Players welcomed the news of a new expansion, as Capcom promised to improve gameplay and combat mechanics, as well as add “unique new monsters and hunting locales, and a new difficulty level in the form of Master Rank quests.” After players saved Kamura Village from the Rampage in the main game, they must now explore the outpost in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak called Elgado, near a kingdom that is experiencing its own monster-related problems. With new characters, settings, enemies, and other exciting updates, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is looking to shake things up. One important change is the new mythological inspirations for its creature designs.
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The New Monsters And Their Inspirations
In March, Capcom hosted a live-streamed event to reveal more about the upcoming Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion. This vast new DLC has plenty of juicy additions for players to enjoy, like new quests, storylines, characters to meet, and most importantly new monsters. The new enemies in Monster Hunter Rise’s expansion were one of the things that players were most excited to see, and thankfully the presentation had some more light to shed on these mysterious beasts. Since the teaser trailer launched during The Game Awards, Capcom had been fairly silent about the upcoming DLC, and players were anxious to know more about the summer expansion.
In addition to a few returning monsters, gamers were given a better look at Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak’s main monster bosses: The Three Lords. Garangolm, Lunagaron, and Malzeno certainly look like formidable foes, but players were a little surprised to see the direction that the developers had gone in for the creatures’ designs.
Lunagaron, first glimpsed in Sunbreak’s teaser trailer, has one of the most obvious origins. The wolf-like creature is giving off major werewolf vibes, but with a Monster Hunter twist. The creature is shown stalking the moonlit landscape, with a voiceover during the teaser trailer describing the Lunagaron’s “entranced roar” as it “shows its true form” under the light of the moon.
Although werewolves are a widespread phenomenon in European folklore and literature, it was a creature popularized by films like the Universal Classic Monsters media franchise, which launched it into the mainstream and popular culture. Another one of the Three Lords that appears to have similar inspirational origins is Garangolm. This elemental ape-like monster is basically the game’s answer to King Kong — the famous film ape with a penchant for tall buildings and swatting planes. First appearing in the 1933 film of the same name, King Kong has captured the imagination of Western audiences ever since.
Dragons may be nothing new to the Monster Hunter universe, with Elder Dragons taking on many different shapes and sizes across the generations, but Sunbreak’s flagship monster, Malzeno, looks unique. This gigantic menace looks like something either ripped directly out of the pages of Arthurian legend or from a Disney movie with its two protruding horns resembling Maleficent’s dragon form. The rumored abilities and first looks at its appearance also suggest a slightly vampiric nature — another cultural figure from European folklore that also found its way into movies, books, and games, but was largely made mainstream through Universal’s 1931 film.
The Departure From Previous Monster Designs
Over the years and across its multiple entries, the Monster Hunter franchise has had a variety of different monster designs, from the large to the small, the winged to the water-dwelling. As a Japanese game franchise, it’s no wonder that a lot of the monsters’ designs take their cue from supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore called Yokai. Monster Hunter Rise embraced this theme wholeheartedly, with Feudal Japan as an obvious inspiration, referenced in everything from the armor designs, Irimoya-Zukuri roofs, and the Yakushima-like forest.
Many previous enemies have been informed by Japanese myths and legends, like the Great Izuchi, which may appear to be a raptor-like creature, but it also bears a striking resemblance to the Kamaitachi — a weasely supernatural being that stalks its victims in packs throughout the mountains of Japan, attacking with its long and intensely sharp nails that curve like sickles. The vast majority of monsters featured in the games so far have their roots in Japanese culture, so it’s interesting to see more Western influences creeping in — a change that will no doubt please a sizable portion of the Monster Hunter fan base.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for PC and Switch. The Sunbreak expansion will release on June 30.
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