Capcom are emphasizing the adventurous aspect of Monster Hunter in Monster Hunter 4, and one of the ways they’re doing this is by adding in more villages and a caravan (complete with a crew) that lets you travel between them.
Your hunting journey begins in a market town, known as Barubaré, where many travelers and their caravans get together to sell goods and gather information. There are various shops in town for players to find just about everything they need to start their adventure, such as equipment, items and more.
Barubaré is also where you’ll meet the leader, who will recruit you as part of his caravan troupe and provide you with an Insect Staff as your very first weapon. It looks like Capcom want players to get hands-on time with Monster Hunter 4’s brand new weapon class as soon as possible.
Aside from the leader, the caravan crew consists of his assistant, who acts as the quest receptionist; a traveling merchant; a blacksmith with his apprentice daughter; and finally, a cooking Felyne. They’ll help you every step of the way with their specialized skills, as you travel from land to land.
The second village in the game after Barubaré is called Naguri. Its volcanic surroundings make for an ideal place for blacksmiths to create their finest work.
There will be several villages other than the two revealed so far, which players will be able to visit upon completing certain quests and advancing in the game. These villages will have their own unique looks and characters.
Every new destination also means more unlocked features from the rest of your caravan members. Additionally, players will freely be able to return to any previous villages at any given time in the game.
Capcom discussed these details at the Tokyo Game Show back in September, where they also announced that Monster Hunter 4 would have online multiplayer on a portable system for the first time. You can watch their TGS presentation, which contains more footage from the game, above.
