Hey everyone, Andrew Alfonso, Localization Director on Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, here again. We’re only three days away from the release of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, so make sure your Nintendo 3DS systems are charged and ready to go!

Let’s talk about even more changes made to the Western version of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate that we hope will make the playing experience better for everyone, especially for new players.

The first issue we dealt with was finding a new font to use for the game. Based on feedback from the Monster Hunter community, we made finding a new font a top priority. It took about a month to get everything finalized; the entire process involved not only myself, but the rest of the localization team (including the European translators), and our contacts at Capcom USA and Capcom Europe. We wanted to make sure the font had good readability and was scalable enough that it would still look good on the Nintendo 3DS screen. We had to worry about issues such as certain windows being much smaller than other areas, as well as those special characters that are commonly used in the European languages. While I gave the final stamp of approval, it really was a decision by committee, with Capcom’s European translators giving the most feedback. You fans out there have them to thank for improved readability!

Moving on, the UI in the Japanese version of the game is well-designed, but during the localization we found some places where our translations simply couldn’t fit without abbreviating them down to single letters. Thankfully the Monster Hunter dev team was open to modifying the UI for us whenever it was required. An example of this is in your status screen that displays your health, defense, resistance, etc. Most of the time our translations were easy enough to implement, but the weapon’s element is represented by a single kanji character in Japanese, so that meant we only had 1 or 2 letters worth of space to deal with. In a game like Monster Hunter that has close to a dozen elements, this is really tough to deal with, so we used the elemental blight icons instead of text. It may not seem like a big change, but for new players their time is better spent hunting monsters rather than hunting down what the heck “FI” or “TH” means.

The status screen for the western and Japanese versions.

Notice how the attack element is an icon rather than simple text.

Another small but important UI change is in the lobby search menu. When you search for lobbies in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, you’re shown a lot of information on just one line. If a player is ready to depart it’ll show the quest name or quest type, and if they’re in the middle of a quest it’ll show the quest name plus time elapsed. Obviously this really makes things hard for the localization team because our quest names are generally twice as long as the Japanese, so we had to come up with a way to get all of the info across to the player without having it look strange.

Our way around this was to have the text switch between different status messages, much like a blinking ticker. The info will now display the quest name or quest type, and then quickly display other pertinent info like time elapsed, if players are ready to go, if the quest is finished, etc. Unlike a simple color or window size change, the back and forth about this change took a week or so because we had to get the timing just right. If the text switched too fast, no one would be able to read it, and if it switched too slow, you might not be able to join the lobby in time because someone would’ve joined before you. I’m very thankful that the dev team went the extra mile to get this done for us!

You switch me right around baby right round

We made a couple of other changes to gradually introduce new players to the world of Monster Hunter. To help them out, we stocked the in-quest item box with Hot and Cool Drinks depending on the locale, just in case you forgot to bring your own. I know when I was a fledgling hunter I forgot to bring these items with me all the time, so this should be a welcome addition that helps new players. This happens not only in single player but in the Gathering Hall quests, too. Now you have no reason to complain that you forgot your Hot Drinks while trekking through the Frozen Seaway!

The Man will give you the heads up on certain types of armor.

We also added special NPC text when you talk with The Man, you know, the, uh, man who runs the Smithy and forges all of your gear. After you clear certain quests and talk to The Man, he’ll give you the run down on new armor that you can forge and what kind of buffs you can expect once the full set is complete. We hope adding this kind of content makes it easier for new players to come to grips with the skill system of Monster Hunter without being too intrusive to advanced players who already know what’s up. And if you advanced players do find it intrusive, remember to press the B Button to fast-forward through a conversation!

Now then, let’s move on to more monster names, shall we?

Dah’ren Mohran

The first monster you get to fight in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the bigger, nastier cousin of Monster Hunter 3’s Jhen Mohran. He’s a bit more aggressive than Jhen, with a penchant for launching spear-like projectiles from his back that can incapacitate any ballistae in the area.

The decision to Romanize Dah’ren’s name was an easy one since Jhen had already been Romanized. We were careful with the spelling because the Japanese name (ダレン) is typically used for the name Darren/Daren, so we came up with something more exotic-looking. I know it’s seen as a little stereotypical to sprinkle a dash of apostrophes onto a name to make it look more exotic-looking, but we also added it so people put more emphasis on the first part of the name rather than saying the whole thing at once.

Brute Tigrex

One monster that existed before Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate but ultimately didn’t make it into the game was a new subspecies of Tigrex. It appeared in Monster Hunter Portable 3 ^rd, but both the original and sub species didn’t make an appearance in MH3U . Thankfully (?) both fearsome beasts show up in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and are in fine form.

