50 Hours Played] Review of "Monster Hunter Rise: Sun Break," which has sold more than 3 million copies! New elements such as "Master Rank" and "Allied Quests" are all over the place!

On June 30, 2022, the Switch title "Monster Hunter Rise: Sun Break" ("Sun Break") was released. This title is a very large expansion to "Monster Hunter Rise" ("Rise"), which was released in 2021, and is packed with plenty of different content, including "Master Rank" quests, which are even higher than the "higher" ranks. Less than a month after its release, worldwide sales have already exceeded 3 million units. It is showing no less momentum than "Rise," which shipped 4 million units within 3 days of its release.

This time, we would like to share with you our review of "Sun Break" after playing it for about 50 hours. I will focus on three main points: Master Rank, "Alliance Quest," and "Shippei," and explain my impressions of the game.

⇒I also want to read the following article

100 Hours of Play] "Monster Hunter Rise" Review!

Master Rank: Difficulties beyond the higher ranks await

The Master Rank is released after completing the higher level quest "Thunder God". Specifically, by completing the emergency quests that arise, you will be able to go to a new base, "Elgado," where the "MR" (master rank) rank and master rank quests will appear.

The new base, Elgado

Master Rank refers to an even higher level of difficulty than the higher ranks. It is an element that was introduced in "Monster Hunter World: Iceborn," and corresponds to the "G level" in the old series. Monsters have enhanced attack power and strength, move more quickly, and some have new techniques.

When a player has just reached the Master rank, he or she does not have the materials equivalent to the Master rank. At first, you will challenge Master Rank with weapons and armor below the higher ranks, but at least I was able to get through to the 3-star quest with the higher rank equipment.

With rank 7 armor, such as that made from Bazelgius and Theo Tescatl materials, I could withstand the attacks of master rank 1 and 2 monsters, which helped me a lot in preparing my master rank equipment. I will write more about this in the section on the Alliance Quest, but the transition of equipment, which is a bottleneck when moving up from higher ranks to master rank, is much easier, at least in this work.

What bothered me more than the attack power was the speed, especially the dizzying speed of the Rajan. When in a rage, every movement is instantaneous, and as an author who used a charge axe, I had a hard time even hitting the "high-powered attribute release slash" once.

As you advance in master rank, you can take on quests to defeat monsters that have been "puppeted" (kaiika). Puppetized monsters are much more powerful than normal monsters and have their own unique elements, such as being uncatchable and having special ranged attacks.

In the author's case, the monster's blow is so powerful in the quests after Master Rank 3 that strengthening the armor became a must. As befits a master rank, monsters are stronger than those at higher ranks in every respect, but as already noted, there are no monsters with unreasonable attack power that can suddenly and instantly kill the player.

In addition, hunting on the player's side has become much more convenient as of the previous "Rise", including the elimination of "hot drinks" and "cooler drinks". The overall difficulty level of the game seems to be fairly balanced, as the master rank version of the armor made from the same monster's materials has stronger skills than the higher rank version.

The ease of play that is the charm of "Rise" is still there. In addition, the monsters that appear at the master rank all have distinct characteristics and are fun to fight. In the story of this title, three monsters called the "Three Lords of the Kingdoms" (Garangorum, Lunar Garon, and Mel Xena) stand in the way of the player.

The Garangorum is a huge, armored-looking fanged beast, and the Lunar Goron is a speedy monster that uses ice. Mel Xena, the signature monster of "Sun Break," uses tricky attacks such as instantaneous movement with a creature called "Curia. More than their appearance, each monster requires a different approach from the player. This was a stimulating experience, and I was able to advance through the ranks without getting bored.

However, the lack of special quests such as "The Hundred Dragon Nights" is a bit disappointing. Following on from "Rise," "Sun Break" will be updated vigorously, so we look forward to additional quests.

Allied hero quests for both co-op and material collection

Personally, the most important element of "SunBreak" is the "Mengyou Quests. These are quests in which NPCs such as Minoto and Hinoe from Kamura no Sato and Fiorene from Elgado fight with you, allowing for solo or cooperative play with NPCs.

There are two types of Mengyou quests: "Important Investigation Quests" and "Mengyou Accompanying Quests. In Important Investigation Quests, you can choose the NPC who will accompany you. In the Alliance Quests, you hunt with a predetermined group of people.

As you progress through the storyline, you will first open up the Alliance Quests. After completing several Alliance Quests, you will be able to take the target NPC on important research quests. Therefore, if you want to enjoy co-op play with NPCs, it is recommended to start with the Alliance Quests.

There are many advantages to playing with NPCs. First of all, the number of moves increases; if you take an NPC with you, you can make up a lot of time that it would have taken you solo. In my case, what used to take me 25 minutes to deal with a monster took me only 15 minutes with two NPCs. With more hunters, the monster's aim is spread out and the burden on the player is reduced. Allied heroes are not included in the number of times they are down even if they lose combat, which reduces the possibility of lower reward money and saves on recovery medicine.

