Local ads for Monster Hunter 4 prove to be way more fun than they should be

Brush up on your Japanese geography as Capcom takes you on a tour of ten famous spots in Japan in an attempt to promote the new Monster Hunter 4 for the 3DS. Monster Hunter 4, better known as MonHan in Japan, was released September 14, 2013, but has just now put out their localized commercials for the whole world to see.

These commercials feature celebrities, mascots, and attractions famous to the specific areas, but with a bit of explanation I think you’ll enjoy them too.

Shizuoka De MonHan

Our first destination on Capcom’s tour of Japan is Shizuoka Prefecture. You may not know Shizuoka, or the celebrities in the commercial, but you will probably recognize Mr. Fuji, which is used to demonstrate the new jump feature found in Monster Hunter 4.

Kumamoto De MonHan

Next up is a jump down south to the island of Kyushu, where I used to live. Here they filmed commercials for both Kumamoto and Kagoshima. The Kumamoto commercial starts with a Mr. Ueda eating the famous ‘Kumamoto Ramen’ which is referred to as ‘Kumamoto Rajan’ (a monster from Monster Hunter 4). Mr. Ueda then confuses Kumamoto Castle for something his character could climb in the game, at which point the commercial pans out to the director and cameraman wondering if Mr. Ueda has been playing MonHan 4 a bit too much.

Having personally spent many weekends in this city, I loved this commercial. But I admit, it takes a special type of humor to enjoy.

Kagoshima De MonHan

Kagoshima, also in Kyushu, is famous for its shopping, large volcano, and some of the most glorious meat you can imagine. Kagoshima being my home away from home, I really wanted to like this commercial, but the prefecture really let me down. It shows off a few local celebrities and mascots saying they are hungry and eating some yaki niku, loosely ties in a reference to the game, and then has the diners march out, leaving the bill to the area’s mascot. Come on Kagoshima, you can do better than that.

Okinawa De MonHan

Okinawa is next on our tour of Japan, where we meet up with a local band. In the commercial a guitarist walks in and says that he is quitting the guitar and is going to pick up the flute. Two other members look surprised until they figure out he is talking about MonHan 4.