Japan loves them some Monster Hunter (I think nearly 1 in 4 PSP owners own a copy of MH). To foster this love, over the this past weekend our colleagues in Japan held the second annual Monster Festa event. While I couldn’t be there to report on the event, uber Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu was! Here’s their report, translated lovingly by our awesomely bilingual intern, Reed.

Started last year at the release of Monster Hunter 2, Monster Festa is a national tournament to determine the best monster hunters in Japan. This year, Monster Festa ‒08 began by commemorating the release of Monster Hunter 2nd G. Starting in Fukuoka, the tournament will have regional tournaments set up in Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, and Nagoya, with the winners competing at the national tournament in Tokyo on 5/25. Like last year, teams consist of two people and compete in time-attack challenges. Over 2200 participants waited in line for the Fukuoka tournament to begin, with the first couple coming all the way from Tokyo and waiting in line by 5:30 that morning. In addition to a large vendor‒s room, image girls dressed up as the character “Sherryâ€, the games‒ directors Ise (2nd G) and Fujioka (2nd), as well as the games‒ producer Tsujimoto were there to support the participants. Throughout the event, the main four (Ise, Fujioka, Tsujimoto, and Koshima) got on stage to show off their characters. At one point, Fujioka held a tutorial to explain some of the background behind certain characters and other aspects found throughout the game. At the end of the event, the winning team was announced and to the crowd‒s surprise, the judges decided to send the running up team to Tokyo as well. Other notable things to do at the tournament was the downloadable quest area, an art gallery and art contest, and photo opportunities with the image girls, Otomoairu and other life-size cosplayers. This is only the beginning of this year‒s Monster Festa, so stay tuned for more!

Check out the Famitsu article for more pictures of the event.