The fact that all Alliance Quests are master ranked is also significant. Whether it is a stopgap to make stronger armor or to make the strongest equipment, the Mengyou quests allow for efficient solo collection of materials. There are many types of monsters that appear in both the Moryu Quests and the Important Investigations, and you can fight monsters that appear early in the game, such as Bishtengo and Huru Huru, as well as old dragon types that appear later in the game, such as Mel Xena and Kushaldaora.

As noted in the Master Rank section, moving up one quest level is a difficult task. When going from a lower rank to a higher rank, or from a higher rank to a master rank, you must always try with equipment that is one rank lower than the rank you are challenging, but in this work, the burden is considerably reduced thanks to the Alliance Quest. The monsters that appear and the rewards that can be obtained are comparable to those of the quests in the meeting halls, an element that is especially appreciated by solo players.

The NPCs are dexterous and their movements are quite human. They can heal you using the dust of life, set traps, and bring monsters from far away by manipulating dragons, etc. There are so many things they can do that I even felt like I was playing multiplayer at first. Each character has his or her own tendencies, and you can see in advance who is more aggressive and who is more supportive. The weapons to be used can also be decided by the player, so the game can be customized according to the monster. It is also nice to know that even if the player loses the battle, the player can help as much as he/she wants and the reward will not be affected.

It is also interesting to learn about the relationship between the players through the dialogue during the quests.

The main focus of the Mengyu Quest is to fight together with NPCs, so there are no penalties such as reduced rewards if there are too many people accompanying you. Not only do you get to enjoy the fun of fighting together, but you also get to collect materials for your master rank. Personally, I had more opportunities to play quests here than in the meeting place. I hope that future updates will include more quests for allied heroes.

The new "Shippei" allows for more combinations of techniques.

Rise" has expanded the range of actions with the "Tetsujushigi" technique, but in "Sun Break", the "Hayagae" function, which switches between Tetsujushigi techniques, allows for an even greater variety of attacks. The number of sets of "HAYAGAE" has been increased to two, "SHU" and "AO", and HAYAGAE allows the wielder to switch between both sets at any time during the quest.

With a tachi sword, one can also use the Sakuraka Tetsu Mushi Kiba Zan, which has been around since "Rise," and the Tsuyoshi/Kiba Zan, which was added in "Sun Break." Both can be used with ZL+X (Switch version) while drawing the sword, but while the Sakurahana Tetsu Mushi Kiba Zan has a large gap and high firepower, the Tsuyoshi Kiba Zan is a fast counter move. By setting each of these techniques in different Shippei Sho, you can usually deal with the Tsuyoshi Kiba Zan and then switch to Shippei when you see an opening, aiming for massive damage with the Sakurahana Tetsudou Mushi Kiba Zan.

Since Shippeshift is applicable to all weapons, there are many variations. In addition to building combos and maneuvers based on the use of Shippo Shift, there are also different ways to use it depending on each monster. Incidentally, after switching to the new style, the player can use a move called "Sentaku" (先駆け), which allows the player to move while drawing the sword. Because it can move while drawing its sword, it can be used to counter an evade or to attack from close range. Since it has a long range, it is also effective when simply avoiding a monster's attack.

The Shippei is quite powerful, but if you want to use it 100%, you will have to master up to 10 Tetsumushito techniques, depending on the configuration, which is quite a high hurdle to overcome. In particular, the monsters that appear at the master rank move very quickly, and if you have to use not only weapons but also the iron filament technique and the shippei in a rapidly changing situation, you will find yourself too busy to think straight.

In my case, I used the same basic set-up, with one of the techniques on one side and another on the other, and gradually got used to it. If you are good at actions, you can decide freely, but if you are not good at them, you may want to try to imitate my method. Alternatively, instead of switching from one to the other in a flexible manner, you can decide in advance when you will use the different techniques, such as for normal use or when the monster is out of position.

It should be noted, however, that while switching between the two is a powerful element, it is not essential. It is an element that increases the range of player actions, so if it is too difficult for you, you may want to just leave it out.

By incorporating elements such as the Alliance Quests and the Shippei, "Sun Break" refines the ease of play and action that "Rise" has developed. Not only for those who have played "Rise," but also for those who have learned about "Rise" through "Sun Break," as free support equipment is officially distributed to help players complete the higher level quests smoothly. This title is recommended for both beginners and advanced players.

• [Product Information
• Monster Hunter Rise: Sun Break
• Genre: Hunting action
• Compatibility: Switch/Steam
• Release date: Now on sale (June 30, 2022)
• Players: 1 player (4 players maximum when playing through communication)
• CERO: C (for ages 15 and up)
• To play, "Monster Hunter Rise" main edition is required.

©CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2021, 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.