Video Game / Monster Hunter Generations

The hunts collide

Monster Hunter Generations, known in Japan as Monster Hunter X (the X is pronounced as "Cross"), is the second base game of the 4th Generation in the Monster Hunter series, and the overall 4th base game of the Portable/Freedom series, serving as a distant sequel to Monster Hunter Portable 3rd; it was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2015 in Japan and 2016 everywhere else. Continuing on the tradition set before by Portable 2nd/Freedom 2, the game opts to do its own spin on the contents of Monster Hunter 4. The game also opts to be a "celebration" of all past portable games (and, indirectly, all games in general), having 4 villages total with 3 (Kokoto Village, Pokke Village and Yukumo Village) being returning ones as well as the return of various monsters, hunting areas and supporting characters across all 4 generations. Instead of the usual singular Flagship Monsters, four newcomers are the face of the game: Astalos, Gammoth, Mizutsune and Glavenus. All four are found primarily in the primary hunting area of the generation they represent and are each generation's village respective threat. A few other monsters (namely Great Maccao, Malfestio and the multiplayer final boss Nakarkos) debut in the game as well.

The game retains the core gameplay of all previous games, but with several twists and revamps to keep things fresh: Each weapon class can now take advantage of a set of special skills and attributes known as Hunter Arts. These can be selected within the rest areas of the villages (the houses where the player can save their progress), and during quests they can be activated after their corresponding Gauges are filled (which, in turn, can be done while attacking monsters). Over the course of the game, the player can complete quests that reward the hunter with additional Hunter Arts, or even upgraded versions of existing Arts. Not all of them are tied to weapon classes, or even attacking at all, as some provide aiding skills like instant evasions, installing healing spots, or purging ailments.

Another major innovation is the Prowler mechanic. In previous Monster Hunter games, Felynes (Shakalakas in two cases) would accompany the hunter in quests to assist them, being known as Palicoes. This system is retained here, but now you can play as a Palico. In this mode, the Felyne cannot use their human owner's/contractor's items, even if they're stored in the inventory, so they have to rely on their own tools and abilities; on the upside, they can partially restore their HP after depletion twice without fainting. Also, not only can they accept and undertake quests tailored by default for human hunters, but also Prowler quests that can only be tailored for them; these quests focus more on breaking or severing parts of the large monsters they're fighting (in fact, killing or capturing them in said quests leads to a Non-Standard Game Over, so beware).

In addition to the aforementioned 7 new monsters, and in the absence of subspecies (only two Rare Species and two Variants are present), the game introduces a brand-new category of monsters known as Deviants. These monsters were originally standard specimens like the ones a player would normally hunt... except these monsters actually survived previous hunts as well as turf wars against other monsters. Instead of living with fear or merely trying to survive after those fights, they soldiered on and greatly honed their skills and strengths, becoming much more dangerous and dreaded. As a result, the Wycademy (an autonomous branch of the Guild, and the one which provides the multiplayer-oriented quests in this game) restricts the hunt of these monsters so only experienced hunters can tackle them; anyone wanting to accept a quest to slay or capture them must deliver a special permit, which can be bought by investing Wycademy Points with a certain character. But even if the hunter is legally allowed to hunt such monsters, it's ill-advised for them to try to do so without a very good preparation, or even without endgame weapons and gear if the player's not confident enough with their skills. These Deviants would serve as the main inspiration for the Apex monsters that appear in Monster Hunter: Rise.

Last, but not least, in the absence of the Frenzy Virus' outbreak in Monster Hunter 4 and 4 Ultimate, there are now monsters whose attack power and defense are unusually powered up, though not to the same extent as with the Deviants. These monsters are said to be in a Hyper state, and their icons are marked in the quest announcements with glowing yellow marks. During the quests proper, these monsters can be seen with flame-like red lights, which react upon most attacks performed by them. Hunting these enemies grants special Hyper-powered parts and materials that can be used later to upgrade weapons and gear.

In early 2017, the game received an Updated Re-release for the 3DS and Nintendo Switch, titled Monster Hunter XX (the X letters are pronounced as "Double Cross"); it was released the following year as Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate overseas, though only the Switch version. As with all previous expanded editions in the series, it adds a high rank to the list of single-player quests as well as G Rank to the multiplayer ones. The extra story takes place in an added setting, the Soaratorium; instead of being a traditional village, it's a large network of soaring skyships from which hunters and Guild researchers study matters related to monsters, and as of the game's events they're investigating about a recently-sighted Elder Dragon, Valstrax. All the gameplay features from the original Generations are retained in this expansion, and are now accompanied by additional features, such as the ability to pay for the delivery of extra supplies during quests so the hunter can use them alongside their inventory's stored items, and the collection of scales left by Valstrax in the hunting areas during quests (including, retroactively, those from low rank) while it flies in the skies. The expansion even adds a brand-new area not seen in any previous game, the Ruined Pinnacle. Besides the aforementioned Valstrax (which is the expansion's first flagship monster), it adds a new Final Boss plus new Deviants for G Rank, of which Bloodbath Diablos serves as the second flagship monster; several old monsters (including two Variants not present in the vanilla version) are brought back as well, making this expanded version the non-Frontier installment with the largest bestiary in the series by a wide margin.

