@@sekiro_the_one-armed_wolf I don't think MH invented it, Quest Boards appeared in Trails in the Sky which released only 2 months after MH1(too soon after the release of MH to have been changed to include it), but it very likely popularized it. The concept likely comes from the concept of a Bounty Board often associated with Westerns
The original Monster Hunter & Monster Hunter Dos have a dedicated private server community over at MH Oldschool. If anyone is ever interested in playing the original Monster Hunter experience as it was meant to be, online, I highly recommend you come hunt with us online~ the experience is so different than playing exclusively the offline mode.
You're super right about playing with randos, but I love that your footage during that complaint shows you being completely oblivious to the Barioth getting put to sleep and waking it up with your dual blade combo. That GS was crying.
i pretty much exclusively play with randoms and i've had nothing but absolute fun, ESPECIALLY in mhgu!! everyone has been SO friendly especially compared to other games. there's so much potential for silly situations :)
This is why I watch UA-cam. Tremendous video, Kbash is a workaholic, puts out so many videos, I often wonder where he found the time between vids to play the games, let alone write the script and edit them, and yet the quality remains top notch. Easily one of the top video game analysts on the platform.
I've heard from Pyro, what he does is he writes the script WHILE playing the game. Because then you have your opinion about what you see, what's happening, etc. Fresh in your head.
Honestly, hearing you talk about the camaraderie of MonHun really makes me appreciate the group I've hunted with for the past six or so years. We've got in-jokes about our specific palicos, how some of us seem to have certain monster types magnetized to them. It really does make MonHun feel special.
See my group has the magnetizing thing too but its every monster on one person. Like legitimately, we were fighting Crimson Glow in the Citidel and it literally chased him across the map as they desperately struggled to survive while the 3 other were desperately trying not to puke laughing so hard
The ending speech actually started to make tear up. I remember playing MH4U with friends after school at the local cafe, just hours sitting there with a single (bad) bread bowl between us and free refills, laughing and bonding. As we got older and went our own ways, I've still played every new MH trying to chase that feeling. It's nice to know that people are still gaining a sense of community that's the spirit of MH, and hope that Wilds does the same or even better.
I didn't really have those friends in school who were interested in games like MH. People were into things like CoD and shit like that, and I was just a loner who liked games like MH and dark souls.
Fun fact: in the lore of Monster Hunter, the actual hunters are just a small segment of society, often living on the fringes of civilization. They're kinda seen as weird or eccentric to most common people, but the parts and resources they bring in are essential. They're kinda like how we saw hunters, explorers, frontiersmen, etc in real life back when those were much more essential.
Man same! I remember when it hit the 3DS (yes I was one of THOSE players XD) and I went bananas with a bowgun to the point my hands were cramping. Rise on the Switch brought me right back in, the added mobility really made it a delight.
Taking bets now on whether Kbash will do what he does best and find a way to convey a heartfelt, humanistic message about one of my all-time favorite game series in a way that makes my heart swell, eyes water, and deepen my appreciation for the games, OKAY HERE GOES
It's always so amazing seeing how this series of games that essentially boils down to a series of boss fights has emotionally touched so many people. I literally made my first friend in high school thanks to MH4U, I vividly remember sneaking out of class to go to Gamestop to buy the game, then sneaking back in and showing it off to everyone.
It's honestly a shame you don't have the subs that you deserve. The amount of effort you put into your videos is insane. Now, I didn't watch all of them - but those few that I did (Soulsborne Games, Xeno-games, Persona, Bayonetta, God of War, and a couple of the shorter ones, like Shining Soul which was actually the video that I found you through) were all amazing.
The anxiety talk at the end is both incredibly relevant to Monster Hunter and surprisingly relatable. I want to play with friends so bad but I’m also hesitant to do anything with my voice
Kbash detailing how much of a blast he had with gen ult made me very happy as it was the game that got me into the series and is still my favorite even after playing world and rise.
Gen ult is just everything great about old school MonHunt rolled into one massive package with an absurd amount of monsters to hunt. Rise and World are both amazing in their own rights, but Gen Ult just hits different and really pulls on the nostalgia as someone who started the series with 3 ultimate. I grew up on this version of MH and for that reason it'll always be special to me
Monster Hunter was the series that dragged me out of the viscious cycle of World of Warcraft. I ran into Freedom 1 for the PSP at Gamestop and I dont think I have ever been so entranced by a game series before or after. Between the monsters and the world design i was hooked, learning the map layouts monster movements and weapon movesets was mesmerizing. Now ffw 20ish years and im nearly foaming at the mouth waiting for the next installment. Insanely happy to see you covering the series Kbash, Happy Hunting!
Don’t often comment but I’ve been enjoying your videos for years and years so: thanks for another several hours of exceptional work. I know you work a lot but it’s always so nice to hear your take and thought process and you’ve made me both find news ways of appreciating games, and approaching critical analysis. Could go on but I hope you can find the time to enjoy yourself and keep enjoying doing what you do. Wishing you the best mate
It speaks to how entertaining of a content creator you are when I was engrossed in this entire thing and have never played Monster Hunter. Literally watched it between work shifts and was totally invested the entire time. Fantastic shit.
World also has done a colab with final fantasy with fighting a Behemoth. As well as the Witcher. Elden Ring has also Inspired the Great Katana move set from the LongSword moveset. One only hope for a from software collaboration some day
Fun fact: In MH1 you actually *can* kill the Rathalos in the egg quest he shows up in. You can even kill him before so much as going near a Velocidrome. It just takes forever and takes a lot of grinding beforehand.
Bro, you are an absolute beast for this remarkable coverage. Thank you for this topic i hold near and dear. Awesome video man and I too miss my dearly beloved sword oil.
2:07:21 Oh my God THANK YOU. For so long I've heard old Monster Hunter heads complaining about the new maps, specifically the forest for reasons that, to be completely honest, I have never bothered to understand. It's so refreshing to hear someone that actually played the old games share my opinion on the Monster Hunter World maps.
I love the way the cat is just sitting there while KBash throws the clothes on'em and the cat is just like, "Yeah, whatever. You just make sure my snacks are ready later."
