Ever since 2010's Monster Hunter 3 (Tri) and its Ultimate follow-up, a small but devoted group of series fans has been asking for a new installment to revive the underwater combat that helped define the odd third-gen entries. Monster Hunter World, arguably the most realistic game in the series to date, made no mention of it, and Monster Hunter Wilds basically looks like Monster Hunter World 2, again with no underwater combat in sight. The cynic in me wants to say that underwater combat just wasn't very fun, or was at least much weaker than normal combat, but former series producer Shintaro Kojima has a more sophisticated theory: "It's really, super hard" to make.
Kojima was assistant producer on Monster Hunter Tri and had been on the series in some capacity since the original PS2 cult classic, ending his run with Monster Hunter Generations. As Automaton spotted, with underwater discourse resurfacing yet again in the lead-up to Monster Hunter Wilds, he discussed the challenges of recreating the fighting style, likening it to "making a separate game."