Much like the two versions of Monster Hunter 4, both versions of Generations include the option to play the multiplayer online as well as locally (or solo, if you're in for a challenge or cannot find anyone to play with). It is also possible to transfer a save file from Generations to the Ultimate expansion. Ultimate features cross-play between the 3DS and Switch versions, but only for the Japanese versions of the game, as the 3DS version was not released outside of Japan alongside the Switch version.

Followed up by Monster Hunter: World, but only in Japan; the rest of the world would get Generations Ultimate sometime after the global release of World.

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Tropes used in both versions of Generations

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: The Glavenus, a large theropod-like Brute Wyvern, plays with this trope. Its sword-like tail is shown to be so sharp that it neatly slices the stems off of plants that it walks by. Its tail is so hard that it can only be cut off when glowing molten hot—and even then the severed tail will dramatically fly off and slice into the ground, sticking up. However, a Glavenus must constantly use its whetstone-like mouth to sharpen its tail, lest it go dull.
• Adjective Noun Fred: Several of the Deviant Monster names follow this format, though with the adjective and noun parts smooshed into one word: Redhelm Arzuros, Silverwind Nargacuga, Deadeye Yian Garuga, Grimclaw Tigrex, Elderfrost Gammoth, and Stonefist Hermitaur.
• Anti-Frustration Features: Each Deviant monster's second capture quest has "on-site items only" as a restriction, however Gunners are still allowed to bring their own ammo and Bow coatings (they just can't bring the materials to combine more of those items).
• Arbitrary Mission Restriction: The second capture quest for each Deviant monster (except for the ones introduced in Generations Ultimate) each force you to initiate the quest with an empty Item Pouch, with supplies instead being provided in the Supply Chest at the base camp. No explanation is given why.
• The Artifact: The "X" in the game's logo still exists in the Western versions despite those versions being marketed as Monster Hunter Generations. Ditto with the "XX" in the logo for Generations Ultimate.
• Artifact Name: Despite being implied to take place sometime after Monster Hunter 3 (Tri) and the fact that several NPCs explicitly hail from Moga and speak of it as a still-active village, Moga Island is still referred to as the Deserted Island in official Guild documents. This made sense during the Low Rank campaign of 3 (Ultimate) due to the villagers having been ordered to evacuate due to a series of earthquakes caused by Ceadeus, but nobody and nothing in this game bothers to recap why it got the name "Deserted Island" in the first place or why it's still named such.
• Artistic License – Paleontology: With the reveal of one of the Maccao and Great Maccao species, the game manages to play with this trope. In prior games, all of the Theropod Bird Wyverns were simply super-powered raptors, similar to the Jurassic Park raptors in appearance. With the introduction of the Maccao and Great Maccao, the aversion happens. While still absolutely massive compared to real-life raptors, they're sporting a notable bright green feathered coat (except on their face/neck, lower arms/legs, underbelly and tail). The only inaccuracy is that their hands still are paw-like (as with the raptors in Jurassic Park), while real raptors weren't even able to twist their hands like that.
• Asian Fox Spirit: The Mizutsune is a fox-like leviathan heavily inspired by the Kitsune, and fittingly it's the member of the Fated Four that lurks within the Misty Peaks (which are close to the Japanese-inspired Yukumo).
• Asset Actor: Being a Megamix Game, Generations features a wide array of monsters and playable stages from all previous games in the series, and for extra nostalgia it also brings back many hunting quests that appeared in the series before. However, there are still many monsters that didn't make the cut for the game (including, notably, all subspecies), so there are quests that are lifted from previous games but with the original monsters replaced with equivalents or stand-ins due to their absence. For example, the HR 6 multiplayer quest Topple the Monarch is based on the Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Monster Hunter 4 quest Infernal Overlord (where you originally hunted a Stygian Zinogre), and it takes place in the same hunting area as the latter game's version of the original quest (Frozen Seaway); however, since subspecies aren't present in the game, a regular Zinogre takes its place. Another example is Proof of a Hero in Generations Ultimate, which is lifted from 3 Ultimate and keeps Brachydios, but replaces Ivory Lagiacrus and Azure Rathalos with Hyper versions of the standard Lagiacrus and Rathalos (again, this is due to the absence of subspecies).
• Autobots, Rock Out!: Each of the Elite Four flagship monsters have their own Battle Theme Music, and the one for Astalos is of this kind. It's also very frantic, fitting the monster's Fragile Speedster motif.
• Background Music Override: The game gives the Deviant theme maximum priority, even over the Arena theme. This is notable because, in this game and its Ultimate expansion, the Arena theme finally gets to override Deviljho's and Rajang's themes (which wasn't the case in previous games).
