SOME KIND OF MONSTER: I love Japanese guide books. Whether it be cookbooks or game guides, nothing beats the presentation and overall usability of a Japanese guide book done right.
So when i finally got my grubby paws on Monster Hunter 3 (Tri) for the Wii, the first thing I tried to do was look for a Japanese game guide. Much to my surprise, the only guides that were out were either introductory guides or super-specific ones that focused on one thing, like a monster list or equipment. There were none of the full, comprehensive guides that I've come to expect.
Still, I really wanted to get a guide book for this game so I decided to order the Rookie's Guide pictured above. It's a bit of a hit on my pride to be called a rookie. Then again, using a guide is technically a hit on anyone's pride anyway so what the heck. I ultimately picked this one out of all the "starter guides" after reading the comments by Japanese folks who purchased the book online. Plus, it came with a free DVD and yours truly is a sucker for free stuff. Well, technically, I guess it isn't free but I'm pretending it is to make myself feel better, especially after the debacle that is the Dengeki guide for SD Gundam G Generation Wars for the Wii. Boy was that a horrible guide. Not only does it NOT have a full list of robot combos, it also only has guides for the first stage of each scenario. What the heck am I paying for if a guide doesn't have, well, a guide for the really important stuff? And the darn book is titled "Perfect Guide!" Boo, Dengkei, boo. Boy, did I make a mistake not reading the reviews for that one. Now I gotta order another guide by Namco Bandai Books, and it takes about a month for me to get this stuff here in the U.S. via Kinokuniya. Grr, Dengeki, grr. At least looks this other book looks more promising based on the buyer comments. I am now crossing my fingers.
Of course, the good news with this whole Dengeki book debacle is that it made it easier for me to pick which game to focus on first. That would be MH3. Well, I actually also have Kekkaishi Wii and Tales of Hearts for the DS to start but we'll see how that goes. The plan is to basically go through the book for any interesting tidbits to turn into FAQ material and also start to progress through my first character file. I actually have a second file I'm using for the translation guide I'm working on but transcribing all the character conversations takes so long that I just want to play the game already. This'll be the first weekend in about a month that I haven't had to take a trip somewhere so here's hoping I make some progress. Till next time, my non-existent readers. Ciao! SHINGENMOCHI
For those who are interested in this book, here is some info:
MONSTER HUNTER 3 (TRI) ROOKIE'S GUIDE
Publisher: Enterbrain
Price: 998 yen
Pages: 127
ISBN-10: 4757750471
ISBN-13: 978-4757750470
Publish date: Aug. 1, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment