User blog:BannedLagiacrus/Discussion of the Week: Blind Monsters

Hello, and welcome to Discussion of the Week!

This week we at the blind monsters of the Monster Hunter series!

Khezu


Let's start with the original one, Khezu! Khezu lacks eyes, however, it has a good sense of smell compared to most other monsters. Though Khezu smells for its prey, some individuals are actually able to sense the vibrations of their prey. Back in older games, it was said that if you use a Dung Bomb on Khezu it would do something to it, but that was lie! It also just so happens to have one of the loudest roars in the series, which was basically instant death back in older games. In those games, Khezu would roar, stunning you, before getting back up and firing its electrical spits! That old combo was just evil!

Zenith Khezu


Zenith Khezu is one powerful mother! It can summon pillars of lightning around it and can make hunters catch a heart attack with just two shocks of its electricity. Heck, Zenith Khezu is even known to eat hunters literally! It maybe blind, but it sure shows that it doesn't matter.

Red Khezu


Not too many people talk about Red Khezu in a positive light, but I do find it to be an okay monster, 4th Generation wise. In the 4th Generation, Red Khezu has gained a lot of its own unique attacks, even taking one that was originally exclusive to Frontier's HC Red Khezu. Though it isn't really special, I'm glad that Capcom at least tried to make Red Khezu different from the original one.

Gigginox


Meet Khezu's close relative, Gigginox! Instead of smelling for its prey, it actually uses special heat-sensing organs to see, as well as a poisonous spit. If that wasn't bad enough, Gigginox also has a habit of laying egg sacs on the battlefield. These egg sacs contain the blood sucking Giggi. I don't know about anyone else, but I find Gigginox annoying sometimes... It just spams its jump and poison like crazy, making it hard to get to close it without having to turn around and run back. I like Gigginox more than Khezu, but it is annoying!

Baleful Gigginox


Baleful Gigginox is basically Khezu 2.0... There is nothing bad about that, but I'm just saying.

Meraginasu


A monster that sees with sound, Meraginasu was a once thought to be extinct species in the Tide Island caves. Though it is completely blind, it is constantly listening for the tiniest bit of noise. If a hunter or a prey item is making too much noise, it will attack instantly and try to finish off whatever it heard. If it loses track off the foe, it will stand upright and listen for more noise. Don't bother using Sonic Bombs against it! Sonic Bombs produce a different sound frequency that Meraginasu is immune to.

Heavenly Eye Mizutsune


Oh, it's nice to see you again! Heavenly Eye Mizutsune is an old Mizutsune that was blind in battle. After losing its eyes, it evolved differently from other individuals and now uses its bubbles to "see" its foes. If it is able to catch a potential enemy with its bubbles, water vapor will begin to rush from its eyes and it will be able to see the threat. Heavenly Eye Mizutsune even has the ability to breath flaming bubbles at foes. Though I like Heavenly Eye Mizutsune's overall concept, it is just still lacking something for me... I think it is lacking the speed of the normal Mizutsune, which is something that a lot of us enjoyed about the original one. It makes sense that Heavenly Eye Mizutsune is slower due to its size and its older age, but it just takes away from what made the original Mizutsune a really good and energetic fight. I also think more could've been done with the fire bubble idea, which easily could've made the fight more interesting.

Questions

 * Which is your favorite blind monster? Why?
 * Which is your least favorite blind monster? Why?
 * Do you like the concept of blind monsters in the Monster Hunter series? Why or why not?
 * Do you hope the 5th Generation will have its own unique blind monster?
 * Do you hope that one of the older blind monsters will return to in the 5th Generation? If so, which one?
 * What existing monsters would you like to see a blind variant or relative of?
 * Do you feel the blind monsters have been evolving and improving as the series moves forward?