Ugh, we have to go over these things, don't we?
Velocidrome and Velociprey
Premiered in: Monster Hunter (PS2, 2004)
Classification: Bird Wyvern
Habitat: Forests, grasslands
Before reading on, I recommend watching the intro for the original Monster Hunter. It excellently recreates the style of nature documentaries where you see a pack of wolves chasing an elk, down to the predators targeting the young animal. But the twist of Monster Hunter was that these weren't wolf and elk, but
dinosaurs. And then a
dragon steals the kill. So cool.
<Insert David Attenborough narration>
Velocidrome is our first "drome", a upscaled boss version of a common enemy monster. Like reusing skeletons, it's a clear example of Capcom's developers working around time and resource limitations. At the same time, I do love the idea of a cooperative pack of monsters following the largest individual. It's very "nature red in tooth and claw" and emphasizes the social dynamics of the creatures. I'm not sure why the localization decided "drome" was a great translation for this dynamic though. If anyone here knows where "drome" comes from, I'd be happy to hear it, because I've been stumped trying to figure it out for this review. "Prey" is more obvious; the Velociprey are weak little creatures, while also preying on other animals.
Velociprey and Velocidrome are not so subtly based on Dromaeosaurs like
Velociraptor. Dromaeosaurs (AKA "raptors", which is what you probably know them as and what I'll be calling the Monster Hunter versions) were incredibly cool animals and have been a mainstay of pop culture since the movie Jurassic Park. You might be wondering why Velocidrome and Velociprey are Bird Wyverns, even though the raptors look nothing like our previous Bird Wyvern Yian Kut-Ku. This is a neat reference to real life biology: Dromaeosaur were very close relatives of modern birds. They even had full coverings of feathers, a feature sadly absent in the Monster Hunter counterparts. The pack element is also a mainstay of Dromaeosaurs in pop culture thanks to Jurassic Park, though its accuracy is controversial.
Along with the great origin, these creatures also have striking designs. The basic Velociprey are already pretty noticeable with their bright blue scales and protruding fangs. Like real Dromaeosaurs, the raptors have an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each foot. The purpose of the claw in the actual dinosaurs has been hotly debated, with suggestions ranging from aiding in tree-climbing to pinning down prey so the predator could eat it alive. The Velocidrome is even more intimidating with extra sickle claws on the forelimbs and a crimson crest rather than the Velociprey's dull maroon. These bright primary colors stand out among the muted hues of early Monster Hunter and call immediate attention to Velocidrome... A bit too much for me. I get that bright colors are common in the animal kingdom for display, and Velocidrome's crest is definitely a display feature. Still, I feel like small forest predators should be a bit better camouflaged than giant dragons.
A serious problem with Velocidrome and Velociprey, which isn't obvious in the gif above, is that they look
very similar, especially in the older Monster Hunter generations where the Velociprey were much bigger. There's a serious problem when the boss you're supposed to kill looks near identical to the endlessly respawning minions.
Overall, Velocidrome design screams dangerous agile predator, one that will eviscerate unprepared hunters. In reality, Velocidrome is the first large monster in the game, fought even before Yian Kut-Ku. But even a starter monster can leave a great impression, right?
...Yeah, you know what's coming.
First the little Velociprey. In the original Monster Hunter, these things
were lethal. Just not in the way you might be expecting. Small enemies in the first generation Monster Hunters were infamously persistent and numerous, and Velociprey was one of the worst. Its basic jump would knock you flat, while its pounce attack would send the hunter flying
every single time. Lovely. The only solace you got was that with a Greatsword, you could chop Velociprey in half. Not an exaggeration, their death animation for some weapons had them bisected. I imagine this feature was dropped in later generations because chopping living creatures in half is a
bit too graphic and dark for the tone Monster Hunter is supposed to have. Still, must have been cathartic. Fortunately, Velociprey (And other common enemy monsters) were heavily toned down after the first generation.
Then the big Velocidrome. When I called Velocidrome an upscaled version of a common enemy, I wasn't exaggerating. Velocidrome is so rudimentary that it doesn't even have a turning animation; the "turn" is the monster just hopping in place. Velocidrome's only attacks are a lunge, a hop, and a leaping kick, the same moves Velociprey have. In the older games the monster didn't even have a limping animation when low on health. Velocidrome also sometimes just stops moving in battle, standing still as a statue for a few moments; this happens with some other first-generation monsters, but it's most obvious with Velocidrome. Overall an extremely rudimentary fight and a poor introduction to the series. The only real challenge is dealing with the annoying Velociprey, which always accompany their boss.
