Case Cover
Monster Hunter Freedom
Case Cover
Game File
Publisher: Capcom
North America Release Date: May 23, 2006
Number of Players: 1 - 4
Wi-fi Mode: Ad-Hoc
When I 1st heard this game coming for the PSP, there was a lot of commotion about it. Having have a PS2 or played the game, I decided to see what it's all about. I brought a copy when it was on sale & was glad that I waited for it as I was a bit iffy about purchasing it.
About the game
It's a slight port of the PS2 version of Monster Hunter with the online internet feature removed. The game is like an online RPG game & is action based. You pick a character & can use any type of weapons for your fighting choice. However, you would probably stick to 1 weapon & treat your character to that certain class. The firmware version required to play this game is 2.60.
Graphics
The graphics are pretty good & makes good use of the PSP's capabilities. It's pretty realistic & the sceneries are very detailed to a single blade of long grass. A slight problem though is that you are can see some of the blocks of the monsters & your character when you go up-close. Also, it can affect the gameplay a bit which I'll explain later on.
Music & Sounds
The sounds are pretty good as they were clean & crisp. I haven't tried using the gunslinger weapons as I'm mostly a blade & spear type of person. The cutting to flesh is quite real, but the thrusting of the poles are somewhat unreal. Also, the attacks reflecting off of your shield doesn't sound right. For the monsters, it's not too bad although it doesn't feel right at times. It's kind of fake at times.
For the voices, you get to choose a number of different types based on gender. There's quite a lot, but most of them didn't sound too good or too similar to others. But the voices here are mainly used when you character attacks or gets hit., so it's mainly grunting sounds.
The music has a heroic feel to it with all the horn instruments played. It's mainly folk style. However, there is very little music here. When you go out to the fields to do your quests, it's mainly sounds of the wind, swamps, & monsters. With the exception of cooking raw meat, there's no quest music.
Gameplay
Basically, you go out there & do your quests. The game plays like an MMORPG type of game as you go out there battling monsters & collecting items. Some people would say this game is a hack & slash type & I'm pretty close on agreeing with that since you go out there & hack away at monsters. However, the game does involve some strategies for attacking some monsters & making your escape. Also, the game isn't simple as it sounds.
Although quest give you around 50 minutes on average to complete, that's more time than need. However, most of the time you would be using that extra time hunting for items to build & improve your weapons & armours. Also, you would be stocking up on inventory & cashing in some money. Also, the battle map is small, so exploring the lands isn't a problem with the exception that some monsters will change on the maps.
Getting a hang of the game can be tough. The game uses the 3rd person view as you travel around the world. Problem with the game is using the camera view angles. There are quite important as you try to fight monster above, straight, or below you. Get your view wrong & you can be pummeled. It's best not to touch the camera view in my opinion, even though there may be monsters above you. As for player control, there are 2 stances: an attack stance & a normal stance. The normal stance is where you travel around freely without your weapon in hand. In the attack stance, you draw your weapon & can only walk. You can't run, which creates problems when running away from a group of monsters or any type of escape. You must disarm yourself into the normal stance in order to run. This can be frustrating if you are new to the game. Be aware that the attack stances are different for each weapon class. Some can allow you block, while others don't.
More things to understand about the game is how it uses the stamina & health meter. The stamina is the amount of strength your character has to fight. Running takes up stamina as well as any special attacks. Over time, the stamina meter goes down. If it reaches a critical point, your character can be in danger despite having a full health meter. There are items that will solve this problem. Speaking of items, your character can carry so little. There may be times where you need to sacrifice some of those rare items you found for cash in order to survive. So planning ahead is quite important.
Aside from going on quests to get items, there is a farm that you can manage to get some items. However, you need to complete a quest in order to get more items from the farm. Once you harvested everything from your farm visit, you can't get anymore until you complete a quest. Chances of getting some rare items though this method is very slim though.
The combination system is quite important. You mix 2 items together to create a new item. However, the success rate isn't 100% as you can be making some junk as well. Also, there is a kitchen where you hire some felines to cook you a dish to improve your character's status.
As mention, the game has ad-hoc abilities to allow you to team up to 4 players to go on special guild quests. You can't take these quests alone. Also, there are 2 player quests where you & another player go out to the fields doing some treasure hunting.
Another thing to note is that you can only have 1 game save file that can store up to 3 characters. So, if you want more characters, you need another Memory Stick Pro Duo. I'm not sure why Capcom did this. Plus, the number of customization features for your character when creating them for the 1st time seems a bit limited. Maybe I'm too picky on style.
Speaking of saving, this game isn't too friendly in that department. The only way you can save your game is going back to your house. You can't save anywhere when you are in the middle of during a quest. There isn't a quick save feature as well. The only way to stop is to put your PSP into sleep mode. This game isn't something you should be playing on bus rides or short trips or breaks. You should really use a lot of time playing this game. This is the reason why I haven't touch this game much over others. Mainly because it's not save friendly for people that have little time to play games.
Story
There doesn't seem to be any story here. Basically you going out there & hunting items that meet the quest requirements.
Extras, Bonuses, & Secrets
If you have the Japanese version, which is called Monster Hunter Portable, you can download new quests to play with. For people that don't have the Japanese version, we don't have the luxury of doing that as the download feature isn't available. There is a gallery available that allows you to see the movies you have collected in the game. Aside from that, there's nothing else.
Replay Value
With so many quests for a single player alone, this game can last you for a long time. Also, you can redo these quests to gain more money & collect items to improve your character's inventory.
Overall Conclusion
Monster Hunter Freedom is a great game that can last you for a long time. It's got so many quests to do & the combination & weapon & armour improvement system, you will be hooked for hours end. However, the game isn't easy to play & the learning curve is a bit high. There's not difficulty level setting & you can be faced with a lot of problems fighting some of the tougher monsters if you are new. Also, this game may not be for everyone due to it's difficulty
Monster Hunter Freedom scores a 8/10 from me. The game can be addicting & hard to put down with it's customization system. However as mention, this isn't for everyone as the game is quite difficult for 1st timers. You can be frustrated with the challenges & the poor camera angles which a lot of people, new & old, seem to be problems with. With some practice & finding the right class for you, this game can be very fun & worth the investment. With the sequel coming out very soon this year, you may as well wait for that than getting this one as it will have more classes & monsters in that one. Plus, this one is really hard to find now.
Last updated on June 28, 2007
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