3U was my introduction, and it was the truest "Proper" playthrough I had through the whole series, complete with three other friends, two very close apartment rooms, and forgiving college schedules. Roughly 200 hours just to get into G-Rank, plus about another hundred to reach and beat Dire Miralis. We. LOVED. Those days. Months and months of great times. I also miss swimming, and underwater combat. With polish I think they'd be more than accepted in today's modern environment. Also Moga Village, every day of my life. Your first Monster Hunter Village really hits different, and never quite leaves you. 4U is the one I have the most hours in (close to a thousand) and when I really opened up to the idea of playing online with Randoms. I finally learned how to play Bow properly, got decent-to-great with a healthy variety of weapons that let me challenge basically anything adequately, and just... played to hunt. Friends dropped off after awhile cause life got busier, but we still had great times. Still one of my favorites. Generations and its Ultimate were fantastic. An absolutely staggering number of quests and variety of monsters and combinations, with stellar new favorites and plenty of returning oldies. It really was the shift into "anime" for the series, quite a bit more than 4, but... what a good ride. I still miss Hunter skills, like absolutely breaking damage logic with the Switch Axe infinite buff combo. World was and is the game that stands the test of time. The polish on it is phenomenal, and I still have friends that I play with semi-regularly in it. Including new friends that just got in mere months ago at time of writing. I've got my gripes with it, especially the base game and the lack of consequence for some negligence, like being able to eat during hunts now, but Iceborne fixed most of my real issues and the rest are me being a hipster saying "the old games' pacings were better!". Mere internal gripes that I shouldn't even listen to. It's a fantastic game that speaks for itself. And... I don't really care for Rise, lol. It's a great game, very fast paced. Too fast paced for what I associate the series with. Like an Arcade Mode speedrun through fights. It just didn't do it for me, even if the movement is super fluid and fun. I do NOT knock anyone that likes it. I think I just burnt out of the series on the whole at the point I started it. I've been playing the games for like, a decade now. I need to get to SunBreak though. I've heard it's good, and I like all the changes I've heard it brings. May give it a shot sometime. But the most important of all are the memories. I'll never forget some injokes and Attack Names that my group gave for some moves, just so we could communicate and stay alive in harder fights. Great times.
This might be my favourite essay of yours yet. Admittedly it is largely because I'm impressed by how quickly and how comprehensively you came to understand all the finer nuances of the series, notably critiquing yet understanding the big shift in direction for the series into something more action-y. But most of all, your closing discussion about all the beautiful ways your online experienced helped really resonated with me on a personal level corny as it sounds. I deal with anxiety a lot and a lot of is social. For the longest time I was terrified of interacting with strangers online. Not to mention that I was basically unable to get into the older games (minus Stories) because I got screwed over trying to solo it. But eventually I got into the series properly with World and I owe it to a good friend of mine I met on tumblr some years back. We had a strong friendship going before then, and we helped each other through some tough spots in life. So naturally he helped carry me through World/Iceborne so I could get the full MonHun experience--more importantly it was another thing that me and him could bond over and I appreciated that just as much as his ability to back me up with his crazy endgame level equipment. There's so much I love about monster hunter as a series, so much of which you also covered in your essay but I appreciate your ability to find the humanity in it most of all. Enjoy your break KBash. You earned it. OH AND WAS THAT A FRIGGIN GRAVITY RUSH CAMEO?!
Man I got into Monster Hunter way back on the PSP and I still hold so many fond memories of playing MHFU with my friends. We had like 7-9 people playing the games all at once and the ability to just hang out and play together is special. The talk about community, camaraderie, and experiencing the game together rings so true. I love this series and can't wait to see where we go next with Wilds. You captured the series beautifully and it was a great deep dive into the games you played! Thanks for another fantastic video as always!
Great video!!! It was so cool to see this finally come out! Very fun to be seeing this after all those cool streams in the discord. Well Done KBash. Here’s to you and the community.
I've been so excited to see this video since you posted on Twitter about the Bulldrome! And I gotta say, you hit the nail on the head with this one. Me and the boys have spent many an afternoon and late night hunting and I will take that experience, the laughs, the build idea sessions, getting folded by monsters in high or master rank that have one nasty ass move that I can't seem to evade, literally any day for as long as I can get it.
Finished the video! Awesome video bro, I loved it. U convinced me to go back and start playing MH again, gotta finish Rise and maybe go back to Generations Ultimate
I'm really starting to warm up to the long form content. It's really good analysis that i can relax to! I started watching this change in 2020 while i was stuck at home pregnant with my son, and your vids have been a source of comfort since! Three years, and a second kid later; you're still going. Please never stop,your channel is a gem 😭
Another gamer based and monster hunter pilled - really glad you stuck this one out to find your love for the games (even though it's perfectly fine if some people never get attached, it's a very niche kind of game loop).
it is really wild to hear your takeaway from mh1 as someone who was on the ps2 network back in the day. yes i beat monoblos and fatalis and yes you should run. but the attitude in minegard back then was that the village quests -- everything about the game you can still access today, and everything you're referring to -- that's the tutorial, man. everything up to monoblos and the sword in the stone. mh1 offline is like 10% of the game. all the red-named HR20 cool cats online falling asleep at the tavern tables think you've just graduated baby school. just throws me for a loop thinking back on those days.
Home decorating and capturing exotic endemic life is unironically the reason I kept playing World after beating Fatalis so much longer than any other MonHun game, even having stsrted with Tri. Rise had better combat, but being stuck in a floorless mudhut boiler room and a midtier ship cabin even as the guy who saved the kingdom just made me feel decidedly unappreciated and disinclined to keep going. In World, the Saphire Star was so important that one of the first buildings made in Seliana was a luxerious mansion for you while most people were living in tents. In Rise, the Fierce Flame Of Kamura and savior of the kingdom was still living in a shed without a goddamn floor after slaying a demon god.
As a long time monster hunter fan, this video was incredible. Love how you dissected where the two different genres of monster hunter exist and split while also being incredibly entertaining and heartfelt!
I absolutely love the effort and time put into this, I started playing with 4U, and World solidified it as one of my top 3 franchises. This is such a good video going over the series as a whole, great work
I'm working my way backward through the series, and I'm at Portable 3rd right now. Slowly losing the systems and small adjustments that made things more comfortable game by game has been a really fun challenge as someone who likes to say he's a veteran despite only playing since 4U. I'm gonna hunt em all! Also, you saying dragon instead of wyvern over and over drove me nuts. I play these games too much to be annoyed by that lol.