Velocidrome and all its raptor kin skipped the third generation, coming back with many other classic monsters in the fourth generation. This was an opportunity to update the classics, to make them feel more alive and threatening and modern and... They barely changed. Velocidrome finally got a limping animation, a breakable crest, and the ability to mount Velocidrome and make it feel even more inadequate. Hilariously, Velocidrome also is one of the monsters in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate that can be hunted in guild quests. Guild quests are randomly obtained quests for specific monsters that increase in difficulty every time you complete them. At the max level of 140, monsters are extremely tanky and deal absurd damage. So if you are dying to fight a "hard" version of Velocidrome, you can... But why would anyone want to? The rewards suck compared to other guild quests and it's still an absolute joke.
You can now give Velocidrome a haircut. Yay.
Monster drops are rarely that interesting, but Velocidrome is a funny example in that its rare item is the
head. This morbid detail becomes even more silly when it's possible to earn multiple heads from quest rewards, so a single Velocidrome can have as many as four heads.
Velocidrome is actually the first large monster I ever defeated. This might surprise you given I got into the series with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. However, a few years before that, I did get a chance to play Monster Hunter Freedom on my friend's PSP. The experience did not endear me to the series, an excellent demonstration of Velocidrome's quality.
Premiered in: Monster Hunter (PS2, 2004)
Classification: Bird Wyvern
Habitat: Deserts, Caves
Oh. Yeah. Remember what I said about the first generation reusing skeletons? I wasn't kidding. Genprey and Gendrome have the
exact same animations as Velociprey and Velocidrome. 100% identical. The only difference is that during the lunging attack, they can inflict paralysis. This is supposed to be a paralyzing bite, but because monster hiboxes are more suggestion than rule, every part of the body will paralyze you during the lunge.
Gendrome's pecs are quite stunning.
Paralysis is our first status affliction. It sucks. You get paralyzed, you fall down, you have to wait until the paralysis wears off. It's usually inflicted by electric monsters or monsters with some kind of neurotoxic venom like Gendrome. It's also color coded yellow, because Japanese game conventions have decreed that paralysis is always yellow, poison is always purple, and sleep is always blue.
Genprey and Gendrome have a more natural color scheme with green and yellow rather than bright blue. Gendrome also lacks the sickle claws on the hands, not that it actually makes any difference in gameplay. The main new features are the V-shaped crest and the two long fangs sticking out the maw. The crest is a nice obvious shape on Gendrome, distinguishing it better from its minions than Velocidrome's crest did. The paralyzing fangs look really goofy. I get they're supposed to look like a snake's fangs, representing the raptor's paralyzing ability, but Gendrome looks more like a cartoon snake than something natural. If you look at real snakes with the longest fangs, like the gaboon viper, the fangs are efficient apparatuses that fold into the roof of the mouth when not in use. Meanwhile Gendome looks like its teeth will snap after a stiff breeze.
You vs the venomous reptile she tells you not to worry about.
Iodrome and Ioprey
Premiered in: Monster Hunter (PS2, 2004)
Classification: Bird Wyvern
Habitat: Swamps, Volcanoes
Ioprey and Iodrome have the most unique design of the first generation raptors. The bright red with a hint of purple here make much more sense here than the the bright blue on Velocidrome, as Ioprey and Iodrome are poisonous. Real world poisonous animals often exhibit aposematic coloration, which means they're colored in a noticeable way that warns predators to back off. Think poison dart frogs, coral snakes, yellowjackets, monarch butterflies, lionfish, etc. Ioprey and Iodrome also often are found in hot volcanic environments, so the bright red coloring is appropriately fiery… Though it brings up the question of why the other place they're often found is cold swamps. I guess swamps = poison? The purple highlights again emphasize that purple is the official color for poison in video games.
The downturned head is an interesting shape. It almost looks like the face is melting, which again fits the poison theme and oppressively hot habitat. It's not practical for catching prey, but then again, Ioprey and Iodrome use poison to hunt rather than brute force. The crest complements the droopy face, and like Gendrome it's relatively easy to distinguish the smaller and larger versions at a glance. On the neck there's a sagging patch like a bird's wattle, again emphasizing the melting theme while also explaining where the creatures store their poison. No toe-claws this time. I actually think this matches the moveset of Iodrome/Iaprey better, because they focus more on projectiles than the melee-focused raptors we've had so far. The arms are also hilariously pathetic after Gendrome's and especially Velocidrome's, with two spindly fingers on each wimpy hand, but again, that actually fits a creature that doesn't rely on force to fight. If I had to choose my favorite visual designs from this batch, Ioprey and Iodrome are easy picks.
The poison icon, supposed to be bubbles but looks more like two cartoon eyes tilted on their side.
