In 2004 I caught excited whispers and game mag glimpses of a waking giant on the horizon. The fuzzy intel received: Capcom would be releasing a Japanese-only PS2 game where one tracked and killed kaiju in epic battles of attrition. An impulse import purchase was made, and, about a hundred hours later, I managed to overcome a Fatalis-sized language barrier (and fangs and claws) to achieve victory in my first Monster Hunter of many.
Fast forward 20 years, and I'm somehow sitting down for a chat with one of the key persons responsible for my younger self's torment and triumphs, Series Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. When I whip out my original PS2 copy and explain the origins of how I became hooked on his franchise, despite such a hostile introduction to it, he's delighted—perplexed that I even attempted such a thing, but delighted.
Though its three-day beta wasn't a perfect experience (as is the nature of betas), I then explain to Tsujimoto-san that I'm basically already on board with his latest entry, Monster Hunter Wilds. And so, over the course of an afternoon, he reiterates the parts of Wilds that excite him and his team most, and I pepper him with questions about this new venture and how far we've all come as Hunters over the decades.
We'll dive into that in a second. For now, though, I should service any fellow "my mind is pretty much made up to play this" types with the cheapest prices. If you'd like to skip the window shop, please click here to skip past it.
Physical:
Amazon: $99 PS5 | Xbox
Big W: $99
JB Hi-Fi: $109 Standard | $119 Steelbook
MightyApe: $89 Standard | $109 Steelbook
Digital:
PS Store: $114.95 Standard | $144.95 Del. | $179.95 Premium Del.
Xbox Store: $114.95 Standard | $144.95 Del. | $179.95 Premium Del.
Steam: $104.95 Standard | $134.95 Del. | $164.95 Premium Del.
I begin my chat with Tsujimoto by commending him and his marketing team on the decision to definitively nail down some lore in the recently released Welcome to Monster Hunter explainer. I do,
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Ryozo Tsujimoto