The part at the end about building a community with fellow hunters is so real. Back during 2021 quarantine was hitting me really hard, and I still haven't recovered from that social isolation. Around that time I played my first Monster Hunter game (MHRise) and I attribute my very thin bit of sanity left to that game and its community. I have so many memories of playing with people in World and Rise, and I'm so blessed for every second I spent with those people. I have a lot of regrets from that time in my life, but not a single one is from being involved with Monster Hunter. Cant wait for Wilds!
I always find myself at a lost for words sometimes with your skill in writing It's shown throughout this giant video, but especially at the end when you talk about the multiplayer experience with your community in 5th gen I don't know if you majored in it, studied in it, or was a writer as a hobby, but it really makes these videos just the most enjoyable things to watch and listen to You mentioned a couple times about the grueling production process meaning that you'll probably always miss the finer details of these games you play, but that being the case, I'm happy that you were able to give them a shot regardless, engage them for what they are, have a really well written video at the end for it Cheers, and thanks too
I agree with alot, but you lost me on the world commentary, at least regarding iceborne. We didnt go to the new area to go and hunt stuff to extinction, let alone an elder dragon. The commison went there because there was a large migration of legiana heading somewhere, seemingly in a hurry, and the commission is primarily there to figure out what is happening in the new world and settle into the new land. It turned into hunting velkhana when we saw that it was attacking other monsters and heading to elders recess to absorb energy from the bio-crystals. Eventually we found out about shar ishvalda and had to take it out before it damaged/destabilized the continent.
It's finally done! Good stuff man. I like waiting til the full release instead of checking the patron stuff. Wish I'd had more time, I would have tried to jump in while you were playing on the discord.
That bit about playing with randoms is real. I remember fighting ATKT with three randoms and at the final phase KT got a triple kill with one charge and failed our quest. We had broken the horns, cut off the tail, we were doing good. But the three of them got low and KT charged and got all three of them in one go. I've got a video of it on my channel. I had to save it for posterity.
Seriously, congrats on this video. I just watched this in 3 segments in a day; and the first video to introduce me to your content. I can’t even fathom the time and effort that must have gone in making this. I thoroughly enjoyed your commentary on the experience of this series. Will be watching more!
Ahh the ending is so good, honestly I think your thoughts represent more than half of the people out there, everyone… do good to other people as much as you can, be nice, be kind, be considerate
Man that speech at the end really resonated with me...but the accidentally pushing yourself into another zone's loading screen while attacking was like looking into a mirror lol.
I'm actually so happy you did Tri instead of 3U, Tri was the first game in the series that clicked for me (started with FU) and as much as I love 3U, it just FEELS super different than Tri!
I got into Armored Core and watched your entire lineage video on the series and ADORED IT. Then I just got into MHR this week, looked up a video, clicked on yours, and... halfway through the video I'm like "wait this guy sounds familiar" BAM It is Fr tho my dude you put out great stuff and I love your enthusiasm to look through every game in a long running franchise :3
Just played the Wilds demo and I am finally looking forward to MH since tri. I never liked any of the other games for a variety of reasons but it feels like a real sequel to tri the fight was big and tense the world feels open to explore I have waited so long to be happy about MH again and I’m finally here
Holy shit a new Kbash video about the best franchise of all time. Also I appreciate the "Proof of a hero" flute-playing in the beginning, what a banger
I was reminded of what monster Hunter means to me when you started listing the things that you will never forget about the game and I really love that. The things that happen in your lonesome are very memorable but what happens with friends and other people is the most special
I really didn't expect that I'd be tearing up by the time I made it to the end of the video, but man those final 10 minutes got me good. I started with MHW when Iceborne hit PC in early 2020 and despite the rocky time that year was, all throughout it I was playing World with a group of my closest friends, building precious memories while sharing laughs and creating in-jokes about all the quirks and insane moments that just occurred naturally through gameplay, waiting for every new update, and overcoming some of the hardest challenges I've faced in a game. There's something incredibly special about experiencing all of that with your friends by your side. I've played a ton of games both solo & online since I was a kid and no gaming experience has ever felt as magical for me as that year of being engrossed in MH with the boys. I can still vividly remember climbing through Master Rank and waiting to see what was next, silly event quests, grinding in the guiding lands for hours, doing Safi's raid for the first time and the joy when we fully cut off its tail for the first time, running into the absolute wall that Alatreon was when he first dropped and the pure surge of motivation when we finally made it past the DPS check for the first time, now knowing that it was possible, or the overwhelming swell of relief, joy, and pride when we finally put Fatalis in the dirt after what seemed like a completely insurmountable battle. These memories usually lie dormant until something pings a reminder for me and that wonder and nostalgia start flooding back in. And when it does, it hits hard. I've never really sat down introspectively and thought about it, but you summarized it perfectly, so thank you.
I started with 3 ultimate with my partner and have loved the series ever since, really excited for Wilds to come out and see where the series evolves to next
I thought tri-u was peak, then 4u, generations, and then world. And every time i just cant believe how good the next game is. Even now i dunno how wilds could possibly top world, but i know not to doubt the mh teams. Almost 20yrs now and this series just continues to impress me every time. Downloadable quests on handhelds to in season festivals. Arekz and gaijin hunter to team darkside. What a ride it has been and continues to be. Great video
Holy shit I’m crying that ending speech was so unexpected but so incredibly wonderful. This IS the best Monster Hunter media (better and more emotional than the movie or shows)
Your praise at the end is something o preach very often. I’ve played since the first game with outbreak 1 and 2. Wanted other online games for my ps2 besides ffxi. Since then it’s maybe my favorite series that I just jump in for a sort of zen. I have lost buddies over the years thru them losing interest or something else. Rise is maybe my favorite so far and I’m sure wilds will replace it and I’m hoping by then I’ll find like minded individuals to go on that journey with.
Man I feel like I gotta apologize to you. Your videos have been a constant feature of my recommendations for over a year now, and I never watched one due to being hesitant to watch a long ass video from a channel I'm not familiar with. But I fell asleep with auto-play on and woke up to this vid after I've been on a MH tirade since seeing the Wilds demo, and upon waking up and being roused by the sound of your voice... I sat up... And said... Damn this dude's actually pretty funny And proceeded to watch the whole vid from the start So yeah. You got me!
