Monster Hunter — If Cats Can Talk to Animals, Why Can’t I?

Not exactly a game that PETA would condone

It was the early 2000s, a time when roller skates were slowly fading into obscurity, and the music could still be considered “ok”. As the title would suggest, this game came out known as Monster Hunter, apparently about hunting monsters. It was a game no one heard of, probably because it didn’t receive much promotion outside of Japan, if at all. But as time went on, it started to rack up a cult following, which would eventually become Capcom’s greatest success.

Although I actually started with the 3rd game in the series, I never really got far since the console broke, leaving me with nothing until 2018. That’s when the 5th entry in the franchise came out: Monster Hunter World.

In general, Monster Hunter is a game where you… well… the title says it. But you could do so much more. If I go on about what this game is all about, I would need another paragraph, and I don’t have the budget for that. But basically, it’s a story of humans vs nature, and yes, most of the game focuses on you hunting monsters, which are basically just really cool-looking dinosaurs and is definitely not a statement against or in favour of animal cruelty. But of course, you probably know where I want to take this article, so if you want to know more, I recommend just playing the game. 100% satisfaction, I guarantee, no refunds. But in any case, let’s get to the main bullshit of this article.

Sooooo… how do you talk to animals… and the primitive locals?

So you can do a lot of things in the game besides just hunting monsters, all of which are the size of a house and the strength of trillion thousand bulldozers, some even more than that. If that’s too stressful- sometimes it is — because every hunt takes no less than 50 minutes (or the mission fails), you can always tend to your garden or decorate your room. Or go where the monsters are and look around without fighting them, but instead, observe their nature for a change. However, there is one thing that I paid clear attention to, but it was not on me, the Hunter. It was on my cat-man mate, AKA the Palico. Of course, don’t call them that because that would probably be racist; instead, call them “Felynes” because that’s how they’re actually called.

But yes, your “Felyne” friend is, among other things, a polyglot. Seriously, these cats can speak a multitude of languages, or more exactly forms of communication, that come across as handy in the game when you want to talk to the primitive tribes that are constantly throwing rocks at you, or maybe the oversized komodo dragons that stun you every time they bite with their foot-long fangs. Though it comes off as “useful” to you, that’s exactly the problem.

How is it that I can never speak like that? I mean, some characters, aside from the Felyne (remember, that’s how they’re called), can also speak angry cave people language. If I could talk to the primitives myself, I wouldn’t need to beat some sense into them (and even then, they still threw stuff at me). Now that would have saved a lot of time.

The cats should teach the humans what “Ooga booga” means

So first of all, the first solution was already said by myself earlier, in that the character itself should speak, instead of his cat mate… I mean, Felyne… sorry. Anyway, that would save some stuff.

But how would they do that? Not for me to say, I’m not one of the game’s makers. But when you think about it, there’s so much lore to the world of the game, which almost makes you feel like you want to be part of it. There are very sages who master the various languages of that world since it’s not always about hunting monsters. Bring one into the game, and let them teach the hero how to speak whatever they desire… for a fee, of course.

On second thought, screw it. Just let the cat talk.

I would let the cat people have a say, but they aren’t actually real

So basically, I gave up on a proper solution. Those that want to have a say have it. I suppose you come from a place you care, whether it’d be for the game itself or the vague language aspects it contains.

If you come for the game itself, I suppose you care too much about the game. Me too, since it left quite a lasting impression on me. And I would love to have more of it.

If you come for something else, do tell me why you came to have a say. It could be for many reasons, I suppose. But if you came for the language thing, you can only hope that the next game will have the thing you want.

In conclusion…

I want to start by saying this: Play. This. Game. Specifically, Monster Hunter World. It’s perfect for people who enjoy a game with a tremendous amount of depth and complexity to everything. But note this too, that it’s a game that could potentially last years, so it will keep you busy for a while. Although I suppose some people don’t enjoy a long-term experience.

As for the language thing, maybe it’s just how the Felyne can easily talk better in other languages because the humans are too busy hunting monsters. It’s a mutuality of sorts where the Felyne realise they need to focus on what the humans can’t. And this is only achievable because all the humans in the game are always so nice to each other for some reason. As if humans came without all the judgmental bullshit. So basically, the humans, the Felyne, and another humanoid race live in solidarity and live by a collective agenda to move forward. And again, this is all happening when they’re barely arguing with each other, unlike real-world politicians.

Anyway, I kind of went astray with that, but take my advice, let the cat do the talking to the animals. You really came to play this game for the monsters… and you know it.