• Blood Knight: Though Yian Gaurga has always been a force to be reckoned, the Deadeye deviant introduced here takes this even further, as it starts out as a specimen of smaller-than-average size. So what does it do to make up for bigger monsters being able to push it around a bit easier? It. Will. Fight. EVERYTHING. Nothing is safe from this bird's wrath, with it gaining a glowing red eye-socket and getting Covered in Scars because it's just fought so damn much. One Hunter's said "that's the only feller with a higher Hunter Rank than me!" about the beast.
• Book Ends: The first boss in the game is a theropod (Great Maccao) fought in the Jurassic Frontier. The final boss of the Low Rank questline is a theropod (Glavenus, albeit classified as a Brute Wyvern) fought in the Jurassic Frontier.
• Boring, but Practical:
  • Guild Style. While it doesn't have any fancy abilities like the other three styles (five in Generations Ultimate), it allows full access to your weapon's traditional moveset, making it great for learning a new weapon, and comes with a modest two Hunter Art slots.
  • The Hunter Art Absolute Evasion isn't some sort of fancy super-attack or Super Mode like many of the weapon-specific Arts, but it's a quick-escape skill that grants you a generous number of invincibility frames and sheathes your weapon, so you can sprint and do a panic dive after if still needed. Similarly, Absolute Readiness does the same but instead unsheathes your weapon if it isn't out already, and additionally restores a bit of weapon sharpness or fully reloads your clip depending on the weapon. Both Arts have fast gauge buildup (with Evasion being a bit faster), making them great as panic abilities.
  • If you're using Gunner weapons, one Art you'll want to take with you is Mass Combiner. It's a temporary buff that not only cranks up your combination success rate, but also generates the maximum number of items possible from each combination attempt (for example, if a successful combination would make 2-4 items, it will always make 4 items on a success while the Art is active). Not as flashy as fancy explosive shots, but will help you keep your ammo stockpiles going, which is especially useful for the longer quests.
  • Brachydios weapons have become this in the game. Blastblight is excellent for breaking off parts, but doesn't significantly hamper your effectiveness if resisted, and the weapons themselves have good sharpness and attack, making them a solid pick if a more specialized damage type isn't practical.
• Breaking Old Trends:
  • Weapon upgrading is revamped in this game, now instead of changing to a different weapon at the second or first upgrade, a weapon stays the same but has its stats increased as you upgrade it, there is an option to change it to a different weapon at assorted levels but it's entirely optional and you can opt to just keep your weapon the way it is.
  • This is the first entry in the Portable/Freedom sub-series of games to be released for a Nintendo handheld system rather than a Sony system as well as the first without a numerical designation.
  • There are four flagships instead of just one. Generations Ultimate later followed suit with two flagships.
  • No subspecies are present at all in this game, except for two Rare Species and two Variants (two more of the latter group were added in the Ultimate expansion). While subspecies were also absent in two of the numbered console installments, the Portable/Freedom installments had famously featured them extensively beforehand, having even introduced new ones themselves (and, until Freedom Unite, old subspecies would appear as early as in Low Rank).^note While Monster Hunter: Rise (developed by the same team) doesn't feature subspecies in its base content either, they are featured in the Sunbreak expansion. Standing in for them are Deviants, which due to their high threat level have their quests listed separately from standard hunting quests.
  • On a more aesthetic subject, the text font present in the previous Freedom games, and by extension the main numbered games, has switched to Futura.
• The Bus Came Back: Being a Megamix Game, the game brings back a wide array of monsters from all previous games in the series, including monsters that hadn't been seen for a while until then (such as Shogun Ceanataur and Blangonga from the second generation of games, or Amatsu from the third). The Updated Re-release Generatons Ultimate brings more old monsters to the mix, including the first-generation Lao-Shan Lung (who hadn't appeared in a MonHun game in 9 years, namely since Freedom Unite).
• The Dreaded: The Deviant monsters are all regarded as extremely dangerous relative to their nominate counterparts, and therefore the Guild requires Hunters to obtain Special Permits to hunt them. This requirement is very much warranted, as the Deviants are all more powerful than their vanilla versions and pack new and highly dangerous moves.
• Casting a Shadow: Nakarkos is a cephalopod-like Elder Dragon that feeds on numerous monsters, allowing it to perform attacks based on various elements and special ailments. However, its most devastating attack is a Dragon-powered energy beam it shoots from the mouths of the skulls that hide its tentacles. When it's close to being defeated, it expels an even bigger version of this beam from its own mouth.
