Preface: Why MH4U and not MHX or MHXX? Because I never finished Monster Hunter X and haven't even touched MHXX. Why not Toukiden: Kiwami as well? Because I never played it. And regarding online: I never played random games, I exclusively played with friends or arranged matches with people online before playing, so take that into account. So let's dive right in starting with the single player content: Monster Hunter + Not much is locked behind Single Player, so you can ignore it almost entirely if you want + Lots of minigames to keep you busy + Inventory and item management is crucial - None of the characters are memorable and you have no meaningful relationship with any of them - You don't get any partners other than your pet cats, which serve to be loud and annoying distractions more than anything else - There's really no story to speak of, there's no reason you're doing anything you're doing and you have no impact on the game world Toukiden 2 + A large free roam overworld with plenty to do in it + A lively hub town that, while large, keeps the majority of its important NPCs in one area + Unique quests for every named NPC, a small-but-meaningful Relationship Building system that lets you get bonuses from them and/or craft their unique weaponry + Tons of Single Player exclusive content that gives incentive to play it + NPC/AI slayers help make quick work of the campaign + You actively affect the game world with your endeavors and your role in the story feels significant - Unlocks as you go, so it's not open world - Some of the things in the game world are tedius rather than enjoyable - Significantly important content (like the ability to upgrade gear past a certain point) locked ENTIRELY behind Single Player - The NPC/AI slayers are seriously overgeared and can make you feel insignificant - Counter missions are almost completely meaningless and there's no reason to do them over the multiplayer missions - There is relatively no inventory management or item management Weapons and Combat: Monster Hunter + Most weapons feel potent even if you're underperforming + Monster arenas are well-designed and take advantage of the monster's properties such as flight or climbing + Battles are somewhat more tense because there are no visible health bars, only a handful of visual cues + Mounting monsters is exciting (at first) + As of Monster Hunter X there are several different unique weapon styles that can change how weapons work and give them slightly different playstyles. + As for the weapons themselves, there are many available to suit a fair amount of playstyles. + Cutting off a tail is pretty fun. - Without proper equipment and/or map knowledge, every hunt eventually turns into a game of hide-and-go-seek - Almost all of the weapons are incredibly slow and lock you into animations for an absurd amount of time in a way makes your fights feel incredibly sluggish and unresponsive. It becomes entirely too easy to miss a fast-moving enemy with even the quickest of weapons because of how easy it is to be locked into place. - You absolutely can NOT attakc while moving. - Verticality depends entirely upon the makeup of the arena, and is sometimes impossible (somewhat fixed in Monster Hunter X, but I still don't like it) - Mounting Monsters for that extra bit of stun and damage is nice, but becomes tedious quickly and doesn't add much to the game overall. - Boosts are locked to armor, and they are mostly passive boosts and don't augment your combat abilities or style very much except by way of adding some raw damage with Attack Up passives. - Weapons are, generally speaking, not dynamic. Even weapons with different stances and forms have a very formulaic way of using them. - Only a small handful of monsters actually lose a significant amount of their attack ability by removing parts from them, and typically the only thing you can actually REMOVE (not just damage/hurt) is the tail. Toukiden 2 + Weapons are responsive, quick, and all very unique and dynamic. Some weapons let you attack while moving, many let you perform unique aerial attack combos on enemies, and their abilities can be augmented or outright changed by Mitama. + Mitama, in the place of Armor Boosts that Monster Hunter has, lets you have 9 passive boosts (3 per Mitama) as well as 3 active skills from 11 different CATEGORIES of Mitama (attack, defense, speed, spirit, healing, support, deceit, plunder, luck). This allows for a very in-depth, meaningful customization of your playstyle and can fundamentally change how you use your weaponry. + There are several dynamic weapons that support all kinds of playstyles. + The Demon Hand lets you achieve verticality simply not possible in Monster Hunter games. You can grab any Oni and several scenery objects (trees, cliffs, etc.) to become airborn. + Entire body parts (arms, legs, horns, wings, tails) can be removed from Large Oni, sometimes PERMANENTLY. + There is, in fact, a special mechanic just FOR removing body parts. There are two meters you fill during battles that guarantee you a removal or permanent removal respectively. + Large Oni themselves are extremely dynamic, have several different forms and fundamentally change how you are meant to approach them based on these forms. - Weapons can feel quite impotent sometimes, and with the exception of the Club none of them have nearly the weight or power behind them of your typical MonHun weapon. - Mitama are dropped randomly and only a very small few are guaranteed in the single player story. Some are locked behind single player content as well. - Low Rank Oni are entirely too easy to topple over frequently, and become a non-challenge. - You won't see the additional forms of many Oni until you hit high rank because their health pool simply isn't large enough until then. - Many limbs DO grow back unless you use the special technique (which requires meter and stamina) to do a permanent removal. Enemies and Enemy Variety: Monster Hunter + There are a LOT of monsters, but that's to be expected after so many mainline games and a handful of spinoffs. + There is plenty of variety in how monsters move around in the world. Flying enemies, digging/swimming enemies, and enemies that climb on the walls/ceiling all exist. + Large Monsters are very aggressive and require preparation and thought. + Expeditions are a thing. They're okay. Only worth mentioning to compare them to the Ruins in Toukiden 2. - An excessively large percentage of the monsters are dragons and/or dinosaurs, so if that's not your thing you're kind of out of luck. - I would only dare to call a small handful of the available large monsters "inspired." - Insofar as small monsters go, there's only one or two of them and a handful of variations and they're largely meaningless aside from the shitbags that like to interrupt your dance with a large monster occasionally. Toukiden 2 + There is a incredible variety of Large Oni ranging from humanoid to outright inhuman, and there's only two dragons in the game. There are genuinely frightening Oni that are absolute nightmare fuel as well. + Medium Oni fill a unique role in the single player and provide an adequate challenge for what they are. + There are many types of Small Oni as well with many varieties that show up all over the game world, and some Large and Medium Oni can summon Small Oni to battle with them as well. + Ruins function as a sort of Boss Rush, letting you fight Large Oni continuously for as long as you can handle it. The rewards for this are also quite nice. - Small Oni quickly become a nuisance and their appeal wears off quickly. In groups larger than 3, they can stunlock you. There are also single player evens with 30+ Small Oni all in one area that can stunlock your entire party and ruin your fucking day. - Medium Oni are laughable in multiplayer. - Only a small handful of Large Oni pose a respectable challenge, and some of them seem to only ineffectually thrash about, sometimes not even in your general direction. Low Rank oni in particular seem to throw out attacks at the air with no real intention of actually hitting you. The Grind: Monster Hunter + If you need area-specific items, there's usually a mission exactly for that. + Your shitcunt cats, if nothing else, can help you get additional items from large monsters. - Even in low rank, you're going to have to fight the same shit several times with the same equipment to get new gear, and this really wears on you quickly. - By the time G Rank comes around, the grind is outright oppressive and only the most diehard of fans will struggle onward. - Desire Sensor. Look it up. Whether it's real or not, the fact that so many people believe it is significant. Toukiden 2 + The grind doesn't get especially painful until High Rank. + Upgrade materials can be synthesized with other materials. + While random chance is involved, there is usually a way to recoup what you already have to lesson the weight of the grinding burden. + Machina and Tenko can gather certain area items for you. - Some things require parts from Large Oni that can only appear completely by chance in the Ruins. - Machina and Tenko offer no help whatsoever with acquiring Large Oni items. - Gathering items in the field is an absolute pain, and there are no gathering missions to aleviate this. And that concludes my comparison. I'll include more shit later if people bug me enough.
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