The Monster Hunter franchise might have only started to pick up steam recently in the U.S., but meanwhile it enjoys immense popularity in Japan. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Capcom has announced another installment in the series.
Monster Hunter X (that X means “cross,” not 10) was announced via a trailer on Capcom’s YouTube channel over the weekend, with a tentative release date of winter 2015. So far, the game has only been announced for Japan, but considering that Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate sold fairly well in the U.S., the game should be headed here at some later date.
Like the last game in the series, Monster Hunter X will be a 3DS exclusive. It won’t require the New Nintendo 3DS, but unless you own a Circle Pad Pro, the game will likely control better on the newer handheld.
As with other Monster Hunter games, you’re sure to see a few (i.e., many) familiar faces and locations if you’ve played previous games in the series. That said, the trailer shows off a number of new locations, monsters, and attacks.
The gameplay in the trailer looks more fast-paced than the game itself ever has, though whether or not Capcom is simply leaving out the slower, more methodical elements for the purposes of a visually exciting trailer is unclear. Either way, the game looks like it has a lot to offer for fans of the series.
Monster Hunter X isn’t the only new entry in the series on the way. In April we saw a trailer for Monster Hunter Stories released. That game is a friendlier, cuter take on the series, eschewing the series’ intense hunts for a more relaxed RPG approach. Monster Hunter Stories is expected to arrive in Japan sometime in 2016. As with Monster Hunter X, no western release date has been announced.
And considering that Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate arrived in the U.S. nearly a year and a half after Monster Hunter 4 was released in Japan, we probably have quite a wait on our hands until we see either game.
