Capcom invited us down to a special and unique banquet in honour of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. In fact I can’t say I’ve experienced anything like this and not sure I ever will again. In collaboration with the Ocean House Yashin restaurant in South Kensington, London we were treated to a Monster Hunter’s experience with the upcoming game to try out and the carcasses of the beasts to devour.
The Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate preview we played included the 2 new weapons; the Insect Glaive, which has the manoeuvrability of a fighting staff and summons insect help; and the Charge Blade, which reminds us of the Switch Axe with the properties of the Sword and Shield when sheathed. We fought against 3 bosses which included the classic Great Jaggi, the crab-like Daimyo Hermitaur and the terrifying Tigersripe Zamtrios. The build we played performed well, the co-op without lag and previous Monster Hunter players like myself welcomed the improvements such as jumping, climbing and midair attacks.
The meal itself featured names from the game as the titles for the foods and concocted drinks. ‘Monster Curios’ was the title for the first round. We were served the Mega Potion as our starting alcoholic beverage accompanied by Fresh Kirin Tears with Kezhu Saliva, the bubbles on top. This was served on a really eccentric fish backbone as the holder.
The ‘Gore Magala’ was the tasty second course. It consisted of Tundra aged Gore Magala Tail which was pretty meaty. Accompanying this was Sliced Gore Magala Feeler, Crystalised Frenzy Jelly and Grated Parashroom. It looked divine and tasted just as great as it looked. The Ancient Potion was the second beverage, potent with a citrusy kick.
The next course was the ‘Kushala Daora’ which was a haute cuisine styled dish. It featured 1000 year aged Rare Daora Webbing Steak, which was the best tasting Wagu beef ever, Daora Eye Lens, Deep Fried Daora Carapace Piece and Fragment of Dragon Treasure. The Elder Dragon Blood that came in a wine glass was a sweeter tasting beverage.
After the table was cleared we all had to make extra room down the middle for the upcoming ‘Wyvern Scale Sushi’ centrepiece. And boy was it a huge display. The Rathian, Rathalos, Pink Rathian and Silver Rathalos were amazingly presented on a large fish skeleton several metres long. It was a great selection of Sushi that did wonders to the taste bud that was top quality. The Psychoserum was the beverage that was a delicious cocktail. Refreshing and pallet cleansing.
To end the entire night of weird and wonderful foods was the Pièce de résistance ‘Handpicked Jewels’. The Gore Magala Nycto-gem and Daora Gem desert balls, chocolate and lemon flavoured, was served upon a dry ice fountain. It was incredible fun to sit back and gaze at the ice that covered the table.
It’ll be great for Capcom to have this event more often and include the community of Monster Hunter fans to experience what we tried out for the first time on British soil. The food was great, everyone enjoyed themselves, playing the preview was amazing and the chef and waiter was a fan of the game!