Unfortunately, the moveset is almost the same one we got from the previous raptors. Ioprey and Iadrome thankfully bring a new move to the table though: Poison spit! The poison status affliction works as you'd expect: Slow damage over time until the poison runs out or you use an antidote. It's a surprisingly common ailment in Monster Hunter, to the point that the series mascot Rathalos inflicts poison. One neat detail about Iodrome is that the monster will actually prioritize attacking poisoned hunters, so poison is doubly dangerous. It's a bit of behavior that gives the Iodrome some extra character, a vicious opportunist. Too bad it still doesn't even have a turning animation. Iodrome is surprisingly tanky compared to the other raptors, but is still a minor threat that really is only a problem if you're distracted or if it's the first generation where the Ioprey won't leave you the hell alone.
My most vivid experience has been with Ioprey rather than Iodrome: Specifically, the Ioprey that attack in area 9 of Volcanic Hollow. I often did charm mining runs in Volcanic Hollow in the fourth generation games, and every time I'd reach area 9, the little bastards would swarm me and force me to stop for a moment to do pest control. Even my AI companions weren't able to distract all of them. This is pretty mundane, which speaks to just how little there is to say about these monsters.
Premiered in: Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (PSP 2007) (Technically Monster Hunter G for Giaprey)
Classification: Bird Wyvern
Habitat: Snowy mountains
We're
still not done.
This is technically our first second generation monster review, but let's be honest, Giadrome is just a recolored Velocidrome with Iodrome's moveset. The only difference is that this raptor spits freezing spit instead of poison.
Why does Giadrome even exist? Monster Hunter Freedom 2's first map was a snowy mountain and the devs needed an early game monster that made sense in a cold climate. The weird thing is, Giaprey already existed in Monster Hunter G... As a stronger Velociprey variant. No ice spit or cold climate. It was even called White Velociprey in English.
The new color scheme is nice. Giadrome fits better in the snow than garish Velocidrome ever did in the forest, and the blue crest of the boss contrasts better with the maroon crests of the lackeys. The giant sickle claws make even less sense here though, as Giadrome's major gimmick is a freezing spit that inflicts the Snowman status. Snowman is pretty nasty, entirely immobilizing you until the snow breaks off or you use a cleanser item. Giadrome's still a glorified recolor of a trash-tier monster though, so is anyone really threatened by this? Giaprey also inflicted Snowman at first, but when they made their
triumphant return in Monster Hunter Generations they instead inflicted Iceblight, a status that mildly inconvenience's the player's stamina. Makes sense that the minions would have a weaker projectile than their boss.
Snowman might be annoying, but it looks so funny I can never hate it.
Other Games
Velocidrome, Gendrome, and Iodrome are all rideable Monsties in Monster Hunter Stories. They're weak early game monsters and are soon replaced. Velocidrome is actually the usual "starter" Monstie, the first one players get to hatch. Like a Chikorita the starting Drome is best thrown in a box as soon as possible and ignored for the rest of your playthrough. About the only thing the Dromes have going for them is that they prioritize Speed attacks, since there are few decent Speed options at the start of the game.
Velocidrome also appears in, of all places, Sengoku Basara (Capcom's answer to Dynasty Warriors, or more specifically Samurai Warriors). The raptor was made into a crossover costume for Gotō Matabei. The result is deeply disturbing and further reason why Velocidrome and all the other dromes should be eradicated from existence.
Baruragaru is from the now defunct Japanese-only MMO Monster Hunter Frontier. I'm not planning to review most of Frontier's monsters, but I need to give this fella a shoutout for a couple reasons. Obviously, the design is incredible. Baruragaru is a Leviathan (A class of monsters we will cover
much later in this thread), but it feels like no other Leviathan in Monster Hunter, with that sickly pale coloration and long whip-like tongue. But an amazing design isn't the only reason I'm spotlighting Baruragaru; it also performs much some much needed pest control. This monster preys
specifically on the dromes. Its long tong skewers them and then sucks the blood out of them like a straw. This gruesome process doesn't just keep the Baruragaru fed, it also grants the monster attacks with the dromes' unique status afflictions. Iodrome gives poison, Gendrome gives paralysis, and Velocidrome gives... Blood? I guess that's just the vanilla option when you're a blood-sucking monster. Each unique attack type changes the color of the stripe on the monster's body, a neat visual indicator for the players' benefit.
I've never played Monster Hunter Frontier and sadly never gotten the chance to fight Baruragaru. I would love to see this leviathan make the transition to the main Monster Hunter games. If Capcom are not going to update Velocidrome and its derivatives to modern standards, the least the devs can do is add their natural predator.
I don't know about you, but as someone who just wasted over 2000 words on Velocidrome and its clones, this is a cathartic note to end on.