I hope you end up enjoying it. I will say: getting into Monster Hunter is a little like getting into a complex TV series - you have to give it time. Eventually a lot of the aspects you perceive as annoying end up becoming aspects you appreciate. For example, those loading screens. I really like them now, even though I hated them at first. It's weird. I don't know if it's Stockholm Syndrome, or the games are just oddly brilliant. There is no question that those loading screens served the design of those older Monster Hunter games quite well.

If you make it to Rathalos in Rise and are still not feeling it, that's probably around where you can call it a day.

Monster Hunter is the weirdest popular game franchise out there. Nearly everyone has the exact same feelings you do when trying to get into it - no one seems to jump in headfirst and enjoy themselves. I was the exception, but I suspect if I'd started with World, I would have bounced off it, as well.

What appeals to me about the games is that they seamlessly meld objective-based gameplay, action-oriented combat, and RPG-style preparation. World lost some of this by de emphasizing the preparation aspect, allowing you to eat and restock in your camp rather than forcing you to enter a hunt with only a set number of items and relying on gathering and ingenuity to make up for shortcomings in your planning.

Rise is a much easier game than World, and is a lot shorter to boot, even discounting the Iceborne G-Rank expansion. There is a huge gap between pre-World Monster Hunter games and post-World Monster Hunter. If you find yourself bouncing off Rise in a similar fashion to World, I would suggest giving the franchise one final chance with Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (available on PSP with a fan translation), Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate, or Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate. All of those are considered "old school" MH games and are far more punishing, yet rewarding I believe. They take a bit to get into, though.

Aspects like the world and so forth are nice, but absolutely not the driving forces behind the games.

If you want a partner or need help with Rise, let me know and I'd be happy to get you started. I haven't actually played too much of it yet but most Monster Hunter knowledge transfers between installments.

Hey man! Hope you've been well.

How are you liking Monster Hunter Stories 2? How would you rate it as an RPG, and as a Monster Hunter game?

Hey, Try!

Can I get your final thoughts on Metroid Dread and your ranking of Dread amongst all the other Metroid games? MLiG4ever!

You're collecting Silent Hill like it's Pokémon!

well you do now, go to Kugane and do Dramatis Personae and then pick up the next quest after that and

do it Saturday

Hey Triangleforce, got any plans ...next.... Saturday?!

You did it!

awesome! I really enjoyed that game.

Super Scope games are great. You going to beat Matal Combat next?