Hunting monsters is no longer a solo or stationary affair!
Based on the console game Monster Hunter, the Monster Hunter Now app (available on Apple and Android devices) allows veteran and amateur hunters to find and fight monsters throughout their neighborhoods. Recently, developers Capcom and Niantic (the company behind Pokémon GO) created events called Carnivals for players to get up, move around, and battle some beasts.
The first Carnival was held in Tokyo, Japan, and Niantic invited The Pop Insider to play and discover new monsters around Shibuya. The Shibuya Carnival was a series of firsts: the first live Monster Hunter event and the first time the Elder Dragon Nergigante, Silver Rathalos, and Gold Rathian entered the app.
Meet At the Base Camps
Gamers who were level HR 11 or higher in Japan could join the event on Saturday or Sunday. It lasted from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. and typically required 2-3 hours to complete the special quests — The Pop Insider joined on Saturday for the special event. There were three Base Camps to visit: each one featured a photo opp, a large number of hunters, and an opportunity to briefly rest between battles. The Pop Insider started at the Meiji Park Base Camp, but attendees could receive their wristbands and begin the hunt at any of the three.
Before the event kicked off, Niantic and Capcom team members gave heartfelt speeches concerning the first community Monster Hunter Now event.
“We are very honored that so many of you have come this morning to this real event for Monster Hunter Now, which was released globally a year ago. Niantic’s mission it to ‘inspired people to go out and explore the world together.’ Please walk a lot and enjoy Shibuya,” Kei Kawai, COO at Niantic, told the crowd of players and press members.
Once the event began, gamers were invited to check out the Base Camps and start battling!
Players wrote their username, level, and favorite weapon on badges. | Source: Niantic
There were several pieces of Monster Hunter-themed art at the Meiji Park camp. | Source: Niantic
A large map directed players around their gaming field. | Source: Niantic
They also had the chance to grab a map that clarified the base camps and fill out a Hunter badge that depicted their name, HR level, and favorite weapon. This made it easy for community members to add friends on the app (and in real life). Before heading out to hunt more monsters, attendees could visit the AR booth, where they received photos and videos of themselves fighting a VR monster.
The Meiji Park camp also featured a tent with framed Monster Hunter artwork in various styles and some shade from the sun. Additionally, this area included a photo opp with Palico-themed cooking settings, which fans will recognize from the app. These details helped foster a united atmosphere.
In an exclusive interview with The Pop Insider, Kei Kawai, COO at Niantic, highlights why the small details matter and how the event will expand. “It [the Shibuya Carnival] is a start; it’s not one giant program or one thing. I think it’s a curation of the small but important things. For example, this little wristband that everybody’s wearing, it shows that you’re part of the group, that you see people wearing and you are hunting with them, and that creates a sense of connectedness.”
“Today is really a beginning, but I think I see people posting on social media about ‘Hey, we are hunting here; come over and join us.’ Or, there’s a tool called the Campfire that we make by ourselves that you can put community events and get-togethers on the map in the app so you can zoom out and see where people are hanging out. So we want to continue to explore ways to enable people to get together in real life, not only the servers but in real life and getting together and hunting together. And that is something that we want to keep working on.”
Moving Toward Monsters
Attendees followed the Monster Traces to move from one Base Camp to another. As players, including The Pop Insider, walked toward the prints, they hunted several beasts. While following the tracks, players completed quests unique to the event and received several exclusives, including special medals, equipment, a guild card background, and materials for the Carnival-specific monsters.
The app featured welcome notes tailored to the event. | Source: The Pop Insider
Players followed virtual tracks that led them around the city. | Source: The Pop Insider
Familiar faces were present during the hunt! | Source: The Pop Insider
After 12 p.m. on each day, the Nergigante appeared around Elder Dragon Interception Points — this means that players could take park in interceptions by completing special quests. There were double the number of inception points for the Carnival! When speaking with The Pop Insider, Capcom Producer Genki Sunano discusses the decision to include the Elder Dragon Nergigante, Silver Rathalos, and Gold Rathian in the app for the first time.
