Monster Hunter Now is a new AR game from Capcom and Niantic, the makers of Pokémon GO. For the first major real-life event in Tokyo, 20,000 hunters participated in something that feels like an MMORPG in the real world. MyMMO editor Sophia Weiß was there for you at the invitation of developer Niantic.
Monster Hunter Now has been live since mid-September 2023. During the weekend of October 12 and 13, the Ninantic team hosted the first major real-life event for the game, the Monster Hunter Now Carnival Shibuya 2024.
According to the organizers, about 20,000 participants gathered in the streets of Tokyo to collect tracks and take down the new raid boss Nergigante.
I was there for you and looted, leveled up, fought, and felt like I was in an MMORPG raid. The difference is that instead of developing a sore backside, I almost turned 17,000 steps on the tracker.
A Mobile Game Like My Favorite MMORPG
Mobile games are a bit of a challenge. They take up a lot of space on the phone and consume a lot of battery. Therefore, I try to play as few of them as possible and focus my gaming on the PC.
However, I gladly make an exception for Pokémon GO and now also for Monster Hunter Now. Even though I prefer to nurture and care for dragons rather than fight them.
But that’s exactly what Monster Hunter Now is about: The world of monsters seems to be mixing with our reality. Now it’s up to the players to save our real home from nasty Pukei-Pukeis, Barroths, and Rathalos.
I specifically started with Monster Hunter for the event in Tokyo and I must say: This mobile game is also a lot of fun. With enough players, it even feels like my favorite MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. Only that I have to leave the house for it.
This is what it looked like live and in color:
On (Monster) Treasure Hunt Through Tokyo
The gameplay loop of Monster Hunter Now is simple: You collect resources, take down monsters of various levels, and upgrade your equipment with the loot from the beasts. The better your weapon, the stronger the monsters you encounter.
At the same time, you complete quests and level up in your hunter rank. This drives the story of the game forward, which in turn unlocks new features.
For the Carnival in Tokyo, I only completed the tutorials. Together with journalists from the USA and Great Britain, I started on the event Saturday at one of five so-called base camps. These were parks and platforms that Niantic and Capcom decorated with all sorts of fancy Monster Hunter decor.
The task of the day: A new, really nasty monster has made its way to Tokyo and is causing trouble. We were to track it down, identify it, and neutralize it.
With our phones open and heads down, our group wandered from one resource collection point to the next: According to the event quest, we were to collect paw prints. However, these were only available at certain resource sources, which determined the paths to be taken between the base camps.
So that no one gets bored between the stations, new versions of old familiar enemies would spawn in moderation. These offered new, cool armors.
It took our team about two hours to unlock the new boss. Our opponent for the rest of the day was to be the Elder Dragon Nergigante – the first event-exclusive raid.
17,000 Steps and Pain in the Legs for the MMORPG Feeling
Just collecting the paw prints felt like a big group quest. We joked around with each other, took coffee breaks, compared stats, and exchanged equipment tips.
Basically, we talked about everything I would discuss with my guild friends from Final Fantasy XIV in preparation for the next raid drop or Fate or hunt train. And it went just like that in the game.
That’s what excites me: We all quested together and took down a new cool raid boss together. The difference is that we walked together a few thousand steps through a city unfamiliar to us. I alone walked 17,000 steps on Saturday.
Monster Hunter Now comes very close to this feeling. But as mentioned: After a normal raid day, I don’t have pain in my calves.
Just before the end of the event, a super strong version of the new raid Nergigante spawned. From our group, only two people had the appropriate hunter level and the right equipment ready. The two faced the challenge nervously while the rest of us formed a circle around them to cheer them on.
That’s how I last felt when in the 8-man raid only one of us was still alive and the boss was almost dead. Simply wonderful!
Sword Art Online in Traffic Chaos
The Monster Hunter Now Carnival was a lot of fun. Walking through the streets of Tokyo, supporting each other in the game, and overcoming new challenges together was just cool.
By the way, the event also reminded me a bit of the game Ordinal Scale
from the first Sword Art Online movie. In it, Kirito and Asuka also face monsters spawning right in the city in an augmented reality game.
The functionality of Monster Hunter Now is very similar. The main difference is that in real life we still have to keep staring at our phones.
That is indeed the only point that left a slightly bitter aftertaste for me: When you play intensively and move slowly from base camp to base camp, you almost constantly have your eyes on your phone.
This can go wrong in busier areas, which is also a point with Pokémon GO: The concentrated gaze on the smartphone distracts from traffic and endangers road users. MyMMO already reported on this in 2020: Pokémon GO is said to have caused 30,000 injuries and 250 deaths in the USA
According to the organizer, a total of 20,000 players were active in Shibuya during the event weekend. I personally observed how considerate Japanese cyclists and pedestrians were towards the gamers. However, I don’t know if that would work so well in my hometown of Munich.
Overall, Monster Hunter Now is an exciting game. It is recommended for everyone who loves either Monster Hunter or Pokémon GO. Monster Hunter Now plays great on the way to or from work or school.
However, I recommend the game not only because it is good, but also a bit out of self-interest: The more of you start playing the game, the more players I have for the next boss opponents. So I’m looking forward to seeing you. So: Hopefully see you soon for some monster bashing!
