Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate devs on the item drop rate, Tetsuya Nomura armor set, more

Siliconera has a new interview up with a couple of the developers behind Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. The site spoke with executive director Kaname Fujioka as well as executive producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. Between the two, they commented on topics like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s item drop rate, how the Tetsuya Nomura armor set collaboration came about, and more.

We’ve gathered up some excerpts from the interview below. The full discussion can be found here.

On the item drop rate in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate…

Kaname Fujioka, executive director: We did not make any adjustments related to item drops such as drop rates from MH4G (Japanese sku) to MH4U (Western sku). However every time we develop a new title, we usually implement various changes and additions to the previous title’s game mechanics such as reward systems and armors (Charm, Relic, etc.) such as for MH4U in comparison to ones from MH3U. Based on the changes and additions that we have made, we also did adjust drop rate for items.

On the armor set designed by Tetsuya Nomura…

Ryozo Tsujimoto, executive producer: When I had dinner with Mr. Hashimoto from Square Enix, we talked up a storm and it resulted in a collaboration with Mr. Tetsuya Nomura coming to life. Mr. Nomura is a creator that I really respect and I’d heard that he also had been playing the Monster Hunter series, so I was very much looking forward to this collaboration myself as well.

KF: I had been informed of this Square Enix collaboration toward the end of the development. At that time, the development was so close to the end that we were sort of giving up implementing his design in the game as everyone knows that Mr. Nomura is one of the busiest people in this industry. However he kindly delivered this demonic and stylish design in time for our development schedule. I was very thankful for his contribution as his design is very unique and distinguished from Monster Hunter’s designs, in a good way. His armor’s base color was black so we’ve added kind of a metal texture to create a gleaming black which enhances its dark nuance. His weapon design had a face motif and was coquettish so we’ve enhanced the SFX with a mysterious voice sound. We were able to come up with such interesting ideas thanks to Mr. Nomura’s fantastic designs.

On changes made from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s western version compared to the Japanese release…

KF: Essentially, the Western sku (MH4U) is the same as the Japanese sku (MH4G) in terms of difficulty or tuning for weapons. However, we wanted to help western users play Monster Hunter at the very beginning so we’ve included some consumables such as potions to the initial item box, and your own Item Sets also already have several items which are easier to use at an earlier stage.

On the thought that the Long Sword has been nerfed…

KF: I had been feeling that the game mechanics became too monotonous once you see the red Spirit Gauge for Long Sword in previous MH titles so we’ve made changes in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. The objective is how well you can turn the Sprit Gauge to red by periodically noticing its color. In terms of action, it’s important to think about where your other teammates are. As you said, Long Sword might affect your teammates’ gameplay so it’s necessary to think about where you position yourself, but I still think this weapon has enough firepower even with its unique action characteristics.

On the least used Monster Hunter weapon….

KF: I think each weapon has its own appeal to various player’s gameplay taste, but we can say that more people tend to choose weapons which tend to have more powerful offense and less people choose the supportive Hunting Horn, or the Bowgun, which requires damage and shot management .

For Hunting Horn, we’ve added a “Flourish” attack which enables players to attack while providing support to their teammates by continuously playing the tunes. For Bowgun, we’ve prepared controls similar to the shooter genre, and being able to load shots via the evading action (this one is specifically for the Seregios weapon). Especially for the latter automatic loading, I think players can enjoy a new kind of game experience you’ve never had with the Bowgun.

RT: Same as answered by Kaname Fujioka, I also think we have a bit less people playing Hunting Horn and Bowgun, especially Light Bowgun.

On why it isn’t possible to change your equipment while in the Gathering Hall…

KF: Monster Hunter players are equipped with a lot of features such as armor parts, weapons and items. In order to access the equipment box, which contains a ton of information, it is necessary to read various kinds of data. The Gathering Hall is also a place multiple players visit. So considering the communication environment which affects response amongst players to exchange information, that’s why we’ve implemented in that way.

On expeditions and Guild Quests…

KF: In previous Monster Hunter titles, we’ve had quests which require a challenge with the final set of armor players earned in the game. At that point, we could only provide players existing items or materials as the reward and could not provide any additional elements rather than simple replay value. Therefore, we thought about implementing a type of “Guild Quest” which might reward consumers better under the condition that quests become more and more difficult. We also expect that it will facilitate broader communication amongst users, especially as they are exchanged with others and feature randomly selected combination of fields and monsters. I’d like to see if we can further broaden the horizon of gameplay with interactions amongst players in the future as well.