User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Astalos/@comment-5020152-20161104132115

ASTALOS (aka DRAGONFLY)

Other Fun Nicknames: Bug Zapper, Electric Steve, The Mean Green Electrocutin' Machine

 Concept : One of the four flagship beasts of MH Generations, Astalos is meant to represent the 1st Generation of Monster Hunter. He’s a flying wyvern that terrorizes the inhabitants of the Forest + Hills, and has several unique characteristics that make him a unique character. He’s also the most aggressive and rebellious of the Elite Four, often attacking other monsters for no reason. Cool in my book! 8/10

 Design : There’s a reason I gave Astalos the nickname of “Dragonfly”. His design is probably the most unique amongst all flying wyverns, looking like a cross between a dragon and a giant insect. He’s all dark green and slightly glossy, like an exotic beetle, while his shell is covered completely with spikes, which gives him an intimidating and ferocious vibe much like Akantor. The legs and wings are also covered with spikes, and look like they’re jointed much like an insect’s limbs. Astalos also has a strangely-shaped horn on his head, which is made up of several different sections that spread out when his horn is charged with electricity. The coolest parts of this monster are his wings and tail – the former are see-through and patterned like… well, a dragonfly, and the latter sports a mean-looking set of pincers. Dragonfly’s coolest attribute is that his various body parts start glowing neon green the more he uses them in battle. There’s no way I can’t give him anything less than a perfect score – why has Capcom made it so hard for me to decide which Elite Four member is my favorite?! 10/10

 Sound : Astalos' roars are kind of odd. If I had to describe them, I’d have to say that they’re like a hiss, shriek, and buzz all at the same time. Some of Dragonfly’s sounds are eagle-like calls, and he even chirps like a songbird when he gets flinched or knocked over. His theme is just as great as those of the other Elite Four, in its own way. The shredding electric guitar really gives the music a kind of upbeat, dangerous energy that brings to mind a vicious monster that uses electricity. It’s like Zinogre’s theme, but way cooler in my opinion. 9/10

 Gameplay : Dragonfly fights chaotically and ferociously, giving nothing less than his 110% when it comes to demolishing his foes. While he does share a lot of his movements and several of his attacks with Rathalos, there are enough differences between the two to make Astalos feel like an entirely new game. Many of Astalos' attacks involve his wings and horn, and the more he uses those attacks, his wings and horn become charged with electricity and will eventually glow green. He can also do this with his tail. My favorite of Astalos' moves is a Brachydios-like smashing attack where he plummets down from the sky and repeatedly punches the ground with his wing claws. Other cool things he can do are slash with his wings, fire blasts of lightning from his tail, bite you with his pincers, and even create a sort of “lightsaber” with his horn that he uses similarly to Destoroyah’s Horn Katana. Overall, Dragonfly’s fighting style is a spastic and relentless one, even when compared to other aggressive monsters like Tigrex or Rajang. This isn’t a monster that’s fighting for food or survival – it’s a monster that’s trying to fricking destroy you. 9/10

 New Stuff : N/A

 Equipment : Astalos weapons use the Thunder element. (I’m not sure about sharpness levels, slots, or raw damage, however.) There is a new armor skill that the armor set introduces, which will increase your weapon’s Affinity when you chain attacks together – so it’s a good skill for the Sword + Shield and Dual Blades. The equipment in general is mostly colored dark green with lots of green spikes and several spots that glow neon green, giving a radioactive and futuristic look to it. Even though it certainly looks useful, Astalos equipment is still far from my favorite. 7/10

 Personality : Monster Hunter Generations does a phenomenal job of characterizing its four flagship monsters. Astalos is shown to be the aggressive rebel that feels the need to challenge everything in his domain. He’s the kind of guy that kills for sport and announces it to the world, reveling in the feeling of being the most powerful monster around. In the game’s intro, he goes out of his way to attack a Rathalos, and the two engage in a brief dogfight before Astalos forces Rathalos to the ground. In his ecology cinematic, he’s seen casually committing a mass Vespoid genocide before coming down to tear up the Velocidrome that dares approach him. With this in mind, my interpretation of Astalos is a homicidal maniac that lives for the thrill of the hunt and knows he’s too powerful to fear anything that might stop him. If the monsters of Monster Hunter had some kind of community structure, Astalos would be the supervillain that comes to terrorize the innocent citizens before his deadly shenanigans are put to an end. 10/10

 Summary : Like the others of the Elite Four, Astalos is a fantastic monster in all aspects. By looking at his design, music theme, equipment, and even personality, you can clearly see that Astalos was made with a theme of chaos and disorder in mind – which the fight itself only makes clearer. All things considered, Dragonfly may not be my favorite of the Elite Four, but he still makes a place for himself in my heart, in his own genocidal way. Overall 8.5/10