“We carefully choose each season, which happens every three months, as to what the right set of monsters to introduce is. It’s based on popularity from fans; it’s based on theme-balancing elements, so having the right elemental balances between those monsters,” Sunano says.
“So we put a lot of effort into getting the right set of Monsters into each season. So that is a basis. And for the event, there are two new Monsters and one new Elder Dragon. So, for the Rathian and Silver and Gold Ratholos, obviously, those two monsters are kind of iconic to the franchise. When we introduced this rare breed, we wanted to start with the Rathian and Ratholos. So that’s kind of why. And now Nergigante, it’s a third dragon that we introduced into the game and it’s also another very popular one that was on the package design of the Monster Hunter world. So this is very iconic to the franchise as well. So we wanted to have these three very iconic fan favorites to celebrate the introduction of the Monster Hunter Carnival.”
During the event, players were provided materials to create weapons and armor, meaning that only the attendees had those items on the app. Depending on the difficulty level (which appears onscreen as stars), the new equipment is adapted to the attendees’ performance.
Attendees were even treated to unique backgrounds and background music on the app.
Even if gamers ignored special quests, they could still receive the materials needed to upgrade (and overgrade) the event-specific armor and weapons … by slaying huge monsters! While participating in the Carnival, players also noticed that they didn’t need as many materials to upgrade.
Additional live event aspects included large monsters that respawned quickly (about every 30 minutes) and an expanded access range. Plus, it took only 30 minutes for the Gathering Point to respawn. The best part was that attendees didn’t have to wait for Elder Dragon Interceptions or Hunt-a-thons!
While the option to hunt alone was available, some of the Monsters required a team of skilled hunters. Attendees could battle with those around them and make friends in the app and on the street. During the hunt, players could also see Monster Hunter Now Carnival banners hanging in the street (if they had time between all of the battles, forging, and bonding with others).
Gamers could pose with a massive Rathalos footprint at one of the base camps. | Source: Niantic
This photo opp was open to all attendees. | Source: The Pop Insider
One Base Camp was hosted outside of Parco, which is home to the Capcom store. Fans could take a break, head inside, and find their new favorite Monster Hunter Now merch. Outside of the mall, Niantic placed a large Monster Hunter Now photo opp.
The final base camps were located at Kitaya Park and Shibuya Sakura Stage, which featured a giant Rathalos footprint and a large inflatable Nergigante, respectively.
After tracking Monsters, battling with friends new and old, and taking photos with the incredible icons, gamers went home with a new batch of armor, upgraded weapons, and an expanded thirst for hunting!
More Carnivals, More Updates, More Fun
For fans who couldn’t make it to Japan in October, the experience came to them — the Monster Hunter Now Carnival 2024 Global ran almost a month later.
During this event, fans in several different countries had a similar experience to those in Shibuya. The Carnival featured exclusive armor and weapons, incredible monsters like the Elder Dragon Nergigante, Silver Rathalos, and Gold Rathian, and a community feeling like no other.
For players who are just starting their quests, winter break is the perfect time to dedicate to hunting and level up before the next Monster Hunter Now event! Since the app is continuously updated based on user feedback, and the team takes extra care to run a game that the gamers enjoy, there are several different in-app events to participate in. This includes the Happy Hunter New Year celebrations, which start today!
Players can participate in A Happy Hunting New Year: Final Hunt 2024 from Dec. 23-Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. local time and the First Hunt 2025 from Jan. 1 at 12:00 a.m.-Jan. 5, 11:59 p.m. local time. During these in-app events, hunters can unlock exclusive layered equipment, special medals, and unique guild card backgrounds. There will also be an increase of monsters throughout these events, so lock in and hunt on!
Fans can download the app through the App Store and Google Play store now.