"It's a game where it takes awhile to click" Not to brag, but I feel like I was one of the lucky few where it clicked the week I started playing it (MHFU when I was about 12 years old). I honestly do not know how my teen brain managed to click with a game that would be considered clunky nowadays, but I'm not complaining.
If this vid pops off you better do a killing Fatalis video for world that would be awesome. Great vid happy you seemed to enjoy MH as much as I've been lately.
To be honest I feel like the Monster Hunter World weapon designs are an actual issue (at least the bad ones are) because you can have grounded weapon designs without having to make a chunk of them "the basic bone/metal weapon with monster bits glued onto the sides" and if anything is more unrealistic like "You're telling me this metal sword can now poison things because it has some green feathers around the hilt?"
Agreed and honestly there are plenty of pieces of equipment that are cool and unique even among new weapons. There are weapons from older games that remain unique and others that are the weird copy paste from the same monster. It feels less like an artistic choice and more so cutting corners and it’s bothersome.
I had a weird start with monster hunter. I borrowed Freedom Unite from a friend, tried all the weapons, couldn't get past the sluggishness of everything, decided I didn't like it and gave it back. I tried to pick it up on my own a few times with the same result. Then a few of my friends got into it and kept telling me to play with them. I reluctantly tried again, this time co-oping with my friends. But we kept dying to each monster because I was garbage at the game. They kept suggesting different weapons to try and then we realized they all had shields or some way to block so they suggested I pick up HBG and just used them as shields. It didn't work but I had by far the most fun with the game trying it and the HBG felt like my calling. I studied all the guides on HBG, learning the ins and outs of its mechanics, math, damage values, range, etc. Before I knew it I was one of those HBG players that could solo monsters in their face.
57:29 happy you chose this game This is the one my best friend started with, the reason he loves the franchise Glad I found a random video retrospective I started with World and didn’t know if I should go back to the old games Appropriate the video
Excellent restrospective! Although I've only played Rise, it's really fascinating how humble roots Monster Hunter had in the beginning and how it evolved so much over the years.
So nice to finally see World/IB love from someone who persevered through the OG games. I'm a fourth gen hunter and World has remained my favorite game since launch day.
Look. I'll watch most of the MH videos that pop up on my feed but i have to take a moment to say... I'm incredibly jealous of your gorgeous hair. You even took a moment to show it off, you bastard lol I'm liking for the hair! And also because i found the video enjoyable 👍
Heckin' crazy surprise to find this in my sub feed, great work. Swapping Dos for Freedom Unite was an option, but Dos is better for this video's purposes, ie. being comprehensive without ending a poor gamer's life. Still, if you ever find yourself with free time, some people consider Freedom Unite to be the apex of old Monster Hunter. 3U is also a surprisingly different game than Tri.
Maybe the developers want me to play online, but I will always be a solo hunter, it's much more fun for me, even since the early entries 🗿. By the way, someone must be crazy to consider Rise a spin-off when it's basically XX 2 and in many ways is a better successor to the fourth generation than World. I also think it's a little sad that you won't experience the G rank of any of the pre-World games and that you don't get too far into the post games and therefore the bigger and cooler challenges. But good video even tho
Monster Hunter is so important it appears in the ending of the Academy Award-nominated 2022 film Tár
It's so important the system of questing appears in many many generic isekais
@@MesaAufenhandI’ve been playing this game for 10 years and it has never occurred to me that it might have invented that aspect of fantasy settings.
@@sekiro_the_one-armed_wolf you fool why its so important it created the term "monsters"!
Tar is genuinely one of the best films I've seen this decade so far. The MH cameo was just icing on the cake.
@@sekiro_the_one-armed_wolf I don't think MH invented it, Quest Boards appeared in Trails in the Sky which released only 2 months after MH1(too soon after the release of MH to have been changed to include it), but it very likely popularized it. The concept likely comes from the concept of a Bounty Board often associated with Westerns
“Monster Hunter is Cocomelon for the unemployed” is certainly a phrase.
Haven't made it to this section yet
1:48:50
I am unemployed and getting back into World is keeping me that way
oh god
Most game today feel more like a fulltime job to be honest than fun
The original Monster Hunter & Monster Hunter Dos have a dedicated private server community over at MH Oldschool. If anyone is ever interested in playing the original Monster Hunter experience as it was meant to be, online, I highly recommend you come hunt with us online~ the experience is so different than playing exclusively the offline mode.
Are these servers accessible by someone playing on an Emulator, or would it have to be on original hardware?
Don't forget Tri's revitalized servers as well, and the Frontier project.
@@Valenrist You can access with both
@@Valenrist both work. Anything that can play PS2 games and connect to the network should work
@@scubajho I know about those, but because I don't work on those servers, I didn't think to include it, so my bad.
You're super right about playing with randos, but I love that your footage during that complaint shows you being completely oblivious to the Barioth getting put to sleep and waking it up with your dual blade combo. That GS was crying.
And every clip with glaive before the 2nd hour lacking buffs O.O
big yikes
Or him not using flinch free while playing with randos. That's some real self flagellation.
i pretty much exclusively play with randoms and i've had nothing but absolute fun, ESPECIALLY in mhgu!! everyone has been SO friendly especially compared to other games. there's so much potential for silly situations :)
He's the rando lol
“I let my assumptions deprive me of joy too often,” hit me like a truck load of bricks. What a statement.
This is why I watch UA-cam. Tremendous video, Kbash is a workaholic, puts out so many videos, I often wonder where he found the time between vids to play the games, let alone write the script and edit them, and yet the quality remains top notch. Easily one of the top video game analysts on the platform.
I've heard from Pyro, what he does is he writes the script WHILE playing the game. Because then you have your opinion about what you see, what's happening, etc. Fresh in your head.
Honestly, hearing you talk about the camaraderie of MonHun really makes me appreciate the group I've hunted with for the past six or so years. We've got in-jokes about our specific palicos, how some of us seem to have certain monster types magnetized to them. It really does make MonHun feel special.
See my group has the magnetizing thing too but its every monster on one person. Like legitimately, we were fighting Crimson Glow in the Citidel and it literally chased him across the map as they desperately struggled to survive while the 3 other were desperately trying not to puke laughing so hard
How do you guys make a group and have a set schedule? Where did u meet? I’ve been solo since 4U bro and I’ve played every game since.