The kanji name for the Tigrex subspecies is kurogouryu (黒轟竜) and contains the word black, but we wanted to avoid simply slapping on that word and calling it a day. We already have a Black Diablos and a Black Gravios, and I like to avoid using the same moniker for different monsters. When we talked to director Fujioka-san about what he wanted for the monster names, he indicated he wanted a name based on appearance rather than characteristic. We came up with a couple of dark names such as Dusk Tigrex, Dread Tigrex and Bruised Tigrex, but we all felt that the name lacked oomph . It didn’t really represent how the monster fought, which was with a brutal , physical style. Oh, wait a mi…

I really liked the name Brute Tigrex because it encompassed everything this monster was compared to the original and rare species. It attacked with more ferocity than the original species, and all of its attacked are purely physical, unlike the Blast-based attacks of the rare species. I remember my first quest against this monster; I saw it suck in a huge gust of wind and let loose a thunderous roar. I remember thinking, “jumping Jiminy Cricket that was NUTS.”

I also remember getting one-shotted by it because I was standing too close, har har. Very funny, Sir Tigrex.

That’s it for this week! I have two more entries to go, and hopefully they’ll come with a couple of surprises of their own!

As you may have heard, Resident Evil has become Capcom’s fastest selling digital title AND has the biggest day-one digital title on PlayStation Network. Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi recorded this special “Thank You” for all your support, and offers a cool mansion floor plan image as a bonus gift.

Please click here for the mansion wallpaper (ZIP file containing multiple resolutions and sizes, about 21MB), and keep earning those Achievements and Trophies!

If you haven’t picked up the game yet, here’s all the places you can download:

[Steam ] 
[ GreenManGaming ] 
[GAME EU ] 
[ GamersGate ] 
[Games Republic ] 
[ Gameoxy ] 
[Xbox One ] 
[ PS3 ] 
[ PS4 ] 

The Mega Man X design originally teased by Capcom Japan as part of a (perhaps cruel) April Fool’s joke last year has resurfaced in a very cool way. Say hello to TruForce Collectibles’ newly Kickstarted X figure .

Based on the very cool concept art of a Capcom Japan artist, this high-quality figure will stand at six inches, with:

• Over 30 points of articulation
• Diecast armor parts on the chest, shin and feet
• LED Functionality
• Swappable face/hand parts
• Combinable effects parts
• Base/Support Stand
• PVC, ABS, PA, Diecast materials

↑ Combinable buster effects!

TruForce is offering some really cool rewards for backers, including a rare variant-color version of the figure for high-tier donors. 

Be sure to check out their Kickstarter page and support if you like what you see! It’s pretty awesome that this actually exists. 

This week’s DmC: Definitive Edition gameplay video comes to you a bit early. I know a lot of you folk have been clamoring to see more Vergil’s Bloody Palace, and today’s the day you do! Check out the following delightful montage, with footage captured by Sam D ‘n me. 

Designed exclusively for Vergil, this Bloody Palace Mode features sixty increasingly challenging, demon-filled waves for you to take on with Vergil’s dizzying move set. Try it with the Hardcore Mode, Turbo Mode, and Must Style gameplay modifiers enabled for an extra thrill.

DmC: Definitive Edition comes out March 10th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at $39.99. And you can catch live gameplay every Wednesday until then starting at 5:30pm PT. 

I don’t wanna alarm anyone but… we’re a week away from the release of  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate !

But you know what else is awesome and comes out next week? The  New Nintendo 3DS XL . And if you haven’t had the chance to try one of these out yet, Nintendo will be bringing demo units to several GameStop locations across the USA.  Click here to see their map and find the one nearest you.

Oh, and then let me know in the comments what you think of the new system once you’ve played it. =)

We are just about a week away from  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ‘s release date, so what better way to get everyone to hop on the  hype caravan than to open an all-new MH4U  Miiverse community?

And as an added bonus, a  MH4U “Special Demo” is now available for download on the Nintendo eShop. What’s so special about it?  Unlimited plays , that’s what!

For a full guide on how to enjoy the demo, check out this post on the  Monster Hunter Wikia ; and for quick tips, here’s my top 5 .

By the way, if you get one of them fancy  New Nintendo 3DS XL , you can post screenshots on Miiverse community. =)

Here are the links to the web versions of the communities:  North America – Europe

Happy Hunting and Miiverse posting!

