Monster Hunter Dos is the JP-exclusive sequel to Capcom's 2004 debut title Monster Hunter. The franchise had a niche set of fans, enough to keep it going, that is until 4 Ultimate and eventually Monster Hunter World propelled it into mainstream status. But as a veteran of the series who started with 3U, I wanted to take a look back on the PS2 iterations of Monster Hunter.

Monster Hunter Dos has you acting the role of a small-town hero, who arrives in the humble village of Jumbo. The chief is thankful for your services and sends you on simple gathering missions to get your bearings in the nearby jungle. The first thing any long-time Monster Hunter fan will notice about Dos is exactly the creatures they didn't notice before. Small monsters are highly aggressive, able to stagger you constantly, and deal large amounts of damage quickly. A single hit from a crab under the sand will take a third to half your health bar, wasting precious healing potions.

At all turns, Dos rejects convenience in favor of hard work. Gathering spots are not marked, leaving you as the hunter to gauge whether a small plant is decoration or a valuable commodity. No automated farming means every single resource you gather is due to you pressing the circle button on a gathering point during a quest. It's brutal. You start with no money, no armor, and only a Sword & Shield. Quests cost money, armor costs even more money, and don't even think about upgrade costs. Need mega potions? Not if it's cold season, you'll need to wait roughly 5 hours for Warm season to gather honey again. Seasons introduce variety, but also lock off quests, zones, and specific materials to gather. In order to change seasons immediately, you need to pay more than 8x the cost of the simple gathering quest you start with.

But here's where it changes.

You learn. You grow. With every hunt you understand how to manage the attacks of small monsters. You learn the rotation of the seasons, understanding when to gather what resources. You accept this inconvenience not because it's inherently fun, but because the lows can make the highs all that much sweeter. Perhaps you go online, learning the strengths of working in a group. Fellow hunters lift you up, helping guide and hone your abilities.

And with you, Jumbo grows in kind. The village expands, paying you back for the favors you performed for its residents. The once-small village becomes something more, a thriving community and a home away from home.

My experience with Animal Crossing started on the DS with Wild World, as I'm sure it did with many others. The game drew me in with its colorful villagers, daily routine, and slice-of-life feel. Years later I got back into the series with New Leaf on the 3DS, putting hundreds of hours into it. The progression system felt just right, and the level of customization for my villager was a real treat. However, when I finally got a hold of New Horizons on my switch, I couldn't help but feel let down. Rather than a town that felt like it moved on when I didn't play, I felt like I was in total control. Villagers would have to beg me to let them move out, rather than just leaving on their own. Everything felt a bit too... Doll-house in its design?

All that to say I started a town on the original gamecube Animal Crossing with the Deluxe mod released in 2025 by Cuyler and what a treat it is for a player like me! The town feels alive in so many ways my island felt lacking in. Villagers have more personality than ever, they don't just worship my villager but express themselves as real neighbors. Some I get along with, some I try to avoid in hopes they leave me alone.

There aren't a million incentives from Nook Miles driving me to play, I just think of what I'd like to do that day and do it. What the game lacks in progression it makes up for in a sense of community, and not competing to hold my attention for 4+ hours a day. The game is more than happy with me checking in 30 minutes a day, talking to my neighbors, catching some fish, decorating my house, and ending for the day.

If you're burned out of New Horizons, or just want to try out a more old-school laid back life simulator, I highly recommend checking out this game & mod! I got it working super easily on my steam deck, and the portability helps the game a ton. Some features Deluxe adds include allowing fossils to be identified at the museum, a free-moving camera, widescreen support, skin tones, many many exclusive E+ features that haven't been in an AC game outside of Japan, and general fixes to bugs in the original game.

Deluxe Mod Overview Trailer

This year I cleaned out my family's old PS2 and got really into playing tons of games from the era I missed! The PS1/PS2 lineup is truly spectacular & has so many heavy hitters from big names & super unknown developers. Here are some of my favorites.

God of War (2005)

I've only ever played God of War 2018 so I really had no idea what to expect from this one. The opening hydra level is an amazing intro, and the game manages to use its dynamic camera to always show the most exciting angle of the action.

