Monster Hunter XX – more details about the name, new monsters, and more

Last week, Famitsu provided its first extensive report on Monster Hunter XX. The magazine’s coverage included an interview with some of the game’s developers.

The production team structure is as follows: Ryozo Tsujimoto is still producing the entire series, and Shintaro Kojima is the main producer just like with the previous title. However, this time the director is Daisuke Ichihara, who used to work as a planner on Monster Hunter Generations and supervised monster productions. Takuro Hiraoka, who was also part of the planning team, is the main planner on XX. Yasunori Ichinose, as the director for Monster Hunter Generations, will act as backup, supervising the concept and follow-up on the production so that he can make sure there will be a proper evolution from the last game.

To explain the production concept of Monster Hunter XX, Tsujimoto referenced the previous game, which was about the festive feel and enjoyment of “your own hunting” freely with the style that fits you. The main appeal last time was that it “cross’ed” various features. Now the team wants to “cross” things even further, which is why they came up with the title Double Cross (XX).

When asked about why they didn’t use “G” similar to past entries, Tsujimoto said it’s because “cross” is a special word for them. Since this is a special game with many unique features, they want to give it a special title to it, too. Kojima also said that they want a title with word power, and lining up the X characters looks visually cool as well, which is why they went with it.

Barfalk is one of the main new monsters introduced for Monster Hunter XX. It’s an Elder Dragon that lives in a very, very high region. Until it was researched, the monster was thought to be a comet due to its shape while flying when people looked at the sky.

Balfark was first encountered in the new field Igun Peak. This field’s existence was already known by the Dragon History Institute, but because its location was way too high, no inspections had taken place. Once the Dragon Signature Ship was made, people were able to go there.

When asked if Balfark shoots something like a red laser, Ichihara said that it’s like a gust that’s coming out from the wings, and Balfark uses that power to fly. A body organ in its chest sucks air, and the wings release that. Kojima then said that Balfark can perform various attacks while changing the shape of its winged legs. Hiraoka added that since it’s an Elder Dragon, they added features that couldn’t be normally imagined.

Next the developers talked about Ouma Diablos. Kojima started by saying that this monster is called the head of Deviant monsters. It is much more dangerous even when compared to other strong Deviants. Ichihara added that they had to expand on the Deviant monsters that appeared in Monster Hunter Generations, so the development team came up with the concept of the Strongest Monster. Like other Deviants, quests for Ouma Diablos can be taken at the Assembly Bar, and there is also a story related to the character in that place.

The main story revolves around these two main monsters in different locations. Balfark’s story take place in the Dragon Signature Ship, while Ouma Diablos’ is in the Assembly Bar.

The concept of Brave Style in Monster Hunter XX is that it specializes further towards action, and aimed towards the fans who want sharper hunting. Renkin Style is more aimed towards people who want to have fun in hunting with everyone.

Brave Style is a very aggressive and features an offensive style. The key to mastering it is by attacking the monster itself, so the player needs to be brave in keeping up with attacks. That’s where the style name comes from. Brave Style is for experienced hunters in a different way from Bushido Style. The play tempo is obviously different from other styles.

New Hunting Techniques have been added to each of fourteen weapon types. Some of them have very different standing positions and abilities, so they want players to ponder on which techniques to equip.

When asked about the Dragon Signature Ship, Ichihara explained that it’s a base complete with various facilities and also enables long-time stay. They want to let players explore a wider world in this game, and from there a new idea was born that “if a base is flying they can go to lots of fields.” Kojima added that it’s a very large ship, and other ships may stop by to have visitors step in, so it also acts like a harbor.

Among the connected ships, one of them acts as the Assembly Bar. Players can take on multiplayer and G-Rank quests here. Just like how Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate had Dundorma and Elder’s Palace, in this game there are new bases in Berna Village and the Dragon Signature Ship, so players can have new encounters, adventures, and hunting experiences.

Igun Peak, which is accessible from the Dragon Signature Ship, is a very high field that also has many mysterious places such as big waterfalls, caves and ruins. In the main visual, the hunters fight against Balfark on the top of the Igun Peak.

Hiraoka, Ichihara, Ichinose, Kojima, and Tsujimoto closed out the interview by sharing brief messages. Here’s a summary of each:

– Hiraoka: Various information has been released, but the team is also preparing even more features. The whole dev team is doing its best to make even better things until the end.
– Ichihara: Monster Hunter XX can be enjoyed by both people who have played the prequel and those who will start with this game. The contents will enable players to further pursue their own way of hunting.
– Ichinose: Believes it’d be good if this title can show the breadth of the whole series.
– Kojima: In this title, the hunting becomes even broader, and it also has replay value.
– Tsujimoto: This title “cross”es even more features to Generations. The team is carrying out many expansions on the whole Monster Hunter series, so he’ll be glad if people continue to support it.

Capcom is holding demo sessions for Monster Hunter XX in four regions across Japan starting on November 12. Quests available will be for hunting Yian Kut-Ku, Barioth, and Balfark. Available Hunting Styles will be the previous four plus Brave Style.