User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Nibelsnarf (4th Gen)/@comment-5020152-20160819145512

'NIBELSNARF  Concept ': Kind of like his distant cousin, the Gobul, Nibelsnarf is a leviathan that doesn’t conform to the norm. His movements and habits are perfectly suited to his desert environment. He’s a unique beast that, if nothing else, adds to the vast diversity of the Monster Hunter universe. 7/10

 Design : Again like Gobul, Nibelsnarf doesn’t use the typical sea serpent-like body shape of most leviathans. Rather, he’s squat, flat, and wide, with a massive head dominated by a pair of bone-crushing jaws – kind of like a cross between a stingray and a salamander. Nibelsnarf’s design practically revolves around its mouth, which is the first feature you are going to notice. When he opens his mouth, all you’ll be able to see are rows of teeth and a dangling uvula. Outside the mouth, Nibelsnarf’s overall body shape makes him resemble a sand dune, which is excellent camouflage, and he has two little arms underneath him that he uses to doggy-paddle through the desert sand. When Nibelsnarf is fully exposed, though, don’t be blinded by the flash of bright colors that occurs when you see his belly. It personally reminds me of one of those sea slugs you see around coral reefs, further adding to the uniqueness and charm of Nibelsnarf. 8/10

 Sounds : Some of Nibelsnarf’s cries will grate on your ears and annoy you, but some of his squeals are downright adorable – that one he makes when he rushes at you, in particular. As much as I like the Dunes theme, though, I have to say that it doesn't fit the sand salamander nearly as well as the Sandy Plains theme in 3 Ultimate. 7/10

 Gameplay : Nibelsnarf is kind of like Cephadrome in that he’s always swimming in the sand. He does spend an annoying amount of time ambling about and doing nothing, but he does have several tricky attacks he can use to trip you up. The most common of which is what I like calling the “Gluttonous Charge”, where Nibelsnarf rushes forward with his mouth wide open, doing it up to three times before calming down. If you’re clever, you can trick him into swallowing a Barrel Bomb, which will explode and trap him in the sand. Other attacks mostly involve his monstrous mouth, such as him turning around to bite you as you’re slashing at his flanks, or him diving at you from underneath the sand. Of course, there's also his Sand Beam, which both looks and sounds absolutely awesome. Make sure to aim for his claws whenever they’re exposed, because you can break them for an opportunity to hit his weak spot – the uvula at the back of his throat. Overall, Nibelsnarf is an interesting fight, but can get a bit boring if the leviathan drags it out for too long, and it isn’t very exciting to begin with. 6/10

 New Stuff : All of Nibelsnarf’s attacks are totally unique, sharing not even one animation with any other monster in the series. New stuff doesn’t get any more new than that! Also, Nibelsnarf can be “fished” out of the sand after being trapped by a Barrel Bomb. 10/10

 Equipment : Meh, I’ve never bothered with Nibelsnarf gear. The armor design is very odd and doesn’t give many notable skills. Its weapons are pretty mediocre. On the plus side, the weapons all have really cool designs (all modeled after military equipment), and some of them have hilarious names. “Soldier’s Snarfonica” and “Uber Deathsnarfs” spring to mind. 6/10

 Cutscene (3 Ultimate) : Two Rhenoplos are butting heads in the middle of the Sandy Plains, unaware of a Nibelsnarf watching from the sidelines. The predator goes under the sand, and when the Rhenoplos charge again, all that can be seen is the Nibelsnarf’s giant mouth erupting out of the ground and swallowing the herbivores whole. Fantastic! It really shows off Snarfie’s fighting style and use of the terrain. 8/10

 Summary : An interesting addition to the series, Nibelsnarf is a weird-looking sand salamander that eats bombs for breakfast. He’s got a cool design, gameplay that’s mostly different from other monsters in the series, and hilariously-named weapons. Unfortunately, there’s nothing else I can really say about this monster, who’s less notable and less important than some of the other monsters that were introduced in 3 Ultimate. Overall 7.5/10