Awwww yeah, it’s hump day, and that means not only is the weekend fast encroaching, but also that we’re due for another rad  DmC: Definitive Edition gameplay video and livestream. Hit the jump for a quick, high-quality look at some fun combos as well as  Definitive Edition’s newly added “Must Style” gameplay modifier. Then tune into Twitch today at 5:30pm PT for another hour of live gameplay. By popular demand, today I will show off some Vergil as well as Dante. See ya there!

In the video above, be sure to keep an eye on the enemies’ health bars (made visible via the newly added manual lock-on), as well as the style rank. With the Must Style modifier on, enemies will not take damage until you’ve achieved at least an S rank. This not only ups the overall challenge of the game, but is also great for improving your stylishness (arguably the whole point!) and really learning the ins and outs of each enemy type. 

Note that Must Style is a togglable gameplay modifier,  not a difficulty mode, meaning it is stackable with other features such as Turbo Mode and Hardcore Mode, all of which are usable on any difficulty mode. Stack Must Style and Hardcore Mode–which, among other things, makes it harder to style up–for a true challenge to your stylishness. 

DmC: DE will be out on March 10th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for $39.99. Can’t wait!

Miss our previous videos? That’s okay!

Gameplay Video 1
Gameplay Video 2 – Manual Lock-On

Hey everyone! We’re less than two weeks away from the release of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate! I hope all of you guys got your preorders all settled, and I bet there are more than a few of you who were lucky enough to bag themselves a New Nintendo 3DS/Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate bundle. If you were one of those lucky kids, make sure you take extra special care of your little piece of history and take pride in the fact that you have one of the coolest pieces of Monster Hunter merchandise around!

Gravicool Options

Before we start talking about monsters, I want to write about a couple of nifty features that were introduced into the Japanese version of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and of course, are intact for the Western version. The first is an option to change the dialogue text speed from Normal to Instant. If you’ve played a Monster Hunter game before, you know that the text displays one letter at a time and while some players are okay with this, some players are pretty quick readers, so switching the option to Instant will display the dialogue all at once, allowing you to get through the conversation quickly.

The second option is something the localization team and I proposed to the Monster Hunter team once the localization started, although I suspect they had the same idea when we talked about it. We wanted an option to turn off Palico conversations during multiplayer because it felt intrusive when playing with other people because you and your partner’s Palicoes would be talking constantly. The option in the game is a slight compromise; you can toggle your partner’s Palico conversation on and off during multiplayer, but your Palico will still communicate with you.

Some new options were added to the Japanese and Western versions to streamline your gameplay experience

Finally, there’s also an option to turn off a portion of the tutorial messages found in the game. This was another request that the localization team and I sent to the team and we were very happy that they not only said yes, but even included it into the Japanese version of the game! Our work on this feature was more involved than the other ones; Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s lead designer Tokuda-san asked us if we could help mark all of the tutorial messages that should be hidden if this option was selected, so one diligent member of the localization team (thanks Graham!) took the time to sort out all of the tutorial dialogue to figure out what was necessary and what wasn’t. We discovered that there is a lot of story-related content, and you’ll see those no matter what, but tutorials teaching you about vitality, weapon sharpness, etc., won’t be displayed with this option turned on. For first-time Monster Hunter players I highly recommend NOT using this option, but if you’re a seasoned veteran you can use it without worry.

Fun in the Sun

Let’s talk about yet another new location you’ll visit frequently during your time in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate—Sunsnug Isle! This islet is located just off the coast of Cheeko Sands, and is where your Reserve Palicoes will train or rest up when they’re not with you on a quest. Sunsnug Isle also houses the Casting Machine and the Meownster Hunters. The former is a giant, net-flinging machine that you and your Palicoes use to catch fish, which are used for various purposes. If you’re lucky, you might even get a special visit from everyone’s favorite hip-checking fishie!  Meownster Hunters are for special Palico-only quests where a group of Palicoes will go off and hunt up to three monsters in a row. Your Palicoes will bring back unique materials called Scraps that can be used to forge new Palico equipment, so it’s time well spent!

The name Sunsnug is pretty much consistent with the Japanese name Pokapoka (ã½ã‹ã½ã‹), which means “warmth throughout your body.” In fact, the Japanese phrase pokapoka shiite kaiteki (ã½ã‹ã½ã‹ã—ã¦å¿«é©) means “snug as a bug in a rug,” so we thought, heck, this IS a nice sunny island; Sunsnug would sound totally on point. We hope you agree!

You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

Before you can send out a troop of Meownster Hunters from Sunsnug Isle, you’ll have to venture to the Frozen Seaway to save them from the jaws of doom—literally. You’ll first encounter the fearsome Zamtrios just as it’s about to devour a group of brave, but tasty, Palicoes. Mmmm! Zamtrios is a walking shark-like monster (NOPE) that can fire beams of pure ice at a hunter (NOPE x 2), swim underneath the ice and attack a hunter from below (NOPE x 3), and don an armor of solid ice when angry (NOPE x 4).

