Herein I continue my rambling review of some of the monsters from the Monster Hunter franchise (of which I have only played one game, the Mons game spinoff Monster Hunter Stories)! In today’s entry, we look at the critters in the latest entry of the main series, Monster Hunter World!
Monster Spotlight: An Uninformed Jerk’s Perspective on the Monster Hunter Bestiary, Pt. 4
Herein I continue my rambling review of some of the monsters from the Monster Hunter franchise (of which I have only played one game, the Mons game spinoff Monster Hunter Stories)! In today’s entry, we get spoopy with some spiders, snakes, and big ol’ owls, among other things!
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Monster Spotlight: An Uninformed Jerk’s Perspective on the Monster Hunter Bestiary, Pt. 3
Herein I continue my rambling review of some of the monsters from the Monster Hunter franchise (of which I have only played one game, the Mons game spinoff Monster Hunter Stories)! In today’s entry, we discover my favorite monster class of the franchise, and things get VERY Ultraman-y.
Monster Spotlight: An Uninformed Jerk’s Perspective on the Monster Hunter Bestiary, Pt. 2
Herein I continue my rambling review of some of the monsters from the Monster Hunter franchise (of which I have only played one game, the Mons game spinoff Monster Hunter Stories)! In today’s entry, I discuss my favorite monster in the entire franchise. It will not surprise you. I also talk about a bunch of others too, but that’s standard.
Monster Spotlight: An Uninformed Jerk’s Perspective on the Monster Hunter Bestiary, Pt. 1
Ever since I started blogging about monsters, people have asked me what my thoughts were about the creatures that populate the Monster Hunter video game franchise. For years my answer to this query was short and simple: “I hate not played Monster Hunter and thus have no feelings one way or the other.” Some would then follow this up with the question, “Well, are you gonna play Monster Hunter?” to which I in turn said, “I dunno, I’m not really into killing monsters. Are they hard games?” to which people said, “Well… yeah, they’re very hard, yeah.” And that was that.
…until this shit happened.
Well shit, now I have to care.
They made it
a fucking
MONS GAME
I absolutely LOVE mons games! This, of course, has been documented here on Horror Flora before – one of my previous Monster spotlights focused on (some of) the pokemon from the Kanto region of Pokemon, and it won’t be the last time that franchise’s monsters will be featured. Digimon was just as integral to my childhood, and games like Rune Factory, Dragon Quest Joker, and even the Persona games to an extent also scratched that itch for me. Any game where I can tame and befriend monsters instead of (or at least in addition to) killing them is a game I will invest way too much time in. And Monster Hunter Stories as no exception – hell, it was goddamn addictive. I absolutely fell in love with it, and more importantly, with its wide cast of monsters.
So while I still probably will never play a mainline Monster Hunter game, I do now how the personal investment in their bestiary to actually want to cover their monsters. This will mostly focus on design, mind you, but still – it’s time to shine the Monster Spotlight on (some) of the beasts in the Monster Hunter franchise!
Oh, and this is gonna be a five-part thing. We’ve got a LOT of monsters to cover, even if I’m not covering them all. Continue reading
ATOM Bonus Kaiju File 13: The Facsimile Ape
Aliases: Facsimian
Date Discovered: June 19th, 1967
Place of Origin: Unknown
Notable Stomping Grounds: Beijing, Moscow, Paris
Height: 110 feet
Cyber-Biology: Though more technologically sophisticated than its fellow cyborg, MechaTyrantis, the Facsimile Ape is also the product of a far more cruel and demented approach to science, blending the organic components of the unfortunate kaiju that serves as its raw material with cybernetic enhancements that are as cutting edge as they are invasive. Mercifully, the living brain at the center of the cyborg has been lobotomized so thoroughly by its integration with its artificial nervous system that the beast at the heart of this machine is no longer capable of recognizing what it has become, being little more than a puppet for the human who interlinks with its computerized processors.
