Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is a game in the Monster Hunter franchise for the PlayStation Portable system that was released in Japan on December 1, 2010. The game was released, as a part of the PlayStation Portable Remaster series, on PlayStation 3. The game introduces new regions, monsters, and a revised Felyne combat system. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is not an update to Monster Hunter Freedom Unite or Monster Hunter Tri. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is instead separate to the rest of the series, and most of the game has been entirely remade. However, it is also a successor to Monster Hunter Freedom Unite as the third game in the Portable series. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD ver. is a high definition remastering of the game for the PlayStation 3, and is the first of Sony's "PSP Remasters" series for the PS3. The game was released in Japan on August 25, 2011 and features enhanced HD graphics, 3D support and shared save support with the PSP.
Gameplay
The new base of operations is Yukumo Village. This village has a feudal Japanese feel to it, both from its design to its residents. Now the Felynes train in the farm and have more training options like the marathon training in which the Felyne runs around the farm. The player can take two Felynes out with him/her on a single player quest, up from the single companion of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. When you take Felynes out on quests, monster attacks are divided between the player and the companions, making hunts easier. Also new to Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is the ability to customize the Felyne companions' equipment. Doing so will change the creature's physical appearance and properties. The player will be able to customize the Felynes in three areas: weapon, head parts and torso parts. A new field introduced in the game is Mountain Stream. All the hunting fields in Monster Hunter Tri, along with the addition of the Mountain Stream field are included in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. Underwater quests, however, have been completely removed, therefore maps such as the Deserted Island and Flooded Forest have been revised to work around this. Not all monsters from Monster Hunter Tri are present in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd – Lagiacrus, Gobul, and Ceadeus have been removed. Zinogre, the flagship monster of the game is shown on the cover art. The Guild Hall now features a hot spring, similar to the Felyne Kitchen from previous games, which can be upgraded by clearing special 'Hot Spring Quests' which upgrade the effects of the hot spring, as well as the Felyne Whim Skills, which can now be chosen and selected by the player. All weapon classes from previous games are present in the game. The four classes which were not present in Tri have been revised. The equipment creation and fortification systems received a variety of changes. Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto claimed that this area of the game will keep what was good from Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and Monster Hunter Tri and add new elements.
Reception
Famitsu gave the PSP version a score of two tens, one nine, and one ten, for an almost-perfect score of 39 out of 40.
Sales
The game was number one in the Japanese sales chart of 5 December 2010, replacing Gran Turismo 5. Within two weeks of release by December 20, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd sold 2.58 million units in Japan. According to the game's publisher, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is "now the fastest selling PSP title ever in Japan" and "the fastest selling game in Capcom's history." By June 2011, the game's sales in Japan had reached 4.8 million units; making it the third best-selling PSP game of all time.
