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| Peter Triezenberg |
Catching up on all of the Japanese gaming goodness we just witnessed.
09.28.17 - 2:00 AM
If E3 is videogame Christmas, then Tokyo Game Show is like... well, a non-denominational holiday that's an awful lot like Christmas, particularly for those of us with a penchant for Japanese games. Capcom brought their A-game this year with an impressive showing of Monster Hunter: World, the next major evolution of the popular Monster Hunter franchise. We previously reported on the game's January release date and fancy collector's edition: now let's take a look at Monster Hunter: World's story and some fresh gameplay footage.
The story of Monster Hunter: World is focused on the "New World Elder Dragons Research" group that is striving to uncover why the Elder Dragons migrate across the ocean to the New World every ten years. On their fifth expedition, a hunter joins up with the research group as they pursue the Elder Dragon Zorah Magdaros (pictured above), a behemoth who appears to partially consist of an active volcano. Another terrifying threat that appears before the research group is the Nergigante (pictured below), also known as the Extinction Dragon, a terrible beast that unleashes devastation with little concern for its own preservation.
The research team's base of operations is the outpost of Astera, which serves as a gathering place for researchers and hunters alike. Players will encounter a number of eccentric characters at Astera, some of whom are striving to better understand the ecology of monsters.
Players will be able to freely explore the world without taking on a quest, which has the benefit of not having a time limit and not penalizing the player should they end up dying in the field. Players will therefore be able to hunt and gather of their own accord, as well as take on more traditional Monster Hunter quests. Exploring the New World will also have the benefit of filling in the player's Ecology Map, which will provide your hunter with more information on the environment, enable fast travel, and allow Scoutflies to guide you to your destination.
Capcom also presented some new gameplay from Monster Hunter: World, showing off the game's introduction (including a look at character creation), as well as the new Coral Highlands area. You can check those out below.
Monster Hunter: World will be available on January 26th, 2018 for the PS4 and Xbox One (PS4 exclusive in Japan), as well as the PC at a later date. Be sure to check out some additional media in our screenshot gallery, and stay tuned for more information.
