The aquatic creature Somnacanth evokes the image of a mermaid, but its origins are slightly more nuanced than that. It’s still an engaging encounter, though, and it’s a remarkable step up from the Great Izuchi in terms of variety and challenge. Its attacks are straightforward and well-telegraphed, with some of them, like the status-inflicting fireballs, being well-worn concepts covered by numerous other monsters. Aside from these notable design choices, however, the fight is fairly standard fare. It’s a small touch, but since this monster is fought early in the game, it encourages players to watch out for how monsters telegraph their attacks, and the visually striking nature of its collar cleverly trains players to internalize this important skill. The game notifies players to pay attention to its collar-when it opens, Aknosom will lunge forward and strike at the ground with its beak. The result is a fun visual design that lends itself well to the graceful nature of Aknosom’s attack animations. The developers took note of how cranes resemble umbrellas when they stand on one leg, which inspired them to design a crane evocative of this well-known spirit. The fire-breathing crane Aknosom is inspired by the kasa-obake, a formerly inanimate umbrella transformed into a yokai. Here’s hoping Capcom is planning exactly that.
Of course, Monster Hunter Rise is still in its early stages, and a future update could easily patch in a normal Ibushi hunt. Ibushi would have really benefitted from a traditional monster hunting quest dedicated to him, as it’s easy to forget he’s even in the game at all when he is largely divorced from the core gameplay loop. Because of this, Ibushi does not ever get a chance to shine on his own, as the high-pressure nature of Rampage Quests means that players will probably be too focused on frantically defending the final gate to really appreciate Ibushi’s distinct mechanics and attack patterns. His fight is a spectacle to behold, but he suffers from a fairly significant problem in that he can only be encountered during Rampage Quests, tower defense-like diversions introduced in Monster Hunter Rise. Ibushi also makes decent use of the Wirebug mechanic, as it can be used in tandem with his gusts of wind to set up evasions and attacks from above. He has a number of extravagant attacks, one of which must be uniquely countered by using a hunting installation to fire at the rocks floating around him. It’s a worthy design for being such a plot-critical monster, being one of the main culprits behind the calamitous Rampage event. His glowing blue sacs strewn about his elongated body make for a monster that is as beautiful as it is terrifying, which is only cemented by his bizarre tendency to float upside down.
10) Wind Serpent Ibushiīased on the wind god Fujin, Ibushi boasts a striking visual design. It provides a good taste as to the kinds of fights players will find themselves in throughout the game, but it does not offer much more than that. To add insult to injury, the Great Baggi and Great Wroggi also make appearances in Monster Hunter Rise, rendering the Great Izuchi even more redundant. In addition, despite its noteworthy inspirations, the Great Izuchi feels somewhat derivative, being a bird wyvern similar in appearance and concept to others seen throughout the series, namely the Great Jaggi, the Great Baggi, and the Great Wroggi.
It’s the quintessential tutorial boss, sporting a relatively small pool of attacks that are easy to see coming and lack the spectacle and bravado seen in the movesets of later monsters. That being said, the Great Izuchi is ranked at the bottom for a reason. It cleverly incorporates its folklore inspirations into its battle mechanics, and that alone makes it a worthy introduction to the game. The Great Izuchi, in kind, strikes at players with its own scythe-shaped tail, and it is almost always accompanied by two regular Izuchi that join their leader in synchronized attacks. The first big monster to be faced when going through Monster Hunter Rise’s Village Quests, the Great Izuchi is based on the kamaitachi, a weasel-esque yokai that uses its scythe-like tail to attack its victims and hunts in packs of three.