Developers say

Apr 28, 2009 06:23 GMT  ·  By

The Monster Hunter franchise is one of the most successful for Capcom, probably just behind the Resident Evil series. And the game, especially in its second incarnation, has become something of a cult in Japan, where people are playing and replaying it almost everywhere you look.

So, it's no surprise that players are watching for every bit of information about the next installment in the series, Monster Hunter 3 that is set to arrive in Japan in winter 2010 and that does not have an announced date for the rest of the world.

In an interview published in the Japanese magazine Famitsu, the two men who are extremely important to the development of the videogame, producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Kaname Fujioka, talked about how they plan to innovate with the new game while also keeping intact all the elements that have made it successful until now.

Fujioka stated that “We are inserting new features into the game, but we don't want people who's [sic] played previous titles to feel abandoned. So we aren't forcing massive changes in everything; instead, we're adding a lot of new freshness to all areas of the game, from collecting to hunting and the weapons.”

They mentioned that the number of weapon categories had been limited to seven, coming down from 12, in order to make sure that players instantly understood them all and that the development team could add more depth to all of them. The weapon categories for Monster Hunter 3 are: Great Swords, Lances, Hammers, Bowguns, Sword/Shield, Katanas and the all new and exciting Slash Axes, which are a sort of foldable pole arm.

Players will get a chance to use them in the new Battle Colosseum mode, designed to be played by pairs, either with split screen or using an online connection. The game mode will focus on offering interesting rewards for those playing and on setting time benchmarks.