• Cats Have Nine Lives: Prowlers can run out of health three times before fainting, the first and second times limping back up and chowing down on a large acorn to restore them back to fighting form. Since most quests have a "three faints and you're out" rule, this effectively gives them nine lives by default.
• Cruelty Is the Only Option: Moofahs are docile sheep/goat-like herbivorous monsters that you first encounter in domesticated form at Bherna Village and can pet to indulge in Video Game Caring Potential, and there's a baby Moofah that you can take into your house as a pet (in a fashion similar to the series-staple Poogies). So it's a bit harsh when you get a quest to get Moofah Fur from wild Moofahs, as you have to attack them with cutting weapons to get those drops, especially since even the wild Moofahs don't attack you unless you attack them first; there isn't a way to get Moofah Fur that doesn't involve inflicting damage to them. The only real relief for Moofah appreciators is that you don't have to kill them; they can drop Moofah Fur (as shinies) without being killed, as long as they take some damage.
• Elite Four: The game has the Fated Four, four flagship monsters (Astalos, Gammoth, Mizutsune, and Glavenus) that all get their own specially-animated cutscenes and lots of importance in-game.
• Final Boss Preview: The quest to rank up to High Rank has you hunting a Nakarkos, but you only need to defeat its first phase; it will retreat afterwards. The Hub Final Boss fight with it has you fighting both phases to slay it.
• Glass Cannon: Astalos is an Ax-Crazy electricity shooting wyvern that can charge its parts with electricity to hit even harder. However, any part it's got charged up takes more damage, until smacking it enough inevitably discharges the electricity.
• An Ice Person: The game introduces introduces Gammoth, an enormous mammoth-like Fanged Beast that inhabits snowy mountains and tundras, and also happens to be part of the Fated Four. It can use its large trunk to exhale freezing gales onto its enemies, or even onto itself to protect its body with layers of thick snow. It can also shoot ice balls from the trunk, as well as perform large stomps to lift chunks of snow to cause area-of-effect damage.
• Helpful Mook: Mizutsune, one of the four Mascot Mooks of the game, is a special case: its Bubble Gun attack on occasion, Mizutsune will launch green bubbles that heal hunters, or red bubbles that give them an attack boost.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The game has you "randomly" encounter its flagship monsters (Glavenus, Astalos, Mizutsune, and Gammoth) during otherwise ordinary quests, which you have to complete while dodging a ferocious monster that you can't actually kill. In the Ultimate expansion, this happens with Valstrax after a Gravios hunt, and trying to defeat it leads to a Fission Mailed ending.
• Interface Screw: Malfestio stores a special pollen in its feathers. It can disperse this pollen to inflict Confusion on anything unlucky enough to breathe it in, which reverses your control scheme for a bit.
• "Just Frame" Bonus: One of the Hunting Styles, Adept Style, revolves around this. Your evasion roll, or your guard if using Lance or Gunlance, gains some invincibility frames; if you are hit with an attack during these frames^note Technically, anything that makes you flinch, which can include monster roars and wind pressure despite not being proper attacks, you'll perform an Insta-Dodge followed by a special attack or a brief running animation where you can perform one on command.
• Lightning Bruiser: The Hyper modifier applies, among other things, significant buffs to HP and attack power to the monster, effectively promoting Fragile Speedster-type monsters to this.
• Limit Break: The Hunter Arts in this game. You can equip 1-3 of them, depending on which Hunting Style you use, and each equipped Hunter Art has its own gauge that fills up as you deal damage to monsters (although it can also fill under other conditions, like taking damage in Striker Style or someone with Alchemy Style using an Alchemy Cheer). Once the Art gauge fills up, pressing the associated button or button combination activates it; Hunter Arts come in a wide variety, such as special attacks, invulnerable dodges, Super Modes, and other passives, and in addition to a pool of Hunter Arts that can be used with any weapon, there are also weapon-specific Arts.
• Loophole Abuse: Some Special Permit quests not only require capturing the target, but also disable bringing items with you, instead providing items for you to use in the supply chest at the base camp. Ain't No Rule that you can't just bring in a Prowler with the "Purr-ison" series of moves equipped, which set up traps (which are required to capture the monster) but through the use of a Mana Meter rather than consumable items, thus they are allowed for use in the quest. Prowlers also have infinite Tranq Bombs (also required for capturing), which automatically become usable on a trapped monster and don't count against the "on-site items only" rule. Therefore, someone who goes into such a quest as a Prowler has virtually no restrictions that apply to them.^note This does prevent them from carrying the Charm and Talon series of items that provide passive stat boots, but it's not a huge loss.
• Luke Nounverber: The Deviant Monsters have compound-name prefixes: Redhelm Arzuros, Dreadqueen Rathian, Boltreaver Astalos, Bloodbath Diablos, and so on. All of these monsters are as deadly as their names sound.
