User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Dalamadur/@comment-5020152-20160228025225

DALAMADUR

Concept: It can’t be a coincidence that so many big monsters in Monster Hunter are snake-like. Remobra is one of the biggest minion monsters. Najarala and Agnaktor are some of the biggest non-elder dragon bosses. Then there’s Dalamadur, who was the final boss of Monster Hunter 4 and is still an important monster in 4 Ultimate. After all, there’s nothing better than an epic fight with a giant snake monster to end a game! 7/10

Design: Dalamadur is big. How big? Well, let’s just say that if she were to appear in the movie “Snakes on a Plane”, they’d have to rename it “Planes on a Snake”. In other words, Dalamadur is absolutely GIGANTIC. In fact, she’s arguably the largest monster in the entire series. Some claim that Raviente is the largest monster, because indeed, the location in which you hunt Raviente definitely makes him seem like the largest. But it’s hard for any creature to compete with a snake that’s around 1500 feet long. Aside from her size, Dalamadur is a really well-designed monster, essentially being a giant python with two immense arms and several hundred blades attached to her body. When she opens her mouth, it looks like she could swallow a mountain whole. The color of her scales is actually quite nice, a steely grey with hints of blue and green here and there. She also has these bright red scars on her chest that glow brightly when she’s enraged. Her eyes are blood-red spots of color on either side of her head, really standing out amongst the blues and blacks that dominate her snout. As a snake fan, I’m really impressed with Dalamadur’s overall design. 10/10

Sound: Dalamadur’s sounds are a stereotypical range of passive and aggressive hisses, while her roar is more of a metallic whine. As for the music, it’s pretty awful. It’s a surprisingly good fit for this monster, definitely, exactly what you’d expect to hear from a dragon of such apocalyptic proportions – but pretty bad all the same. 4/10

Gameplay: I’m on the fence when it comes to fighting Dalamadur. The battle takes place atop a towering spire, where Dalamadur herself coils around to gaze down on the battlefield below. When she’s coiled around her spire, you can actually climb on top of her to damage her back blades, or jump down on her head to place Anti-Dragon Bombs. Dalamadur never stays in one position for long, slithering to another part of the battlefield while calling down blue meteors. As far as attacks go, Dalamadur is limited to lashing out with her tail and spitting giant fireballs, but what she lacks in variety she makes up for in power. When Dalamadur dives below the mountain and out of sight, get ready to run – she’ll reappear and execute one of her two most devastating attacks, a lunging bite or a monstrous blue inferno that she sweeps over the stage. Once you get her close to death, Dalamadur becomes extremely aggressive, making it harder to find opportunities to attack. She also tends to keep all but her claws and chest out of range, forcing you to take damage from the heat escaping from her scars. It’s certainly a unique fight, but it can be confusing for a new player that is unfamiliar with her movement patterns. It can also get repetitive after a while, due to how long it takes to kill her.

When Dalamadur is finally slain, though, the cutscene that plays is absolutely gorgeous. 7/10

New Stuff: N/A

Equipment: The giant serpent’s materials can be put into some top-notch weapons. With good Sharpness, high raw damage, and sometimes Paralysis or Blast damage, it’s worth fighting her at least a couple of times to acquire the materials necessary to make them. The weapons’ kickass designs are icing on the cake. As far as armor goes, I’m a fan of the Viking-like design, but not the skills – Wrath Awoken and nothing else doesn’t make up for a significant power decrease. 5/10

Cutscene: The hunters climb to the top of Speartip Crag, admiring the beauty of its great spire. Suddenly, a monster of tremendous proportions begins to surround them, filling the area with dust and causing sections of rock to fall into the abyss below. Dalamadur is revealed, coiling around Speartip Crag’s spire to stare down at the humans below. With a hiss, Dalamadur screeches her challenge. The phrase “really, really good” is sufficient to sum up this cinematic. It really feels like the start of a final boss battle. 8/10

Summary: Arguably the biggest monster in the franchise, Dalamadur brings the Monster Hunter series to a new level of gigantic. With her slick design and interesting battle style, this overgrown python is the final challenge awaiting those in Monster Hunter 4, and an equally epic roadblock on the road to G-Rank in 4 Ultimate. Watch out for meteors, fire blasts, and more as you struggle to make it through this tedious boss fight (while enduring the bad music). When you’ve conquered Dalamadur, you’re rewarded with a beautiful death scene and the relief with knowing that it’s finally over. Overall 6.5/10