I got my hands on the demo of the upcoming 3DS version of this game, and was really excited to take it out for a spin. On the latest Nintendo Direct there was a mention of how the demo was set to help newbies to the series (like me) get started. It does indeed start off with a bunch of tutorials to get you going, although I do wish I would have learned more about who I am, why I’m doing this, and what these companions who follow me are all about – but I imagine these are things that are addressed in the full game. Did I like playing it? It is an interesting thing, and I could see this being pretty fun if I’m going out on hunts with friends. I did find the camera control to be awkward, using a button on the bottom screen, but I’m sure playing this on a New 3DS would rectify that (or with that analog button add-on). I still was not clear on everything though – for example, on the first hunt, when the monster I was hunting disappeared in a hole, I didn’t realize he had surfaced somewhere else, and so for a while I was just trying to get in the hole, or waiting it out by defeating nearby small creatures (I later realized I should go elsewhere). But yeah, if I know that a bunch of friends are buying it too, I think I’d like to play more of this.