“If we want co-op, then I guess Tanks?”
“Too complicated, so how about Monster Hunter?”
“I dunno, I think that’s pretty rough on newbies too...”
“Ah, yeah, can’t deny that...”
And so concludes the expert gamer’s guide to welcoming a beginner. Thank you for your support, please look forward to Kai Nakamura’s next work.
“Worry not, Nakamura. I believe it’s worth a try.” Kotobuki gave a heartening fist pump despite the fact that her face happened to be pale. Jun clenched her heart in pain as she went on about how precious she was.
Kai was a bit concerned, but he turned on his PS4 anyway. They were just trying it out, so he let Kotobuki use his character that had maxed-out equipment. Kai would deck the character out in full Arch-Tempered armor and have Kotobuki hunt the first (and weakest) boss you meet in the story, the low rank Great Jagras. He talked it over with Jun.
“The only problem is the weapon...”
Monster Hunter has a lot of different weapons from the sword and shield to gunlances. The weapon you choose greatly influences how you play the game. If one were to ask Kai, he’d say that using five different weapons made the game five times as fun. It was that deep, but that also made the question of what weapon to give Kotobuki all the more delicate. Having her wield an expert-oriented armament like a lance or a heavy bowgun was out of the question.
Kai and Jun reached their conclusions at the same moment.
“Yep, a beginner should use a great sword.”
“Yep, a beginner’s gotta use a sword and shield.”
For an instant, sparks flew from the gazes they shot each other.
“The core of Monster Hunter is finding the openings in a monster’s attacks and taking advantage of them. And a great sword is the lovely gentleman who’ll teach you that.”
“Excuse me? The fun of Monster Hunter is mashing buttons for those sick combos! There’s only one choice: sword and shield or dual blades!”
“That’s two choices! Anyway, Jun, this is why you never get good! You keep going in without a shred of patience! I’ve only got so many Lifepowders. How about you learn some great sword fundamentals?”
“Excuse me? You know that every magazine, strategy guide, and website ever made recommends that beginners use a sword and shield, right? Your default weapon is a sword and shield! It may as well be a canon OTP at this point!”
Kai and Jun’s argument was heating up, but...
“...My apologies, but may I ask that you not fight so gleefully over something I fail to understand?”
The way Kotobuki smiled while a fire raged in her eyes was a bit terrifying, so the two shut up.
“W-Well, it’s my character, so how about we go with a great sword?”
“That makes zero logical sense, but I don’t want Hotey getting mad, so sure.”
And so, they smoothly reached a mutual agreement. Kotobuki would use a great sword—the strongest one in the game, the Wyvern Ignition “Impact,” at that. They wanted her to experience this game with a battle she couldn’t possibly lose. They wanted her, if luck would have it, to maybe even see what it was that made the game so special. Those were Kai and Jun’s honest feelings. Yes, they wanted her to experience the thrill of boldly challenging a monster bigger than herself (even though she was guaranteed to win) with a weapon she forged herself (even though Kai gave her the strongest weapon in the game). They wanted her to have a taste of the primal rush that hacking and slashing into a gigantic monster while dancing around its barrage of attacks could provide. Those were the hopes imbued in the controller they handed her.
“Here I go,” said Kotobuki. She gripped the pad with renewed motivation. The hunter she controlled wandered through the forest within the game. She was nervous at first, but she lightened up as she freely explored the world around her.
“The PS4’s graphics are certainly impressive. The jungle looks so realistic.”
“Do I merely have to follow this pretty light?”
“Ah, so I can harvest this large mushroom. I can’t say that color looks particularly appetizing, though.”
“I’m impressed that this hunter person can breathe underwater.”
Kotobuki’s comments came one after the other. Having a lot to say was a sign that she was enjoying herself. She wasn’t used to MH’s unique control scheme, so her hunter’s movements were awkward and she went off track plenty of times. Still, she was making her way ever closer to the Great Jagras.
Kai and Jun helped make her feel welcome; they agreed with her comments, cracked jokes, and gave her plenty of honest advice. Series veterans like them wouldn’t give a second thought to mushrooms growing in a forest. They’d march like a career soldier straight to the boss monster’s nest, where they’d hunt it, skin it, and click their tongues if they didn’t get a rare material. It was just a daily grind to them. But watching Kotobuki enjoy herself gave Kai a shot of nostalgia as he thought back to the excitement of his own early days.
But the picnic ended here.
Kotobuki’s hunter finally reached the boss monster. The Great Jagras looked like a cross between a frog and an alligator; it was creepy, but still somehow silly. It sauntered around the shrubbery, seemingly unaware of Kotobuki’s presence. But Kotobuki didn’t try to approach it. She just wandered around in the lower part of the screen.
“What might you be doing, Kotobuki?”
“I-I’m too scared to get close.”
“It’s just a game, so get in there and start slashing!”
“But I’m scared...”
It seemed that Kotobuki was the type to self-insert into the characters she plays. The type to say “ouch” whenever their character took a hit. People like that were out there.
“Don’t worry, Hotey. With armor like yours, that thing could chew you up and you’d barely take any damage. You’re not gonna die. Or would you like your big sis Jun to show you the ropes?”
“Th-There’s no need. Here I go.” Jun cooed and offered to throw a lifeline, which had the opposite effect and motivated Kotobuki to attack.
The Great Jagras still hadn’t noticed her. It just sat there with its butt facing the screen, barely moving at all. This was the most basic of quests, so its difficulty was low. Kotobuki’s hunter advanced ever closer, with movements as jerky as ever. And so her character swung the gigantic sword that was bigger than their body. It was a dramatic, striking image; ridiculous in reality, but possible in the world of a game. And once Kotobuki’s blade swung through its arc, it dramatically struck...the ground right next to the Great Jagras’s feet. Yep, this was a dramatic miss.
This warranted another conversation via nervous glances between Kai and Jun.
Crap! Jun, how did she miss something that doesn’t move?!
What do we do, Kai? This is what happened when my grandma tried playing this game on a whim!