That sounds really special. I've always been solo, never found people to play with.
The ending speech actually started to make tear up. I remember playing MH4U with friends after school at the local cafe, just hours sitting there with a single (bad) bread bowl between us and free refills, laughing and bonding. As we got older and went our own ways, I've still played every new MH trying to chase that feeling. It's nice to know that people are still gaining a sense of community that's the spirit of MH, and hope that Wilds does the same or even better.
I'd love to play MH with someone else too!
I hopped on with world and played that and rise mostly solo and with randos.
Having a dedicated and familiar group sounds so great🥲
This is genuinely amazing 😢
I didn't really have those friends in school who were interested in games like MH. People were into things like CoD and shit like that, and I was just a loner who liked games like MH and dark souls.
Fun fact: in the lore of Monster Hunter, the actual hunters are just a small segment of society, often living on the fringes of civilization. They're kinda seen as weird or eccentric to most common people, but the parts and resources they bring in are essential. They're kinda like how we saw hunters, explorers, frontiersmen, etc in real life back when those were much more essential.
4U is the game that actually got me into Monster Hunter and it's still my favorite in the series. That was some fun video game right there.
4u PEAK MH GAME IMO
Man same! I remember when it hit the 3DS (yes I was one of THOSE players XD) and I went bananas with a bowgun to the point my hands were cramping. Rise on the Switch brought me right back in, the added mobility really made it a delight.
Ditto!
Tri here, but by 4U I was obsessed.
Doodle!
"not tonight babe, a UA-camr just released a 3 hour video on a subject I know nothing about"
Time to start playing MH and become one of us, one of us, one of us
One of us! One of us! One of us!
Gooba Gabba Gooba Gabba!
Be one with us you won’t regret it man
Well did ya pick it up
Following this channel for 5+ years and currently on a MH journey of my own, this one is just special.
Taking bets now on whether Kbash will do what he does best and find a way to convey a heartfelt, humanistic message about one of my all-time favorite game series in a way that makes my heart swell, eyes water, and deepen my appreciation for the games, OKAY HERE GOES
YUP. HE DID IT.
@@TheCrawl It's a wonderful thing Kbash cured his social anxiety by... Socializing. But really, this is a great video about a great series of games.
It's always so amazing seeing how this series of games that essentially boils down to a series of boss fights has emotionally touched so many people.
I literally made my first friend in high school thanks to MH4U, I vividly remember sneaking out of class to go to Gamestop to buy the game, then sneaking back in and showing it off to everyone.
Real.
It's honestly a shame you don't have the subs that you deserve. The amount of effort you put into your videos is insane. Now, I didn't watch all of them - but those few that I did (Soulsborne Games, Xeno-games, Persona, Bayonetta, God of War, and a couple of the shorter ones, like Shining Soul which was actually the video that I found you through) were all amazing.
The anxiety talk at the end is both incredibly relevant to Monster Hunter and surprisingly relatable. I want to play with friends so bad but I’m also hesitant to do anything with my voice
Kbash detailing how much of a blast he had with gen ult made me very happy as it was the game that got me into the series and is still my favorite even after playing world and rise.
Gen ult is just everything great about old school MonHunt rolled into one massive package with an absurd amount of monsters to hunt. Rise and World are both amazing in their own rights, but Gen Ult just hits different and really pulls on the nostalgia as someone who started the series with 3 ultimate. I grew up on this version of MH and for that reason it'll always be special to me
Seeing peepholes of K-Bash's journey on twitter was an excellent prolonged prelude to this movie like video
Monster Hunter was the series that dragged me out of the viscious cycle of World of Warcraft. I ran into Freedom 1 for the PSP at Gamestop and I dont think I have ever been so entranced by a game series before or after. Between the monsters and the world design i was hooked, learning the map layouts monster movements and weapon movesets was mesmerizing. Now ffw 20ish years and im nearly foaming at the mouth waiting for the next installment. Insanely happy to see you covering the series Kbash, Happy Hunting!
Don’t often comment but I’ve been enjoying your videos for years and years so: thanks for another several hours of exceptional work. I know you work a lot but it’s always so nice to hear your take and thought process and you’ve made me both find news ways of appreciating games, and approaching critical analysis. Could go on but I hope you can find the time to enjoy yourself and keep enjoying doing what you do. Wishing you the best mate
Your speech at the end was absolutely beautiful! An amazing way to end such a big awesome video!
It speaks to how entertaining of a content creator you are when I was engrossed in this entire thing and have never played Monster Hunter.
Literally watched it between work shifts and was totally invested the entire time. Fantastic shit.
monster hunter is also so important, that rathalos, the same guy from the smash and metal gear crossover, is fightable in final fantasy 14.
AND Phantasy Star Online 2!
You can put Rathalos armor on Sonic the Hedgehog in Sonic Frontiers. For free!
World also has done a colab with final fantasy with fighting a Behemoth. As well as the Witcher. Elden Ring has also Inspired the Great Katana move set from the LongSword moveset. One only hope for a from software collaboration some day
Fun fact: In MH1 you actually *can* kill the Rathalos in the egg quest he shows up in. You can even kill him before so much as going near a Velocidrome. It just takes forever and takes a lot of grinding beforehand.
Bro, you are an absolute beast for this remarkable coverage. Thank you for this topic i hold near and dear. Awesome video man and I too miss my dearly beloved sword oil.
2:07:21 Oh my God THANK YOU.
For so long I've heard old Monster Hunter heads complaining about the new maps, specifically the forest for reasons that, to be completely honest, I have never bothered to understand.
It's so refreshing to hear someone that actually played the old games share my opinion on the Monster Hunter World maps.
I love the way the cat is just sitting there while KBash throws the clothes on'em and the cat is just like, "Yeah, whatever. You just make sure my snacks are ready later."
3U was my introduction, and it was the truest "Proper" playthrough I had through the whole series, complete with three other friends, two very close apartment rooms, and forgiving college schedules. Roughly 200 hours just to get into G-Rank, plus about another hundred to reach and beat Dire Miralis. We. LOVED. Those days. Months and months of great times.
I also miss swimming, and underwater combat. With polish I think they'd be more than accepted in today's modern environment. Also Moga Village, every day of my life. Your first Monster Hunter Village really hits different, and never quite leaves you.
