You know, if the theme of this article were "best games of TGS", #1 would have been the new Prince of Persia.

However, I figured it would be more appropriate to focus on Japanese games.

Also, Sonic Unleashed isn't bad!

I consider the last couple Sonic games to be actual terrorism, so hey!

There'll no doubt be a demo of Unleashed when it's ready -- give it a shot, really.

Actually, my blurb on Monster Hunter 3 was originally about twice as long as what made the cut into this article.

The "only local multiplayer" in Monster Hunter 3 is the screen-sharing mode. The "only local multiplayer" of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G requires every player to have a PSP -- his own screen, his own copy of the game.

Playing Monster Hunter on the PSP is the best way to experience the game, at least in Japan. Kids carry their PSPs everywhere; every kid in school plays Monster Hunter; when they're sitting around after school or riding the train, they'll take out their PSPs and play, while talking to one another about various things.

Monster Hunter, yes, was originally an online game for the PlayStation 2. However, in this form, it was not nearly as successful sales-wise as it was when it was ported to the PSP.

Monster Hunter on the PSP was a revelation for the Japanese games industry because it was a cooperation-heavy action-based, skill-reliant experience that should have, according to common belief at the time, put off casual gamers.

It did not do this, because it was fun, and the multiplication of the fun that resulted when you let people play it together, using their imaginations and creatively forming tactics using common sense, was not at all predicted. This is because "the human element" or "the social element" of something is always downplayed in Japanese marketing strategy. In Tokyo at least, humans are perceived by marketers to be islands. Companies want to make a product that first and foremost appeals to a person as a single entity.

The Nintendo Wii broke down that specific wall with Wii Sports (et al) -- three years after Sony Computer Entertainment Japan shrugged at the EyeToy and told Phil Harrison "people in Japan don't play games together".

Monster Hunter already existed on the PSP at the time of the Wii's arrival; however, once the sequels rolled out, the sales went up.

I believe -- and many others do as well -- that the PSP local multiplayer is the heart and soul of Monster Hunter. It's the perfect fit. (I will not rule out the possibility that it could work as well (if not better) on the DS!)

The PSP is "the perfect fit" because people in Japan tend to ride lots of trains, or spend lots of time standing around waiting for friends, and polishing one's skills in Monster Hunter tends to always feel (in the best possible way!) a little bit like work. Work -- once it's done, it's greatly satisfying.

You get new items or armor or weapons, and then, the next time your friend is around, you ask, "Hey, do you have your PSP?" If he has his PSP, you play a quick quest.

I was drinking coffee with a friend in Starbucks last night, and two guys -- college friends, maybe? -- and one of the guys' girlfriends were playing Monster Hunter on PSP and talking about the latest Hayao Miyazaki movie while drinking their coffee.

WHAT I AM SAYING IS: You won't be able to do this with Monster Hunter 3 on the Wii.

The latest trends in Japanese game design are slowly pushing toward gaming as a social experience, and Monster Hunter is in many ways the flag-bearer. It is a "hang-out game": a game you play while hanging out in real life.

Monster Hunter has singlehandedly taken the common perception of an "online game" -- that being that games like Monster Hunter are played exclusively by mute shut-ins spending all of their spare time huddled over a computer in their tiny apartment -- and turned it on its ear.

Monster Hunter has made wilderness-traipsing, hack-and-slashing, beast-blasting action with heavy emphasis on item management something "normal" "adults" will gladly and unashamedly partake of in amazingly public places, the way elementary school kids play with their Yu-Gi-Oh cards at McDonalds.

IT HAS BEEN SAID: that Japanese people don't go to one another's houses, most of the time, to "play". Adults in Japan tend to not make "friends" after graduating from college. Monster Hunter on PSP is loosening people up to a point where, when they meet a friend they haven't seen in months, they do something more than sit around a table in a bar saying "It's so hot outside". For that, Monster Hunter is a social force to be reckoned with.

IN OTHER WORDS: I love Monster Hunter as much as you do, if not more. I quite honestly believe it's the second coming of the Japanese Videogame (the "first coming" being Super Mario Bros.).

It's just that -- well. It's not a perfect game. With the tiniest tweaks, it could be.

I have heard many, many people say that the IDEA of Monster Hunter intrigues them to no end, and it pains them that they "just didn't get into it" when they tried playing it.

In fact, the people I've heard say this FAR outnumber the people I know who regularly play Monster Hunter.

What I'm saying is that Monster Hunter 3 for Wii, though it will sell morbidly well, will NOT pull in nearly as many of the people as it could.

Now, a simple exercise: play the original Castlevania. Savor the way the character moves, the feeling of weight when he falls. If you're like me, you love that heavy feeling.

Now play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Feel the stark difference, the semi-weightlessness of the character.

Monster Hunter, right now, is like the original Castlevania.

Symphony of the Night, however, is the one everybody puts on their "Best Games Ever" list.

(I'd choose Castlevania: Bloodlines, though that's just me.)

I'm not saying the assets are reused; I'm saying it doesn't look good. As I posted in an earlier comment, I am perhaps merely disappointed that the game isn't on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 and in high-definition. None of the people I play Monster Hunter with own Wiis, and none of them really want Wiis; many of them are content to just keep playing Portable 2nd G on the PSP.

As am I, probably.

And I did not say the game had no online mode -- I said that I did not get to play the online mode, because the wait time at the Capcom booth exceeded five hours and I didn't have that much time to spend. So I played it solo in a private Capcom PR area.

It was really depressing, playing it alone after spending so much time playing it with friends on local multiplayer.

hey, i had a word limit!

Well, I actually do like Monster Hunter a great deal. I like it so much I wrote a really long review of Portable 2nd G on my personal website, calling it the 23rd best game of all time!

I'm just a little disappointed that they're not taking the Wii version as an opportunity to tighten up a few of the looser things. Like the clunky menus. Seriously, the menus could be a lot better. Faster, at least.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I wanted it to be on PlayStation 3. I wanted 1080p Monster Hunting. Maybe that's it. Who knows.