Anyone who read my review of the original Monster Hunter for the PS2 would know that I was quite fond of that game. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to import a copy of the latest installment of the series, Freedom, for the PSP. Part of what made Monster Hunter such a great game was its great weapon and armor creation system coupled with a varied array of wyverns and other creatures to hunt. Not to mention the gorgeous graphics and addictive multiplayer. Monster Hunter Freedom offers everything that it's predecessor did, with the exception of online play. While this makes the experience somewhat less involving, Capcom at least incorporated Wi-Fi multiplayer into the mix and added some new features that should appeal to solo gamers.
If you were one of the few who played the first Monster Hunter and enjoyed it, then Freedom should appeal to you. Unfortunately many of the missions are the same as in the original and the new levels shown in the Monster Hunter 2 trailer didn’t make it onto the PSP. Instead of a completely new game, Freedom tends to merit ‘special edition’ status, with more monsters and options than the original game, but not much that revolutionizes the series. I guess Capcom is saving all that for the release of Monster Hunter 2 later this year. Speaking of MH2, Freedom features connectivity to that game and while this could easily just be a case of unlocking special items, armor, etc. in the other game, there could also be a system for transferring characters. I have little to no knowledge of Japanese so the connectivity issue is unclear to me at this point. If nothing else however, Freedom should serve to tide over anyone anxious to get a hold of Monster Hunter 2 and perhaps add a few more consumers into the Monster Hunter family.
You begin Freedom in the same way as in Monster Hunter. Simply select 'New Game' from the main menu, create a character and begin the quest. See the PS2 Monster Hunter review for a more detailed description of the character creation process because it's exactly the same in Freedom. The Town in which you start the campaign is also practically the same as that in Monster Hunter. There are a few exceptions though. West of your character's house is a sort of cat village in which you can fish, grow herbs, and mine, among other activities, in your spare time. The mining is especially useful, although it doesn't have a limitless supply of ore and you'll need to complete a quest in order to replenish it. Along with the cat village, the building behind the village elder has become a tavern where you can accept guild quests as well as enter the multiplayer lobby.
The guild quests are similar to those from the online portion of Monster Hunter in that you have access to quite a few at any one time, as opposed to the normal village elder quests in which you are given about six at a time. In fact, the guild tavern is laid out in the same fashion as the tavern from Monster Hunter with the exception of some crazy miner guy who sneezes frequently and apparently offers mining missions later in the game. There is also some kind of system where you can buy cats who will cook meals for you, although they're only available upon completing the one star quests.
That system is most likely very similar to Monster Hunter where the meals they cook may enhance your stats for one quest. Regardless, there is definitely plenty to do in the game by yourself and from what I can tell, multiplayer includes the same guild missions as the single player game, but with more people to help you in your quest.
For anyone who played the original Monster Hunter and was put off by the controls, have no fear of Freedom. In this particular case, the absence of a second analog stick on the PSP tremendously improves the controls in the game; to attack with each weapon you use the circle and triangle buttons instead of the right analog stick a la MH. You’re still given the same range of abilities as before, but attacks are a lot easier to execute. Don’t expect the game to have suddenly turned into a hack n’ slash though because the weapons still carry the same heft as before and there’s still a momentary pause while your character collects himself for the attack.
Due to the close proximity of the analog stick to the d-pad, camera control is also much less awkward in Freedom. Pressing up and down on the d-pad will shift the camera angle in the desired direction while pressing left or right swivels the camera in a 360 degree motion around your character. The majority of the other controls in the game have remained the same and for the first time since buying a PSP, I really don't miss the L2 and R2 buttons.
Mission structure is the same in Freedom as it was in Monster Hunter. The first few quests are simple gathering and collecting romps, but once you make it through the first hour or so and start improving your weapons and armor, the game really picks up. Freedom does the player a great service in that you start the game with basic weapons from the four weapon types. You're given a bowgun, shield and sword combo, a lance, and a hammer. This makes it much easier to decide which weapon type to use early in the game so you won't have to waste money and resources testing the different weapons later on.
The artificial intelligence of the various creatures is certainly no slouch. When you first start playing Freedom, you will be owned by the wyverns. For this reason it's not advisable to head into some of the tougher guild missions until you've built up a solid armor and weapon set from the village elder quests. One thing that you must embrace in order to enjoy Monster Hunter is that the game is more of an RPG than an action game. No matter how skilled you might be with the controls, not having a decent amount of armor or a good weapon is a recipe for disaster.
The thing that impressed me most about the original Monster Hunter for PS2 was the game's beautiful visual style. This carries over to Freedom, a game that looks better than most other PSP games on the market and even some for the PlayStation 2. Each level is loaded with all kinds of detail in the lush vegetation and wildlife. Freedom also does a great job of cutting down on pixilation and aliasing which are prevalent in practically all PSP games. Surprisingly, the framerate almost never takes a hit during combat even with several enemies on screen. Camera rotation remains silky smooth in the thick of things.
Animation is another of Freedom's strong suits. All of the wyverns and smaller creatures act believably and the character motions are fluid. Great little touches like birds flying through the sky and the flickering candles in the tavern only add to the graphical beauty of Freedom. Not to mention that Freedom's art style helps to greatly advance the game's unique prehistoric dragon hunting theme.
Now I don’t see how this is possible, but Monster Hunter Freedom supports Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound. I guess there is some way to hook the PSP up to a surround sound set up, but how it’s any different from the default stereo sound setting on the PSP's speakers is beyond me. Regardless, there must be some method to the madness and I guess I’ll have to find out when the game comes out in English because at this point I just don’t get it.
Aside from being broadcast in Dolby Pro Logic II, the sound effects and music in Monster Hunter are both commendable. The town map has a calm relaxing musical beat while the tavern and cat town both feature adventurous music. The lively Gaelic music Capcom uses throughout the game really helps to cement the hunting theme. The Monster Hunter theme also makes its triumphant return from the original game and is no less epic than before. Even when there isn’t any music playing, the areas in the game are chalk full of ambient noise from chirping birds and the breeze rustling through the trees.
Sound effects for all of the various creatures are also spot on. Everything is recycled from Monster Hunter on the PS2, but since that game did a good job of giving each of the game’s creatures personality, I can't complain. Never before have cat meows sounded more pronounced in a video game. I wonder what it sounds like to have a dozen cats screeching in surround sound.
Monster Hunter Freedom is little more than an add on to the original game in handheld form. That said, the new content makes this game a must for PSP owners who enjoyed Monster Hunter on the PS2 and the improved control scheme should make Freedom more appealing to anyone else. There might not be any online multiplayer, but Freedom makes sure that the player never runs out of things to do. And where else can you find cats who cook for you?