• Making a Splash: Mizutsune, which is one of the Fated Four, is a beautiful Leviathan with purple-and-pink fur that can shoot a thin, yet powerful water stream from its mouth, and cover a wide area as it turns around while performing the shot. The monster is also unique in that it unleashes big bubbles capable of impairing a hunter's movement, though some of the bubbles have colors that signal additional properties (for example, the green ones slightly heal a hunter who bursts it upon contact).
• Megamix Game: The game features monsters, locales, villages, and NPCs from past Monster Hunter games, alongside a few new ones. This is justified, because the game was conceived to celebrate the history of the franchise (it was released in 2015, one year after the series' 10th anniversary). The Updated Re-release Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate adds more old stuff to the mix, and also doubled as a farewell to the classic formula and style of the series before the arrival of Monster Hunter: World (a Soft Reboot that also marks a new era with revamped gameplay and conventions).
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: All of the Deviant monsters have prefix titles that are compound words, with many of these monsters as dangerous as their names sound. Oh, you thought Rathian and Rathalos were tough? How about Dreadqueen Rathian and Dreadking Rathalos, two wyverns with their Signature Moves cranked up? Zinogre hasn't electrocuted you enough yet? Meet Thunderlord Zinogre, with its mastery over thunder-based attacks. And in Generations Ultimate, nothing could possibly prepare you for a malicious Misanthrope Supreme of a Superboss named Bloodbath Diablos...
• New Work, Recycled Graphics: As a Megamix Game, this game features locales and monsters from many of the previous games. Any monsters here that had a model in tri- through 4 Ultimate keep their existing models, while ones that haven't been seen since prior generations get new models. Most maps from previous games are kept as-is, but maps from the first- through third-generation games come with some slight modifications to add ledges to perform jumping attacks from (and thus be able to utilize the mounting mecahnic); the one notable exception is the Fortress area which has been revamped for this game.
• Nostalgia Level: The game revolves around visiting villages that appeared in previous games in the series, namely Kokoto (from the very first generation) Pokke (from the second) and Yukumo (from the third). These add to the new villages Bherma and (only in the Ultimate expansion) Soaratorium. This also leads to the return of several familiar hunting grounds, like the Forest and Hills (now renamed Verdant Hills), Primal Forest, new Volcano, and Misty Peaks.
• Obsessed with Food: The Nakarkos is a cuttlefish-like Elder Dragon that's responsible for entire ecosystems disappearing into its beaked maw. However, unlike other Hungry Menace cases such as the Deviljho, whose metabolism is so intense that it's constantly starving, the Nakarkos is different. It does use a few bones from its prey to cover its arms with, giving it the initial appearance of a Multiple Head Case Elder Dragon, but mostly, it just doesn't have anything better to do than eat everything.
• Ominous Owl: Malfestio is a blue-colored Bird Wyvern based on real-life owls. Like the pelican-based Qurupeco from Monster Hunter 3 (Tri), it can perform status-ailing attacks like a sleep-inducing blue energy wave and yellow spores that disorient hunters and reverse their movements. The Deviant Nightcloak Malfestio, which debuts in the Ultimate expansion, can use Invisibility and steal items from hunters.
• Playing with Fire: Glavenus, which is one of the Fated Four flagship monsters (and often said to be their leader), not only can spew fiery fluids which explode shortly later, but also grind its sharp tail to perform a wide, powerful spinning burning slash with it. And while the tail remains red hot, it can also perform tail slams (sometimes twice in a row).
• Post-End Game Content: The level 10 quest for each Deviant requires HR 8 (even as a non-poster), which can only be unlocked by completing the High Rank Hub Urgent Quest to slay Nakarkos. Similarly, the level G5 quest for each Deviant requires HR 13 to join, which requires completing a similar Urgent Quest to slay Ahtal-Ka. And finally, EX Special Permit quests for these Deviants require HR 100, which you won't have right out of defeating Ahtal-Ka unless you went out of your way to do a lot of sidequesting.
• Promoted to Playable: This game lets you finally play as a Palico, in what is known as Prowler mode.
• Red Right Hand: Several Deviant Monsters have this in some form to differentiate them from their normal counterparts:
  • The Thunderlord Zinogre has an enlarged left horn.
  • The Stonefist Hermitaur has a massive, blackened left pincer, which bounces off any and all melee attacks and returns any shots that hit it back at whoever fired them.
  • The Bloodbath Diablos in Generations Ultimate has a three-pronged right horn, likely as a result of having it damaged by Hunters as a child.
• Remixed Level: A subtle version — locales from pre-Monster Hunter 4 games now have some bumps and cracks in the terrain to facilitate the game's Jump Physics and allow players without jumps in their movesets (i.e. most loadouts without Aerial Style or Insect Glaive) to perform jumping attacks (and therefore mount monsters).
