Monster Hunter 4 News, Frontier Could be Coming to Wii U, and a Bunch of Scans

Every time I see a new bit of Monster Hunter news floating around the internet I get all excited and cross my fingers, hoping for some westernization news. Unfortunately, today is not that day. Regardless, the latest issue of Famitsu magazine has 10 pages of Monster Hunter 4 goodness, all of it in Japanese of course. Fortunately, a good portion of it has been translated already, and we now know a few awesome new details about the newest feature to help us take down monsters twenty times our size.

In addition, Capcom’s MMORPG franchise Monster Hunter Frontier has been an Xbox 360 and PC exclusive since its release in 2007, but it looks like Capcom is finally considering moving the spin-off series to another console. Which console? We don’t know, but my money is on the Wii U. With its greater emphasis on online play and connecting players, an MMORPG in a series like Monster Hunter could really do wonders for the system’s sales. Even if it does make the jump to Wii U though, it’s still unknown if this is going to be a Japan exclusive release or not. If we could somehow get both Monster Hunter 4 and Frontier G over in America (and everywhere else in the world), I would be one happy camper.

From the scans from Famitsu, we have learned that there is going to be a new weapon of sorts called the Controllable Insect. The way it works is you release the hunting bug and you can command it to attack monsters to obtain certain power ups from it. You simply target a monster, let the insect fly, and it will return to you after sucking up its energy. The insect sucks up energy, referred to in game as “EX” or “EXE.” The way that it powers you up is determined by the color of the EX. We know that white increases your speed, red your attack strength, green your vitality, and orange your defensive strength. Because the insects are able to jump, they may be able to reach otherwise inaccessible areas, meaning it could have uses similar to the Beetle tool from Skyward Sword.

It sounds like the Controllable Insect is going to be an interesting addition to the series, and will add a whole new level of strategy in terms of how you approach particularly difficult monsters. What do you guys think about it? What about Frontier‘s possible leap to a new platform? Are you keeping your fingers crossed for the Wii U, or would you rather see it on the PS3? Let us know what you think in the comments, and scroll down to see the Famitsu scans in full living color.