4U is the one I have the most hours in (close to a thousand) and when I really opened up to the idea of playing online with Randoms. I finally learned how to play Bow properly, got decent-to-great with a healthy variety of weapons that let me challenge basically anything adequately, and just... played to hunt. Friends dropped off after awhile cause life got busier, but we still had great times. Still one of my favorites.
Generations and its Ultimate were fantastic. An absolutely staggering number of quests and variety of monsters and combinations, with stellar new favorites and plenty of returning oldies. It really was the shift into "anime" for the series, quite a bit more than 4, but... what a good ride. I still miss Hunter skills, like absolutely breaking damage logic with the Switch Axe infinite buff combo.
World was and is the game that stands the test of time. The polish on it is phenomenal, and I still have friends that I play with semi-regularly in it. Including new friends that just got in mere months ago at time of writing. I've got my gripes with it, especially the base game and the lack of consequence for some negligence, like being able to eat during hunts now, but Iceborne fixed most of my real issues and the rest are me being a hipster saying "the old games' pacings were better!". Mere internal gripes that I shouldn't even listen to. It's a fantastic game that speaks for itself.
And... I don't really care for Rise, lol. It's a great game, very fast paced. Too fast paced for what I associate the series with. Like an Arcade Mode speedrun through fights. It just didn't do it for me, even if the movement is super fluid and fun. I do NOT knock anyone that likes it. I think I just burnt out of the series on the whole at the point I started it. I've been playing the games for like, a decade now.
I need to get to SunBreak though. I've heard it's good, and I like all the changes I've heard it brings. May give it a shot sometime.
But the most important of all are the memories. I'll never forget some injokes and Attack Names that my group gave for some moves, just so we could communicate and stay alive in harder fights. Great times.
your videos are always filled with so much passion its hard not to tear up alongside you. keep on keeping on, you're making something incredible here
And filled with so many ads 😅
This might be my favourite essay of yours yet. Admittedly it is largely because I'm impressed by how quickly and how comprehensively you came to understand all the finer nuances of the series, notably critiquing yet understanding the big shift in direction for the series into something more action-y. But most of all, your closing discussion about all the beautiful ways your online experienced helped really resonated with me on a personal level corny as it sounds.
I deal with anxiety a lot and a lot of is social. For the longest time I was terrified of interacting with strangers online. Not to mention that I was basically unable to get into the older games (minus Stories) because I got screwed over trying to solo it. But eventually I got into the series properly with World and I owe it to a good friend of mine I met on tumblr some years back. We had a strong friendship going before then, and we helped each other through some tough spots in life. So naturally he helped carry me through World/Iceborne so I could get the full MonHun experience--more importantly it was another thing that me and him could bond over and I appreciated that just as much as his ability to back me up with his crazy endgame level equipment. There's so much I love about monster hunter as a series, so much of which you also covered in your essay but I appreciate your ability to find the humanity in it most of all.
Enjoy your break KBash. You earned it.
OH AND WAS THAT A FRIGGIN GRAVITY RUSH CAMEO?!
Man I got into Monster Hunter way back on the PSP and I still hold so many fond memories of playing MHFU with my friends. We had like 7-9 people playing the games all at once and the ability to just hang out and play together is special. The talk about community, camaraderie, and experiencing the game together rings so true. I love this series and can't wait to see where we go next with Wilds. You captured the series beautifully and it was a great deep dive into the games you played! Thanks for another fantastic video as always!
Great video!!! It was so cool to see this finally come out! Very fun to be seeing this after all those cool streams in the discord. Well Done KBash. Here’s to you and the community.
I've been so excited to see this video since you posted on Twitter about the Bulldrome! And I gotta say, you hit the nail on the head with this one. Me and the boys have spent many an afternoon and late night hunting and I will take that experience, the laughs, the build idea sessions, getting folded by monsters in high or master rank that have one nasty ass move that I can't seem to evade, literally any day for as long as I can get it.
great video as always! super happy to see you tackle one of my fave series
This video couldn't come at a better time 'cause my friend invited me to a D&D campaign with a MH-inspired expansion and I'm so HYPED
Finished the video! Awesome video bro, I loved it. U convinced me to go back and start playing MH again, gotta finish Rise and maybe go back to Generations Ultimate
It is time to watch another 2+ hour KBash vid about games I never played. And I will enjoy myself. Immensely! Thank you for your hard work!!
I'm really starting to warm up to the long form content. It's really good analysis that i can relax to! I started watching this change in 2020 while i was stuck at home pregnant with my son, and your vids have been a source of comfort since! Three years, and a second kid later; you're still going. Please never stop,your channel is a gem 😭
I am in awe and fear at the thought of a kid that listened to Kbash in the womb. Jokes aside, congrats for the kids!
Another gamer based and monster hunter pilled - really glad you stuck this one out to find your love for the games (even though it's perfectly fine if some people never get attached, it's a very niche kind of game loop).
it is really wild to hear your takeaway from mh1 as someone who was on the ps2 network back in the day. yes i beat monoblos and fatalis and yes you should run.
but the attitude in minegard back then was that the village quests -- everything about the game you can still access today, and everything you're referring to -- that's the tutorial, man. everything up to monoblos and the sword in the stone. mh1 offline is like 10% of the game. all the red-named HR20 cool cats online falling asleep at the tavern tables think you've just graduated baby school. just throws me for a loop thinking back on those days.
do you still have your original save file?
@@Adam-jr4lx i might? i still have a ps2 slim in a box somewhere. dunno if i've still got the same little blue memory card.
Been a fan for years, but i still watch Kbash credits all the way thru, one of the few people who make them genuinly fun to watch. Stay fantastic man.
Omg yes please my favorite video essayist covering my favorite game franchise, I’m scared and excited at the same time
Oh hellyea! I've been looking forward to this video for some time. Can't wait to sit down and watch it in pieces over the next two weeks.
Home decorating and capturing exotic endemic life is unironically the reason I kept playing World after beating Fatalis so much longer than any other MonHun game, even having stsrted with Tri. Rise had better combat, but being stuck in a floorless mudhut boiler room and a midtier ship cabin even as the guy who saved the kingdom just made me feel decidedly unappreciated and disinclined to keep going. In World, the Saphire Star was so important that one of the first buildings made in Seliana was a luxerious mansion for you while most people were living in tents. In Rise, the Fierce Flame Of Kamura and savior of the kingdom was still living in a shed without a goddamn floor after slaying a demon god.