• Rocket Jump: Light Bowgun users have access to a special move called "Bullet Geyser" which is basically a rocket jump in all but name. The one difference is that unlike most incarnations of the trope, the hunter isn't damaged by the blast. The "Blast Dash" available to Gunlance users is similar, but tends to be used for hurling a hunter towards a monster in an attempt to mount it instead of blasting them backwards as the Bullet Geyser does.
• Shock and Awe: One of the Fated Four that you'll face over the course of the game is Astalos (a Flying Wyvern), while its Boltreaver deviant debuts later in Generations Ultimate; both monsters can not only charge at hunters (which inflicts electric plague), but also shoot electric bolts that move through the floor, and can also unleash an electric beam from its tail. The game also introduces the deviant Thunderlord Zinogre, whose electric shots are far faster than those of the standard Zinogre.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Nakarkos is a two-headed Dracolich... or so it seems. It's actually a cuttlefish-like cephalopod that secretes a copious amount of sticky goo. It uses this goo to glue the bones it belches out from the various monsters it eats onto its forearms in such a way that when it sticks its head underwater, it resembles a two-headed sea-dwelling bone dragon. It has enough bones in its lair to create its disguise and repair it infinitely just by dipping into the bones...this should tell you several things.
• Socialization Bonus: In the 3DS versions of the games, StreetPassing someone with game data will award Special Permits for hunting the Deviant monsters when you claim your StreetPasses from the Felyne Courier. The Switch version of Generations Ultimate instead opts for the Courier automatically collecting Special Permits every time you hunt, since the Switch does not have StreetPass.
• Stronger with Age: Though most monsters in the series exhibit this by nature, it's now best exemplified with the Deviants, being monsters that have fought off hunters so many times they've adapted to their methods and become stronger than ever.
• Superboss: The game features the twelve Deviants, monster specimens that have survived numerous battles with Hunters and other monsters and have developed unique and deadly traits. All of them are optional and can only be fought through a unique series of quests. Hunters must spend special permits to post these quests because of how dangerous the Deviants are. Indeed they are, as the first, Redhelm Arzuros, is a notorious Wake-Up Call Boss, and the rest go up from there. Hunting Deviants is not required to complete the main Village and Hub campaigns.
• Tactical Suicide Boss: The Astalos can shoot a devastating thunder beam with its paralytic, shear-like tail. However, it slams its tail on the ground to do this, leaving it open to be wailed on. Said tail is also its second biggest weak point and can be severed.
• Tail Slap: Glavenus is built around this; its tail amounts to an inbuilt BFS made of extra-hard ore, so naturally getting slapped by that thing would really hurt. It can even heat the tail up by scraping its teeth on it!
• Tank Goodness: The game introduces the Rath-of-Meow, a skill which allows your Palico companions (or yourself) take control of a pint-sized wooden tank decorated like a Rathalos dragon's head, armed with a cannon in its' mouth.
• That's No Moon: Gammoth's ecology features a trio of Blangos seeking shelter from a ferocious snowstorm under a cave...Which turns out to actually be a slumbering Gammoth who isn't too happy about the disturbance and scares them off.
• Underground Level: The game has the southeast part of Jurassic Frontier (the rest is Green Hill Zone). This part houses mineral walls and luminiscent flora that make up for an exotic sight, but also home to dangerous monsters like Volvidon, Tetsucabra and Glavenus. Later in the game, the Elder Dragon Nakarkos is fought in a very large hollow known as Wyvern's End.
• Video Game Caring Potential: This game features Moofahs, docile herbivorous monsters that resemble goats and sheep and which can be seen strolling around Bherna Village. If you come up to one of them, you can pet them, and continuously petting them eventually leads to them jumping for joy and following you slowly and affectionately around the area until you leave it. There's also a baby Moofah named Moofy that you can adapt and bring into your Bherna house if you pet her correctly.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Anyone who walks into the first Redhelm Arzuros quest, the first Special Permit quest available to the player, expecting only a slightly harder or slightly different version of the monster like with subspecies is in for a rude awakening, as Redhelm packs an immobilizing roar, hard-hitting attacks, and a tough hide that can bounce off even green-sharpness weapons. Despite the HR 2 requirement, this first Redhelm quest serves as a warning that just because you meet the HR requirement for a quest does not mean you are ready for it.
• The Worf Effect: Multiple monsters previously established as apex predators end up being the victims of Nakarkos, an Extreme Omnivore Elder Dragon that devours entire ecosystems. These includes the likes of Brachydios, Lagiacrus, Uragaan, and Glavenus; the last one is notable as it was also introduced in this very game.