As result of both the devious scheming and theatrical flair of its creator, the Facsimile Ape was initially disguised as a purely organic monster, though the unnatural movements of its limbs and face gave the show away. The layer of artificial skin and hair that still lays over parts of its body is far more durable than it looks, though enough manhandling by non-augmented kaiju managed to strip the bulk of it off of the cyborg.
While only its deepest tissues, hidden by layers of circuitry, wire, and metal armor, benefit from the traditional kaiju powers, the mechanical portions of the Facsimile Ape sport a powerful arsenal of their own:
- Super strength
- Ability to mentally link with a human pilot
- Gravity manipulation wave – the Facsimile Ape can put the inherent gravity manipulation powers of kaiju into overdrive, effortlessly lifting them into the air
- Ape control signal – the Facsimile Ape can mentally dominate kaijufied apes with a sonic signal, turning them into its loyal and vicious army
- Healing pulse – the Facsimile Ape can generate an aura of Yamaneon radiation to amplify the healing powers of its fellow kaiju
Personality: No one save the Facsimile Ape’s creator knows what the kaiju that became this cyborg was originally like. Whatever personality the creature had is gone now, along with its capacity for thought and feeling. The Facsimile Ape is little more than a shell, its nervous system reduced to a series of senses and reflexes that have been redirected to feed into one of the most highly advanced computer systems the world has ever seen. While the cyborg was noted for its manic, feral, and downright deranged fighting style during its rampages, these were all a result of its pilot’s personality, proving that one doesn’t need to be a beast to behave in an unnerving manner.
Posted in ATOM Kaiju Files, Monster Menageries
Tagged cyborg, Kaiju, The Facsimile Ape
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ATOM Bonus Kaiju File 12: Kramplauf
Aliases: The Abominable Snow Ape
Date Discovered: June 19th, 1967
Place of Origin: The Himalayan Monster Mountain
Notable Stomping Grounds: The Himalayan Monster Mountain, Beijing, Moscow, Paris, Typhon Island
Height: 125 feet
Biology: More than just a big ape, Kramplauf is actually a kaiju-fied yeti, a species of psychic apes that are closely related to the sasquatches of North America, making Kramplauf something of a distant cousin to the infamous Promythigor (and a less distant cousin to the ape half of Gorale). Kramplauf’s psychic abilities were not altered by human science experiments, however, and as such the big ape relies more on its physical prowess than its supernatural mind.
Kramplauf’s powers include:
- Super strength
- An enhanced healing factor
- Immunity to radiation
- Disorientation field – Kramplauf can tamper with other creatures’ sense of direction using its psychic powers, leaving them disorientated and unable to make sense of their surroundings
- Weather manipulation – Kramplauf can lower the temperature of the surrounding environment (roughly up to 5 square miles), often resulting in strong winds and sometimes even precipitation. It is theorized that by draining heat from the air, Kramplauf gains energy to sustain its psychic powers.
Personality: Few who have encountered a living yeti speak well of the notorious cryptids, as the abominable snow men are known for their vicious tempers and propensity for man-eating. Those same rare individuals would blanch at the idea of one of these primates sporting the size, strength, and healing abilities of a kaiju, as the result would be a truly horrendous monsters. On the surface, Kramplauf lives up to the dread a kaiju-fied yeti would inspire. Large and strong even by the standards of its kind, Kramplauf is quick to anger and quicker to use violence, challenging almost every monster it meets to brutal combat on sight.
However, Kramplauf is more noble than its brutish exterior might have one think. The ape notably uses direct and straightforward tactics, never stooping to trickery to gain an upper hand. Combatants that put up a good, clean fight are shown mercy by the ape, while those that fall too quickly are given a quick and relatively painless end. Kramplauf reserves its most vicious actions for monsters who reveal a wicked streak, whether it be through cowardice, cruelty, or dirty tactics.
Kramplauf has rarely been bested, but, like most kaiju, holds those few who have defeated it in high esteem. Though aloof in personality, a highly intelligent creature with complex emotions like Kramplauf ultimately does crave companionship, and though it puts up many barriers against its fellow kaiju, Kramplauf has begrudgingly treated more than a few monsters as friends, or at least respected peers.
