User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Lagombi(4th Gen)/@comment-5020152-20150608174926

LAGOMBI

Concept: Originally a mid-tier boss of average difficulty in MH3U, Lagombi is still meant to be that in MH4U, but ends up being too easy for a boss introduced so late in the game. His design definitely looks like something strong enough to be put into a mid-game quest, but he’s all bark and no bite. The concept of a giant rabbit monster worked in 3 Ultimate, but now? Lagombi is more fitting for Arzuros’ role of ‘tutorial monster’, if you ask me. 4/10

Design: Probably the only good thing about Lagombi is his design. He’s clearly a rabbit, but he’s enormous and has a very bear-like posture, whether he’s on all fours or is standing on his chunky hind legs. His face is more koala-like, and he moves around by sliding on his belly like a penguin. Lagombi’s textures and colors are great – his fur is soft and pure white, and edged with bits of black here and there. His belly is bright, but not too bright, purple with yellow speckles arranged in a linear formation along the top. And his ears – oh, his ears! They look nothing like an actual rabbit’s ears, they’re hard-looking and blade-shaped, more like horns than sensory organs. Lagombi is fantastic when you first look at him, but when you start the hunt itself… ugh. 9/10

Sounds: Interesting enough, I suppose. Lagombi communicates via some odd bleats, grunts, and the occasional resonant bellow. But the music is where he completely falls flat in the “Sound” part of this review. He shares the same theme with Seltas and the ‘dromes, abandoning the slow and ponderous soundtrack that was so perfectly fitting for him and his ursine brothers back in 3 Ultimate. Another piece of evidence showing that Lagombi shouldn’t have been added to the MH4U roster in the first place. 3/10

Gameplay: Lagombi adds literally NOTHING to the game. He wasn’t bad in 3 Ultimate, admittedly. In 4 Ultimate, though, even Congalala has more significance than this ugly rabbit. It’s like Capcom threw him in the mix for the sake of it. Fighting Lagombi is far too easy, even though he’s introduced alongside the likes of Zamtrios and Gore Magala, relatively late in the game. The only attacks you really need to be wary of are his insta-slide and the Indiana Jones snowball attack. Yes, Iceblight and Snowman are both annoying status ailments, but Lagombi is such a pathetically easy fight that it doesn’t even matter. Lagombi attacks mainly by sliding around on his smooth plastron, but aside from that, it’s extremely easy to keep up with him and do lots of damage. Overall, a huge downgrade from MH3U. 1/10

New Stuff: There are a lot of new things that MH4U gave Lagombi, and all of them are bad. He has one new attack, involving him hopping into the air, crashing down on his butt, and then somersaulting into you and doing next to no damage whatsoever. His snowballs can actually roll at constant speeds UPHILL (which, admittedly, is hilarious in that Capcom overlooked it). Finally, in 3 Ultimate, it was a challenge to reach his head and thus break his ears, but in 4 Ultimate, the fun of the challenge is taken away – all you have to do is successfully mount the overgrown Easter Bunny. 4/10

Equipment: What a surprise, Lagombi’s weapons and armor are totally worthless. Zamtrios weapons are FAR better Ice-based equipment, and you can acquire them at around the same time as Lagombi weapons. Maybe if you could get Lagombi weapons earlier in the game, they'd have slightly more use? His armor, though, is kind of good, sporting the useful Cold Cancel and Quick Sheath skills, among others. 5/10

Cutscene: The hunter is assaulted by a trio of rogue snowballs during the climb up the mountain, which are quickly followed by a Lagombi that comes soaring down the slope. The Lagombi grinds to a halt and roars his challenge to the hunter. Okay, it’s a bit over the top, but the sole reason I like this cutscene so much is for the remix of Lagombi’s original theme that comes at the end. 7/10

Summary: I really liked Lagombi when I first fought him in 3 Ultimate. The design was, and still is, pretty slick, and the hunt itself was very interesting and dynamic. But now he’s a joke. I still like this monster, but if I’m honest, I think Lagombi should not have been included in 4 Ultimate at all. Overall 5/10