Tropes used in Generations Ultimate

It all comes together

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• All Webbed Up: Despite being a mantis and not a spider, Ahtal-Ka is capable of shooting balls of web capable of immobilizing the hunter. And when mounting the gigantic Ahtal Neset, it can make it shoot a big stream of web (sometimes several back to back).
• Arbitrary Mission Restriction: Each G Rank Deviant has one quest where you hunt only one monster, that being the Deviant in question, in a stable environment...but with the added restriction that if anyone in the party faints at all^note unless you have Felyne Insurance, which can only activate once, the entire reward is forfeit at once and the quest ends in failure, as opposed to traditionally taking away 1/3 of the reward. Why this is the case is not explained.
• Accidental Murder: The Valstrax is an Elder Dragon that can zip around the skies at supersonic speeds by using its wings like jet engines. It’s also known for brutally goring several humans and large monsters this way, simply because it had locked onto something and can’t adjust its flight path in time.
• Book Ends: A series-wide example involving this game. The first installment of the series' fourth generation, Monster Hunter 4, has a giant insect (Seltas) as the first boss. The last game of the fourth generation, which is this one, has a giant insect (Ahtal-Ka) as the final boss.
• Breaking Old Trends:
  • This game is the first one to actually address the player by their self-picked name, rather than just "Hunter" or a nickname, but with only one character: The Pub Manager calls you by name during certain key cutscenes.
  • Unlike all previous expanded editions in the series, which each added hunting areas from past games and at most only introduced new Boss-Only Levels,^note Great Forest from Frontier and the hunting areas from the first generation in Freedom Unite, Misty Peaks from Portable 3rd in 3 Ultimate, and the Old Desert from the first generation in 4 Ultimate; the only expansion to not add an area is Monster Hunter G, because the only game released before it was the very first one in the series this game adds a completely new standard area for high and G Rank quests, the Ruined Pinnacle. This trend became a new tradition for later games' expansions in the series.
  • In Japan only, this is the first G Rank expansion not to have the "G" in the title, instead being called Monster Hunter XX. The Western release upholds the "Ultimate" tradition started by Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate by being called Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, however.
• Casting a Shadow: Valstrax is an Elder Dragon that uses its Dragon energy to fly at sound speed. Said energy glows red-and-white instead of red-and-black, but it's still very powerful. During battle, it can shoot large beams from its wings, run over the hunter like a torpedo, and fly rapidly through the skies before performing a deadly dive bomb that causes a Dragon-powered explosion.
• Chameleon Camouflage: The Nightcloak Malfestio can refract light around its feathers to appear invisible. It's quite crafty with this little trick, either following it up with a burst of Confusion-inflicting dust or a highly damaging corkscrew dash. Breaking one ear turns it into Visible Invisibility, breaking both disables it entirely.
• Cosmetic Award: Posting an EX Deviant quest and beating it (it doesn't count if you joined another player's posting) awards you with a glowing armor pigment based on the Deviant, the privilege of using their armor in Armor Fusion, and some titles.
• Death Mountain: The Ruined Pinnacle. It is here where Valstrax, a recently-discovered Elder Dragon, is first seen. The lower zones are clear and temperate, but the higher ones are shrouded in a darker sky (and the highest one allows you to see the moon).
• Double X: The Japanese title, Monster Hunter XX. Although "XX" is actually pronounced "double cross" in this case.
• Fission Mailed: After hunting a Gravios in a High Rank Village quest, Valstrax appears just as you're about to leave. You can attempt to repel it and receive an extra reward for doing so, but if you faint just once while fighting it the Elder Dragon will flee and the Failure music will play. Luckily, even in the latter scenario, you'll be able to progress in your adventure normally, though all people in the Soaratorium (especially the captain) will look and act very worried about you.
• Global Airship: The game features a whole village set within one, the Soaratorium. It belongs to the Wycademy, and it's from there that the Guild is studying matters and threats pertaining different cities and areas, among which the most urgent is the sightings of a dangerous Elder Dragon, Valstrax. You can access it after unlocking high-rank quests in the single-player campaign, as well as G-rank quests in the multiplayer campaign.
• Grand Finale: To the series' classic formula, style and conventions. Like the original Generations. it reunites many monsters, characters and locations from all previous generations (including the then-recent 4 and 4 Ultimate) so players could enjoy one more ride with them and prepare for the series-shaking Monster Hunter: World.
• Humongous Mecha: The game features one of these, called Ahtal-Neset or the Empress' Throne. It's a dragon-shaped mass of scrap metalwork tied together and puppeteered from inside by the mantis-like Ahtal-Ka, which serves as the multiplayer campaign's Final Boss.
• Marathon Boss: The EX versions of the Deviant monsters can each take around 15-20 minutes with a full party, when most one-monster quests are usually done in 5-10 with the same. And if you're hunting them solo? Expect to take the entire 50-minute time limit!
• More Dakka: Valor Style with Heavy Bowgun allows the user to fire off shots at an exceptionally fast rate in a manner similar to a wind-up gatling gun when in Valor state and in Crouching Fire mode.
• NPC Roadblock: A Felyne located in the Soaratorium is blocking the path to the Hunters Pub, and will only let the hunter pass after they've completed all key and urgent quests in Bherna's Gathering Hall and qualified for G Rank missions.
• Old Save Bonus: Like in Freedom Unite and 4 Ultimate, it's possible to transfer the current save file from Generations to this expansionso the player can continue playing. However, since Generations Ultimate pushes forward the moment when the player's Hunter Rank can be freely increased, performing the file transfer after the restriction is lifted upon defeating Nakarkos in Generations will cause the player's HR to be dialed back to only 8; Generations Ultimate will revert this only after the player defeats Ahtal-Ka at the end of G Rank and reaches HR 13.
• Post-End Game Content: The first Bloodbath Diablos quest is locked behind a HR 13 requirement, meaning that you must complete the "Castle on the Run" Urgent Quest first to be able to hunt it, even if you are joining someone else's instance of the quest.