As a long time monster hunter fan, this video was incredible. Love how you dissected where the two different genres of monster hunter exist and split while also being incredibly entertaining and heartfelt!
i love this video, favourite essay you've made, fantastic work!
I absolutely love the effort and time put into this, I started playing with 4U, and World solidified it as one of my top 3 franchises. This is such a good video going over the series as a whole, great work
I'm working my way backward through the series, and I'm at Portable 3rd right now. Slowly losing the systems and small adjustments that made things more comfortable game by game has been a really fun challenge as someone who likes to say he's a veteran despite only playing since 4U.
I'm gonna hunt em all!
Also, you saying dragon instead of wyvern over and over drove me nuts. I play these games too much to be annoyed by that lol.
Insane production quality and storytelling! Half-ways through this video and really enjoying it.
The part at the end about building a community with fellow hunters is so real. Back during 2021 quarantine was hitting me really hard, and I still haven't recovered from that social isolation. Around that time I played my first Monster Hunter game (MHRise) and I attribute my very thin bit of sanity left to that game and its community. I have so many memories of playing with people in World and Rise, and I'm so blessed for every second I spent with those people. I have a lot of regrets from that time in my life, but not a single one is from being involved with Monster Hunter. Cant wait for Wilds!
I always find myself at a lost for words sometimes with your skill in writing
It's shown throughout this giant video, but especially at the end when you talk about the multiplayer experience with your community in 5th gen
I don't know if you majored in it, studied in it, or was a writer as a hobby, but it really makes these videos just the most enjoyable things to watch and listen to
You mentioned a couple times about the grueling production process meaning that you'll probably always miss the finer details of these games you play, but that being the case, I'm happy that you were able to give them a shot regardless, engage them for what they are, have a really well written video at the end for it
Cheers, and thanks too
I was just thinking of buying world again and now this I think it’s a sign to sink countless hours into a game after a breakup.
I agree with alot, but you lost me on the world commentary, at least regarding iceborne. We didnt go to the new area to go and hunt stuff to extinction, let alone an elder dragon.
The commison went there because there was a large migration of legiana heading somewhere, seemingly in a hurry, and the commission is primarily there to figure out what is happening in the new world and settle into the new land. It turned into hunting velkhana when we saw that it was attacking other monsters and heading to elders recess to absorb energy from the bio-crystals. Eventually we found out about shar ishvalda and had to take it out before it damaged/destabilized the continent.
It's finally done! Good stuff man. I like waiting til the full release instead of checking the patron stuff. Wish I'd had more time, I would have tried to jump in while you were playing on the discord.
25:09 bruh why are the reflections so good for a game made in 2004.
I'll admit. I've been praying for the Gobble and Nibelsnarf to return for years.
Nibelsnarf is love, Nibelsnarf is life.
Also Tetsucabra is king
That bit about playing with randoms is real.
I remember fighting ATKT with three randoms and at the final phase KT got a triple kill with one charge and failed our quest. We had broken the horns, cut off the tail, we were doing good.
But the three of them got low and KT charged and got all three of them in one go.
I've got a video of it on my channel. I had to save it for posterity.
You’re one of my favorite UA-camrs. Keep it up
Seriously, congrats on this video. I just watched this in 3 segments in a day; and the first video to introduce me to your content. I can’t even fathom the time and effort that must have gone in making this. I thoroughly enjoyed your commentary on the experience of this series. Will be watching more!
Ahh the ending is so good, honestly I think your thoughts represent more than half of the people out there, everyone… do good to other people as much as you can, be nice, be kind, be considerate
Finally, I've been waiting for this video since I stumbled upon this channel years ago.
I still believe that 4th gen is not old style nor new style, but the perfect balance of both.
Awesome video. I loved it! It gave me a new perspective and understanding of what games are, and how I can approach them differently in the future.
Man that speech at the end really resonated with me...but the accidentally pushing yourself into another zone's loading screen while attacking was like looking into a mirror lol.
I'm actually so happy you did Tri instead of 3U, Tri was the first game in the series that clicked for me (started with FU) and as much as I love 3U, it just FEELS super different than Tri!
I got into Armored Core and watched your entire lineage video on the series and ADORED IT. Then I just got into MHR this week, looked up a video, clicked on yours, and... halfway through the video I'm like "wait this guy sounds familiar"
BAM
It is
Fr tho my dude you put out great stuff and I love your enthusiasm to look through every game in a long running franchise :3
Thanks for covering world and iceborne! I’m so excited for wilds
the Patrons allowed this man to cook, and he made a fucking 5 course meal.
Just played the Wilds demo and I am finally looking forward to MH since tri. I never liked any of the other games for a variety of reasons but it feels like a real sequel to tri the fight was big and tense the world feels open to explore I have waited so long to be happy about MH again and I’m finally here
Holy shit a new Kbash video about the best franchise of all time. Also I appreciate the "Proof of a hero" flute-playing in the beginning, what a banger
I was reminded of what monster Hunter means to me when you started listing the things that you will never forget about the game and I really love that. The things that happen in your lonesome are very memorable but what happens with friends and other people is the most special
Im crying right now, thanks you for giving me the opportunity to remember my 4U journey
Sick vid!
thanks, kbash. you're always there and you're the best thx thx thx
Yoo I never knew that Toki Wartooth had started his own channel in his hay day about video games 🤘😝
You can't jumpscare us like that at 2:27 - I almost felt the bones leave my body.
I really didn't expect that I'd be tearing up by the time I made it to the end of the video, but man those final 10 minutes got me good.
I started with MHW when Iceborne hit PC in early 2020 and despite the rocky time that year was, all throughout it I was playing World with a group of my closest friends, building precious memories while sharing laughs and creating in-jokes about all the quirks and insane moments that just occurred naturally through gameplay, waiting for every new update, and overcoming some of the hardest challenges I've faced in a game.