Did I mention it also balloons into a giant, rolling ball of ice-spewing shark flesh as a last resort?

Unlike monsters like Seltas and Tetsucabra, naming Zamtrios wasn’t all that difficult. Zamtrios came about because we liked the Za sound in the Japanese name, Zaboazagil , but we wanted to replace the gil part because it sounded too much like a fish in English, whereas the Japanese name was a combination of frozen and demon. You can see here how the Japanese name if Romanized would mean something totally different from what was intended. We kept the Za part of the name and then tacked on a Monster Hunter-esque os suffix at the end…and that was it. Pretty simple, eh?

The other name we came up with was Gnathalos, a combination of gnash and another Monster Hunter-esque suffix, thalos. We weren’t feeling that name too much, so I’m VERY happy that Zamtrios got approved. Once Zamtrios was settled on, naming the juvenile form was easy work. Again, we kept the Za part of the name and added mite because of its small stature to make Zamite.

Tigerstripe Zamtrios

The Zamtrios subspecies is one of my favorite monsters to fight in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. It’s fast, powerful and switches between its two forms constantly, unlike the original species, so the fight always stays interesting. It also gave me my favorite weapon in the game, the Desert Rose Charge Blade. Believe it peeps, that weapon is FINAL BOSS status.

We had three ideas for the name of the subspecies to start off: Dune, Tiger and Bronze. We thought Dune would work well since in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate we had Sand Barioth, which was based on the habitat of the monster rather than characteristics or color. The subspecies can only be found in the Dunes, so we thought it was a good fit. Director Fujioka-san didn’t like this name or Bronze, but he liked the Tiger prefix since it matched the Japanese kanji name of the monster ( torazame , 蒎鮫), so he wanted us to keep working on that. We came back with Tigerstripe as an idea, which he liked a lot, and that was that!

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading everyone! Next week I’ll talk more about some more little tweaks we made to the western version of the game, plus a couple of end-game monsters!

If the one-two punch of Resident Evil (remaster) and Revelations 2 has you in the mood for even MOAR RE, North American PlayStation owners can check out a hefty franchise sale going on from today through Feb 10.

50% OFF

Resident Evil 2 ($2.99)

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis ($2.99)

Darkside Chronicles HD ($7.49)

Umbrella Chronicles HD ($7.49)

Umbrella Chronicles HD Collection ($13.49)

66% OFF

Resident Evil 4 HD ($6.99)

RE5 Gold Edition ($9.99)

Resident Evil 6 ($6.99)

RE6 Ultimate Edition ($13.99)

Resident Evil HD bundle ($9.99, RE4HD + CVXHD)

RE Franchise Pack ($19.99, RE4HD + RE5G + RE6)

70% OFF

Code: Veronica X HD ($5.99)

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RE Revelations ($9.99)

Resident Evil ORC ($9.99)

Leila Elkhalidy is a YouTuber who posts lovely piano arrangements of game and anime tunes. If you haven’t heard her Mega Man 2 medley yet, it is well worth the seven minutes–especially when you consider all the trouble she had recording it! It seems that the first take was interrupted by her well-meaning cat, to hilarious effect.

Luckily, she eventually recorded a clean version, free of feline interruptions.

Uninterrupted version:

Love that Air Man!

If you like what you hear, she also did a lovely rendition of Proto Man’s theme, with its economic use of the “blue note”–he is “Blues” in Japan, after all.

Episode 21 of the podcast is ready for you to cram into those eager earholes! Listen here !  In this episode, Brelston and I chew the fat about  Resident Evil’s fantastic relaunch, as well as the latest news on  Resident Evil Revelations 2,  which is of course due out next month. 

Community Question:  (Taken from sherry_birkin’s thread ) What supporting RE character would you like to see make a comeback? Let us know in the comments, or in Sherry’s original thread linked above. One star commenter will receive this irreverent, “Evil is Watching” multi-purpose pouch. Have at it!

A couple of months ago we took a look at how the dev team was updating Claire for 2015 . Today we have a similar look at Barry Burton!

My favorite part of this visit was learning about the man who acted as Barry’s mo-cap model – apparently he shares a few real-life similarities with ol’ Barry Burton.

Revelations 2 kicks off with Episode 1 on 2/24, with weekly episodes leading up to the 3/17 release date of Episode 4 and the retail disc (that contains all the episodes plus bonus content).