progresses by forming relationships with them.

- The town is used for online operations and there are facilities used for online play. The concept is "a town surrounded by desert"

- The balance between offline and online will be similar to previous games. Offline players still get a big part game, but being able to play both is better

Other notes

- The animation has really improved, especially with the monsters

- The new system allows monsters to chase the hunter between areas, but the staff is still deciding whether or not to include this in the finished game

- The controls have been decided, and they are "taking advantage of the unique properties of the Wii remote"

- Items can change a monsters status and will affect different monsters differently. For example, some monsters might run away when they see the light of a torch, but others might be attracted towards you

- They will be giving regular updates for the game from now on

- The game is 33% complete

Cool info. But only 33% of the game complete? We have to wait a long time I guess...

Very good to see this nice details

We don't know yet. Capcom says that they want to make Monster Hunter a major franchise here, just like in Japan, so it seems pretty likely. They refuse to say whether or not Monter Hunter 3 will come out here, though.

WTF!

33% complete T.T

I guess that made it seem better lol

And yeah thats a great add on a ocean of wonder!

"oohs and ahh from the backround"

T_T 33% ...man its until next year