There's something incredibly special about experiencing all of that with your friends by your side. I've played a ton of games both solo & online since I was a kid and no gaming experience has ever felt as magical for me as that year of being engrossed in MH with the boys. I can still vividly remember climbing through Master Rank and waiting to see what was next, silly event quests, grinding in the guiding lands for hours, doing Safi's raid for the first time and the joy when we fully cut off its tail for the first time, running into the absolute wall that Alatreon was when he first dropped and the pure surge of motivation when we finally made it past the DPS check for the first time, now knowing that it was possible, or the overwhelming swell of relief, joy, and pride when we finally put Fatalis in the dirt after what seemed like a completely insurmountable battle.
These memories usually lie dormant until something pings a reminder for me and that wonder and nostalgia start flooding back in. And when it does, it hits hard. I've never really sat down introspectively and thought about it, but you summarized it perfectly, so thank you.
I started with 3 ultimate with my partner and have loved the series ever since, really excited for Wilds to come out and see where the series evolves to next
I thought tri-u was peak, then 4u, generations, and then world. And every time i just cant believe how good the next game is. Even now i dunno how wilds could possibly top world, but i know not to doubt the mh teams. Almost 20yrs now and this series just continues to impress me every time. Downloadable quests on handhelds to in season festivals. Arekz and gaijin hunter to team darkside. What a ride it has been and continues to be. Great video
This might be one of the best Monster Hunter videos ever created, this is top tier work (currently at 2:17:00)
Holy shit I’m crying that ending speech was so unexpected but so incredibly wonderful. This IS the best Monster Hunter media (better and more emotional than the movie or shows)
KBASH MONSTER HUNTER VID?! YES PLEASE
27:30
You just made me stare at one place for a second, as my brain remember all the horrors little me had to go through because of this big bastard.
Your praise at the end is something o preach very often. I’ve played since the first game with outbreak 1 and 2. Wanted other online games for my ps2 besides ffxi. Since then it’s maybe my favorite series that I just jump in for a sort of zen. I have lost buddies over the years thru them losing interest or something else. Rise is maybe my favorite so far and I’m sure wilds will replace it and I’m hoping by then I’ll find like minded individuals to go on that journey with.
What a great video, congratulations for your good work!
I watched it in it's entirety in one go.
Man I feel like I gotta apologize to you. Your videos have been a constant feature of my recommendations for over a year now, and I never watched one due to being hesitant to watch a long ass video from a channel I'm not familiar with.
But I fell asleep with auto-play on and woke up to this vid after I've been on a MH tirade since seeing the Wilds demo, and upon waking up and being roused by the sound of your voice...
I sat up... And said...
Damn this dude's actually pretty funny
And proceeded to watch the whole vid from the start
So yeah. You got me!
2:20 Yes you can, SuperRad did. Stoked for your vid Kay!
Monster Hunter is my favorite franchise EVER. This whole thing inspired me to make a new character in World. Thanks!
"It's a game where it takes awhile to click" Not to brag, but I feel like I was one of the lucky few where it clicked the week I started playing it (MHFU when I was about 12 years old). I honestly do not know how my teen brain managed to click with a game that would be considered clunky nowadays, but I'm not complaining.
If this vid pops off you better do a killing Fatalis video for world that would be awesome. Great vid happy you seemed to enjoy MH as much as I've been lately.
To be honest I feel like the Monster Hunter World weapon designs are an actual issue (at least the bad ones are) because you can have grounded weapon designs without having to make a chunk of them "the basic bone/metal weapon with monster bits glued onto the sides" and if anything is more unrealistic like "You're telling me this metal sword can now poison things because it has some green feathers around the hilt?"
Agreed and honestly there are plenty of pieces of equipment that are cool and unique even among new weapons. There are weapons from older games that remain unique and others that are the weird copy paste from the same monster. It feels less like an artistic choice and more so cutting corners and it’s bothersome.
In videogames where anything goes,
the fantasy is so common it becomes mundane,
the mundane is so rare it becomes fantastic.
I had a weird start with monster hunter. I borrowed Freedom Unite from a friend, tried all the weapons, couldn't get past the sluggishness of everything, decided I didn't like it and gave it back. I tried to pick it up on my own a few times with the same result. Then a few of my friends got into it and kept telling me to play with them. I reluctantly tried again, this time co-oping with my friends. But we kept dying to each monster because I was garbage at the game. They kept suggesting different weapons to try and then we realized they all had shields or some way to block so they suggested I pick up HBG and just used them as shields. It didn't work but I had by far the most fun with the game trying it and the HBG felt like my calling. I studied all the guides on HBG, learning the ins and outs of its mechanics, math, damage values, range, etc. Before I knew it I was one of those HBG players that could solo monsters in their face.
57:29 happy you chose this game
This is the one my best friend started with, the reason he loves the franchise Glad I found a random video retrospective
I started with World and didn’t know if I should go back to the old games
Appropriate the video
Excellent restrospective! Although I've only played Rise, it's really fascinating how humble roots Monster Hunter had in the beginning and how it evolved so much over the years.
So nice to finally see World/IB love from someone who persevered through the OG games. I'm a fourth gen hunter and World has remained my favorite game since launch day.
Look. I'll watch most of the MH videos that pop up on my feed but i have to take a moment to say... I'm incredibly jealous of your gorgeous hair. You even took a moment to show it off, you bastard lol
I'm liking for the hair! And also because i found the video enjoyable 👍
Monster Hunter is about the primal urge to hunt megafauna with the boys, and thank god for that
Heckin' crazy surprise to find this in my sub feed, great work.
Swapping Dos for Freedom Unite was an option, but Dos is better for this video's purposes, ie. being comprehensive without ending a poor gamer's life. Still, if you ever find yourself with free time, some people consider Freedom Unite to be the apex of old Monster Hunter. 3U is also a surprisingly different game than Tri.
I'll have to watch this later due to the length, but I can't wait to do so! Peak franchise that has been with me ever since Freedom Unite :)
Mhw is what got me into mh. It's the best game I've ever played. Thank you very much for your video.
That ending was really great and sweet. I kind of relate to having social anxiety, in a way I actually have worse when it's online
"Ascended Caveman Behavior" is a pretty good description in my opinion.
Maybe the developers want me to play online, but I will always be a solo hunter, it's much more fun for me, even since the early entries 🗿.
By the way, someone must be crazy to consider Rise a spin-off when it's basically XX 2 and in many ways is a better successor to the fourth generation than World. I also think it's a little sad that you won't experience the G rank of any of the pre-World games and that you don't get too far into the post games and therefore the bigger and cooler challenges. But good video even tho