Playing cards on the desk: I am an actual story man. I really like me lore, wiki rabbit holes, and two-hour YouTube breakdowns. I’ve fallen to sleep to extra gaming essays and deep dives than I might care to confess, and as such have a keenness for obscure secrets and techniques within the video games I play. Monster Hunter Wilds, story-wise, has folks torn – and I completely get why – but it surely additionally would possibly simply have paid homage to one of many collection’ oldest mysteries.
This text incorporates spoilers for the complete low rank story of Monster Hunter Wilds – you’ve gotten been warned!
That thriller is linked to the traditional civilisation, the ruins of which gamers have been capable of uncover and hunt round all through the collection’ life. Wilds, nonetheless, locations this period on the core of its narrative. Beginning on the icy cliffs, you are surrounded by what’s left of Wyveria, even moreso when you hop into the ultimate main looking zone – actually referred to as the Ruins of Wyveria.
Now, whereas Wyveria is that this new-found side to the lore, the traditional civilization itself has been identified about by gamers for some time. Briefly, we have identified that folks have been vibing with all method of technical developments, we all know they have been killing monsters at absurd ranges. They even used dragon elements to construct large towers everywhere. This, as you’ll be able to think about, perturbed the monsters considerably. All of this culminated within the massive naughty occasion dubbed “The Forbidden Act”, through which the traditional civilization created synthetic life, although doing so would require one other residing creature to die.
That final half ought to instantly begin elevating the eyebrows of Monster Hunter Wilds gamers, as an excellent chunk of the sport is spent discovering (and in the end coping with) “Guardian Monsters” – synthetic monsters created ages in the past and saved in cocoons. Whereas this seems to be a direct hyperlink to this lore, there’s nonetheless one vital element – beloved by followers – which may simply make an look in Wilds. The Equal Dragon Weapon (or EDW).
Now, the EDW first confirmed up in idea artwork for the very first Monster Hunter recreation, however by no means really made its approach into every other Monster Hunter mission. It’s, due to this fact, non-canon. It was this Frankenstein-esque creation constituted of 30 totally different monsters, cobbled collectively by metallic plates and framework. It is correct grim stuff, and possibly too darkish for the unique Monster Hunter video games. Within the minds of many followers, together with myself, it seems as if Guardians (and a really particular monster that we’ll contact on in a second) are an evolution of, or at the least callback to, this unique EDW concept.
Enter Zoh Shia, the ultimate boss of the low-rank Monster Hunter Wilds story. This boss is a synthetic monster, too, and has distinct options that appears as if they arrive from totally different dragons. As you proceed via the struggle, the white head armour cracks open to disclose a black dragon face and big black wings (itself a lore bombshell).
It additionally seems to make use of assaults just like the black dragon Fatalis on this later stage, lending benefit to the concept that it was an historical dragon created with the DNA of – and even straight up elements of – outdated dragons, all hidden behind a Wyvern Milk shell.
In Wilds, Zoh Shia is described because the “final weapon” of the traditional civilization and in the end what prompted it to break down, sealed away by the keepers. In my thoughts, both Zoh Shia and the Guardian monsters are the canon model of the EDWs (with Zoh Shia as the head of that effort), or a later step within the historical civilisations’s synthetic life creation course of. Both approach, it is a improbable callback for older Monster Hunter gamers, and provides layers to the story the one deepens the attraction of the collection.
And it makes the setting of Wilds all of the extra thrilling. There are bookshelves full of knowledge on the traditional civilisations that the bozo Keepers cannot even learn, and nothing however time for the Hunters to dig via ’em and uncover extra secrets and techniques. Older Monster Hunter video games have established that found historical civilisation recordsdata and notes element mysterious monsters we have by no means seen. Perhaps they’re going to present up!
And possibly, simply possibly, in a room, in a cocoon, behind some locked door The Keepers by no means bothered to open, an precise EDW is sitting there. The stage has been set for extra details about the previous to floor, and it opens up Wilds to all types of thrilling reveals and revelations. It is obtained me rattling excited to see what Wilds has coming within the coming months and years.