The story is a lot somber than I expected, leaning into it as a proper greek tragedy. Kratos is more introspective than purely angry, and I love how the story teased out reveals. The only real disappointment of the game was the 2nd to last area before the final boss. Some truly maddening platforming that felt more like a test of luck than skill. 8.5/10

Parasite Eve

One of my favorite games I've played this year, and easily one of the best PS1 games for me alongside RE2 and MGS. The game tells an engaging story at a quick pace, and manages to deliver new combat challenges you'd typically see in a full length JRPG at a lightning fast rate. The soundtrack alone is one of my favorites from Yoko Shimomura, with the police station theme "Out of Phase" being a highlight. If you enjoy JRPGs or Survival Horror, you gotta check out Parasite Eve. 9/10

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

My first Ratchet & Clank was a lot of fun. My partner knew more about the series than I did, so it was fun to see her relive & recognize iconic moments from this game. The shooting is a ton of fun, though some of the grindy challenges for upgrades got tiring after a bit. Also a huge difficulty spike at the final boss caught me off guard. Still, I enjoyed the experience. 7.5/10

Disaster Report

This game really surprised me! I went in expecting a light hearted survival game, and what I got were some genuinely meaningful character moments, branching decisions that matter, and tons of exciting real-time setpieces that would make Uncharted jealous. This is an earthquake survival game where you play as Keith, a reporter investigating an ongoing disaster in Capital City. Through your adventure you'll meet other survivors, uncover a conspiracy, and make some narrow escapes. Unfortunately this game does have a frustrating gameplay shakeup near the end that you'll want a guide to get through, but other than that it was a great time. 8/10

Raw Danger!

Okay I gotta tell y'all about Raw Danger, because I'm convinced this is the PS2 hidden gem. Holy shit. The developers took everything they learned from Disaster Report to deliver one of the most interesting survival games I've ever played. This game features six playable characters experiencing a massive flood in the city of Del Ray over the Christmas Holidays. You start as a waiter, Joshua Harwell, staffing a bigwig event held by the mayor when the disaster starts.

The game does an astounding job putting you into the shoes of your character experiencing the signs of disaster to come. Seeing water slowly trickle into the venue, increasingly nervous fellow staff as you tend to your duties, electrical problems, and soon ankle deep water begins to seep in! The survival is a lot more in-depth than Disaster Report, allowing you to customize your character's whole outfit to maximise staying dry & warm (or looking goofy as hell). Heat management is crucial, and staying out in the rain too long can be deadly. The same real-time setpieces from Disaster Report return, with even greater scale.

The most mechanically interesting part of this game is how it handles its 6 playable characters. Each character has tons of dialogue with those around them, and key decisions they make or say can end up influencing what happens in other playthroughs hours later. You might shove some rubble out of the way, desperate to save your companion - only to curse yourself a couple hours later when that rubble you pushed causes a massive flood to sweep away your current character into a desperate situation. The game delivers on some genuine emotion, while also capturing some truly truly off the walls insane dialogue (shoutout Amber Brazil, my favorite character for this). If you have any interest in adventure or survival games on the PS2, Raw Danger is an absolute must play. 9.5/10 (The graphics/water can look real jank at times)

The winter holidays can be hard on a lot of us especially with strained or no family relations. What are your coping mechanisms, traditions, celebrations, things you do to get through the season?

Fun lil thread, what did you dress as for halloween this year?

(If that's something you celebrate where you're at)

Just a quick shameless plug, did you know Denver is home to one of the top Roller Derby teams in the world? It's a fantastic space for queer friendly competitive sports, both to watch & to play in if you want to join!

Denver Roller Derby has a double header Halloween bout this weekend if you're looking for something to do, and don't mind checking out a niche sports scene.

Halloween Bout Information

Massive turnout, by the time the march got back to the capitol it wrapped around to the end of the group and kept going. Every bus, train, and shop in downtown was filled with people holding signs and flags. Amazing work everyone!

Anyone got recommendations for fun odd art / performance scenes in Denver? I loved the Artcade in the Theater District last year, as well as Spectra Art Space. Looking for places in that vein.

Just curious to know what other people use for their injection methods! I do subq and recently had to reduce my draw needle gauge to 21 since I kept coring vials accidentally.