Welcome to Discussion of the Week: Portable 3rd Subspecies!

This week we're going to be taking a look at some of the new monster subspecies introduced in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. Well, all of them, in fact.

This is where I realise this might work a lot better if we had renders for most of them.

Royal Ludroth Subspecies

• Unlike the normal variety, it doesn't swim, not even in 3G (lazy, Capcom).
• Well, it is a bit different to normal Royal Ludroth, I suppose, but it's only really a gimmick (the poison). It still fights in much the same way, as far as I can tell.

MHP3rd Weapons

Lance

Japanese ベレーナサイル ベルナルファード

Translation Belena Missile Bell Narufado

Long Sword

Japanese ドループグレイブ デブリテイトグレイブ

Translation Poison Grave Debilitating Grave

Qurupeco Subspecies

• Ah, now, I do seriously rate Tropical Peco as a Subspecies. Much more aggressive, lives in entirely seperate climates to the original, has a stronger roar, different weakness, uses electricity and can do a flash attack... and of course can summon a different range of 'friends'.
• Weird that a fish-eater would live in the Volcano, though.

MHP3rd Weapons

Switch Axe

Japanese スパークルペッコ ボルトペッカー

Translation Sparkle Peco Bolt Pecker

Gunlance

Japanese サンダーフェザー サンダーバード

Translation Thunder Feather Thunderbird

Hammer

Japanese エレキトリコック デンコウペッカ

Translation Thunder Peco Spark Pecker

Barroth Subspecies

• All seems good with this one. Snow instead of mud, completely different area it inhabits, some neat new attacks. Annoying U-turn charge, but hey, can't have everything.

MHP3rd Weapons

Hunting Horn

Japanese アイスキュリン アイスエイジ

Translation The Ice Cure Ice Age

Hammer

Japanese アイスクラッシャー アイスクラム

Translation Ice Crusher Ice Clam

Tigrex Subspecies

• Oh, go on then. He's alright. Crazy, and most of his attacks you could give to normal Tigrex and no-one would bat an eyelid, but I'll forgive it just this once because it's Tigrex, he has an awesome colour scheme, hangs out in the Volcano... and it's Tigrex.

MHP3rd Weapons

Lance

Japanese カーサススティンガー 吼槍【逆咬】

Translation Dark Stinger Dark Spear "Reverse Bite"

Hunting Horn

Japanese カーサスドラゴング 吼鼓【鬼咬】

Translation Black Gong Black Gong "Demon Bite"

Weapon Images

Armor Images

Gigginox Subspecies

• I'm always a bit torn on whether I like this guy or not. OK, a different colour, and the electricity aspect is cool. Different weakness as well, different pin attack (bizarrely). But then the innovation seems to hit a dead end and he's dumped in the same area as his ordinary counterpart and fights in pretty much the same way. Except his paralysis bombs go off pretty damn quick.

MHP3rd Weapons

Hunting Horn

Japanese ブラッドコフィン ブラッドスクリーム

Translation Blood Coffin Blood Scream

Long Sword

Japanese クリムゾンクロス ロストエデン

Translation Crimson Cross Lost Eden

Nargacuga Subspecies

• No, no, no. We don't need 3 Nargacugas (I'm looking at you, MH3G) and to be honest I'm not convinced we need this guy. A camouflague colour scheme that looks like oddly tinged vomit (or is that just me?) and 1(!) thing that sets it apart from the original - spikes that cause K.O, making them less dangerous than before. Big whoop. You could give the double tail slam and triple jump to ordinary Nargacuga and that'd go down as some cool improvements for him.

MHP3rd Weapons

Gunlance

Japanese ギリーガンランス 猛風邪銃槍【裏残月】

Translation Guile Gunlance Hurricane Gunlance "Waning Moon"

Hammer

Japanese ギリーブレイカー 暴風鎚【裏常闇】

Translation Green Breaker Storm Hammer "Eternal Darkness"

Long Sword

Japanese ギリーサーベル 疾風刀【裏月影】

Translation Guile Saber Storm Katana "Dark Moon"

Weapon Images

Armor Images

Sand Barioth

• Again, I'm torn. Nice colour scheme going on (although the red face is a bit ugly) and I do like his tornado-based whizziness... You know what, IMO he's one of the better Subs.

MHP3rd Armors

MHP3rd Weapons

Switch Axe

Japanese アズライトスラッシュ ゴアゲイルアズライト

Translation Azure Slash Azure Gore

Uragaan Subspecies

• To be honest, not one of my favorites. Any Sub that inhabits the same area as the original species has to work damn hard to convince me that it isn't a waste of time, but Steel Uragaan does at least have a go. It has fairly cool color scheme (dat Chin) and a new, rarely used ailment, Soiled. Which is actually kind of genius; Uragaan uses rocks. Sulfur is a rock, often found in and around volcanos. Sulfur stinks. See what they did there?
  

But yeah, that aside not really enough to set it apart from the original.

MHP3rd Weapons

Hunting Horn

Japanese ドヴォンヴァ ドズルヴォンヴァ

Translation Dovonva Dozurunva

Hammer

Japanese メルトナックル 爆鎚ジャイガン

Translation Melt Knuckle Jaigan Explosion Hammer

Long Sword

Japanese クロムマイト クロムバルツ

Translation Chrome Might Chrome Barrette

Glacial Agnaktor

• A personal favourite of mine. Ordinary Agnaktor is one of my favourite monsters (screw you, Bracchi) and this guy is quite clever as well. Everything about the original is reversed - it lives in the Tundra instead of the Volcano, fires water beams instead of fire ones, and has some wicked ice armour that melts over time and can be thawed with Fire weapons. As gimmicks go, that's a pretty good one.

MHP3rd Weapons

Switch Axe

Japanese リキッドストーム アクアテンペスト

Translation Liquid Storm Aqua Tempest

Gunlance

Japanese リキッドスロワー アグナ＝アクア

Translation Liquid Thrower Agna Aqua

Lance

Japanese スパイラルアクア 水槍アクアコトル

Translation Spiral Aqua Agnaktor Waterlance

Questions

• So which is your favourite of the group, in general?
• Which of them has the best equipment?
• Would you like to see any of them in Monster Hunter 4 (or any future MH game) or should we leave them behind now?