Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak's Malzeno Draws an Interesting Parallel to Horizon Zero Dawn
Every Monster Hunter game features a «flagship monster» that adorns its box art, similar to Legendary Pokemon like the newly announced Koraidon and Miraidon. The expanded «ultimate» versions of various titles have introduced their own flagship monsters, seen with the shift from Monster Hunter 4's Gore Magala to Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's Seregios. That trend carried over to Monster Hunter World's Iceborne expansion, which Capcom is replicating with Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.
The flagship monster in Monster Hunter Rise was Magnamalo, but the upcoming Sunbreak expansion instead features Malzeno. This Elder Dragon is considered one of the «Three Lords» causing trouble around Elgado Outpost, grouped with Garangolm and Lunagaron as creatures inspired by western stories and myths: a vampire, Frankenstein's monster, and a werewolf, respectively. The Monster Hunter Digital Event in May 2022 gave fans more information about Malzeno's powers, which could be better understood looking at the Chariot-class machines from Guerrilla Games' Horizon franchise.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak's Follower Quests Should Be a Permaent Feature
During the aforementioned Digital Event, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak director Yoshitake Suzuki described Malzeno as a monster designed to capture the regal air of legends like Dracula — with concept art focused on «aristocracy, nobility, grandeur, and cunningness.» He offers an insight into Capcom's philosophy for Elder Dragons being sketched around what kind of calamity they would cause, and says Malzeno has previously pushed the Kingdom that players now protect to the brink of ruin.
Its destructive force is characterized by «mysterious creatures» that latch onto other monsters like leeches; visually
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