• Power-Up: Unique to this game is Style Power-Up mode. When setting your Hunter Arts, you can designate one Hunter Art (or up to three in Alchemy Style) to be an SP Art, at the cost of reduced Art gauge buildup. When using the SP Art, you and all other Hunters in the same area gain the SP state, which applies a Style-specific temporary buff:
  • Guild Style: Item use animations are truncated.
  • Striker Style: Hunter Art gauges automatically build up.
  • Aerial Style: Stamina will start recovering once the player vaults off a monster, rather than having to get back on the ground first.
  • Adept Style: The number of frames for Insta-Evade and Insta-Block is increased.
  • Valor Style: Valor gauge builds up faster.
  • Alchemy Style: Alchemy gauge builds up faster.
  • Prowler: Cost of Support Moves is slightly reduced, however the displayed number of Support Gauge segments is still required to activate each Support Move.
• Remixed Level: Most returning maps in this game (including the original non-Ultimate release) get some minor modifications in the form of ledges from which players can perform jumping attacks (and thus be able to utilize the mounting mechanic even without a weapon with innate aerial attack moves or Aerial Style). However, the Fortress map from the first two generations of games and where Lao-Shan Lung is fought has been brought back with major modifications: The Ioprey who would harass Hunters trying to load up the cannons with ammo have been removed, the number of non-camp areas has been reduced from six smaller areas to two larger areas, and there is now a Demolisher (first introduced in 4 Ultimate) in Area 1.
• Retired Badass: The operators of the Hunter's Pub, Lavanda and Wehner (known in-game as the Pub Manager and Questender, respectively), are former Hunters who once specialized in hunting Deviant monsters, and the former boasts about how she used to collect Deviant armor sets (which is no small feat, given how many resources and hunts are needed to max out even just one Deviant set). Unfortunately, a hunt against Bloodbath Diablos went awry, and the two decided to retire from hunting and take up running the Hunter's Pub.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The Bloodbath Diablos, which had one of its horns broken as a child. As a result, it's dedicated its whole life to murdering as many humans as possible, killing any other monsters that get in its way. Those bluish-black stains you see on its carapace? That's dried blood from the countless humans and monsters it's killed in its fury. The slight committed against it made it so angry that its blood literally begins to boil.
• Shell-Shock Silence: Any hunter who fights the Valstrax will face this after its 'Round the World' attack, where it flies off, soars in the skies, then crashes down at sonic speed into the ground (and likely you if you don't try to dodge). Even the battle music is hushed momentarily after the crash-landing.
• Slaying Mantis: One such creature turns out to be the creature behind the "giant monster" steamrolling over civilizations: Ahtal-Ka, a golden mantis that steals architecture and machinery from hunter societies and binds them with its silk to create a walking fortress. It is the final boss of the G Rank Hub quests and the only Neopteron to be an Elder Dragon-level threat.
• Super Title 64 Advance: The Japanese version of the Switch port is called Monster Hunter XX Nintendo Switch Ver. Averted with the non-Japanese releases, which are just called Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate with no platform-indicative elements; justified because only the Switch version was localized, not the 3DS version as well.
• Superboss:
  • In addition to retaining the twelve Deviants from the original Generations, the expansion adds six more, including the Bloodbath Diablos who can only be fought after hunting the other five new Deviants at least once and defeating the final boss Ahtal-Ka to reach HR 13.
  • Defeating the G5 quest for a Deviant monster (each one already a superboss to begin with) unlocks an Extra Special Permit (or "EX" for short) quest for it. Each EX quest has a HR requirement of 100 (so merely being in the postgame won't grant you access), and you hunt one instance of the monster in one of the one-area locales with nothing in the Supply Chest available and the Provision Division disabled. The monster has more HP and damage multiplier than ever, and even a 4-player party can expect to take at least 15 minutes, while a solo player can expect a genuine race against the 50-minute time limit. Posting an EX Special Permit quest and completing it^note in other words, if you join an EX quest posted by someone else, it doesn't count awards a glowing armor pigment based on the monster and the privilege of using the monster's armor in Armor Fusion.
• Support Party Member: One of the two new Hunting Styles, Alchemy Style, is designed around supporting the rest of the party. In exchange for losing some of their offensive moveset, the user gains access to an Alchemy Barrel that they can shake to generate a variety of items; shaking the barrel first requires building up the five-segment Alchemy Gauge, with more potent items requiring more segments; these items include, but are not limited to: Alchemy Food that has a truncated post-eating animation, Alchemy Earplugs in the same vein as the Disposable Earplugs from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Alchemy Slicks that duplicate other Alchemy items (with the intention of giving some of these duplicated items to other players), and Alchemy Cheers that boost the Hunter Arts gauges of all players within the same area. In addition, the player can set up to three Hunting Arts to be Style Power-Up arts, not just one. As the player creates more items with the barrel, they will upgrade SP mode, applying additional buffs (on top of the ones granted by lower levels of SP mode), with level 2 (colored orange) providing reduced stamina consumption, level 3 (colored red) applying health regeneration, and level 4 (colored purple) applying a light Partbreaker effect. This allows one to develop builds that are designed to support their teammates, even if they're not using a weapon tailored around support roles like Sword & Shield or Hunting Horn.
• This Just In!: The briefing for the Bloodbath G5 quest, the final one before the Bloodbath Diablos EX Special Permit quest:
  Chief Researcher: This Quest is for experienced Special Permit holders only. We've a Bloodbath Diablos at Ingle Isle that needs hunting... Actually, word just in is that there are two Bloodbath Diablos on the island. Good luck, Hunter!
• Title Drop: One of the postgame village G-rank quests (which consists of hunting Hyper versions of the Fated Four followed by Valstrax) is called "Advanced: Double Cross" in the Japanese version. Played with slightly in the overseas versions, where it's called "Advanced: Ultimate Generation" in accordance with the localized title.
• Too Fast to Stop: Valstrax is an Elder Dragon that can use its wings like jet turbines to fly at supersonic speed. The problem, however, is that whatever is in Valstrax' path can't react in time (or rather, Valstrax can't, due to not having the faster information processing that one would need with Super-Speed.

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