User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Valstrax/@comment-24734669-20180928144450

Ah, Valstrax. The Argent Comet, the Silver Wing of the Evil Star, the Cunning God of Dea- wait, wrong game...

Anyways, who can possibly hate this this jetpack dragon? one of the most well-done Elder Dragons in the series. Its roar sounds like a raptor's cry mixed with a jet engine, which is awesome. Its attacks, which consist of it propelling itself forward with its jetpack wings, using them to fire draconic energy (kinda reminds me of how DOOM's Revenants attack), and even turning them into massive swords is really, really cool.

This thing rarely takes to the air, but when it does, you can't help but feel awestruck at the fact that it flies so fast and causes impacts so large they break the sound barrier; while this was true of Rathalos (the flagship of MH) to a considerably lesser extent in previous games, he feels kinda underwhelming when he's flying around in World. Oh, well; at least GU exists.

As well as this, that theme is just awesome. It's like some of the more "fancy" fantasy boss fight themes you've heard, being grandiose and swelling; however, this time, it manages to handle that correctly, thus turning it into one of the most epic themes you've ever heard. That part with the choir just seals the deal.

Finally, I love how it's considered to be a bad omen in the series. After it crashes your Gravios hunt, one can say that crap really hits the fan...

Well, I'm not sure about that. Basically, after it shows up, you fight the Fated Four again. Obviously, they're cool in their own right, but, TBH, none of them compare to Valstrax.

So, in all, Jetpack Gryphon is a top-tier Elder Dragon, and it will go down as one of the most (if not THE most) praise-worthy flagships in the series.