Rathalos is a Fantastic and Underrated Mascot

I'm gonna start going through some of the all time great monsters of Monster Hunter, as well as some personal favorites of mine, and give them the highlight they deserve. Starting with the only monster one can start with, Rathalos, king of the skies, flagship of flagships, and mascot of my favorite game series of all time.
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MH Tri - Proof of a Hero: • Monster Hunter 3 (tri-...
Astera Day - • Monster Hunter World O...
Tri Volcano - • Monster Hunter 3 (tri)...
Ancient Forest theme - • Monster Hunter World O...
old jungle theme - • Monster Hunter - Old J...
forest and hills theme - • Monster Hunter Generat...
kokoto theme - • Monster Hunter Kokoto ...
forlorn arena theme - • Forlorn Arena / 塔の秘境 -...

[@TornaitSuperBird]

One way to give Rathalos respect is to finally bestow it with its' own proper theme that follows it from game to game. It doesn't matter if "Forest and Hills Battle Theme" is Rathalos' theme if it never shows up in other games, unlike other flagships.

[@cr-volcanic]

Rathalos, Lagiacrus, and Kirin need to have dedicated themes

[@CaptainCFalcon]

​@@cr-volcanic what do you mean? Lagiacrus HAS a specific theme, the Tri battle theme you fight him with. _It's the only game he's in, after all._ We need our water boi back Capcom. Monster Hunter 6 better have a revamped Water Combat system. Namielle was *_robbed_* by not having Water Combat in her game.

[@Cheeyze]

@@CaptainCFalcon Lagi was in Generations and he always played the generic area battle theme. He has the same deal as Rathalos.

[@javieraguirre5728]

​@@CaptainCFalcon No It didn't 😂😂😂

[@derpydragon1227]

Lagi was not in Generations what?@@Cheeyze

[@thewolfofcomedy5966]

I also think what makes Rathalos really unique among other two legged, two winged wyvern designs in media is that it‘s physiology and animations are inspired by birds of prey like eagles. It isn’t serpentine or lizard-like in its movements like Smaug, Drogon, or the Dragons in Reign of Fire, but instead it’s avian inspirations give it a sense of dignity and regality that makes it instantly recognizable. I mean, when you really think about other Wyvern depictions in media, Rathalos really does stand out

[@Hooy-Jaymay]

Legiana and Bazel fly like condors, Seregios has owl feet, Astalos is insect like, but punches like falcons, Diablos and Gravios are like ostritches or flightless birds.

[@reallycantthinkofausername487]

​@@Hooy-JaymayI was with you up until you compared Diablos and Gravios to Ostriches. The only thing you can compare them for is their lack of flight. Diablos is more like a Mole Triceratops and Gravios... uhm.... Idk something that fires lasers?

[@nami_moos]

"Hammer is litterly just his head. on a stick. theres a lot to love here!" Lmao truth rath hammer always one of my favorites

[@cr-volcanic]

Heads on stick hammers are GOATed

[@nami_moos]

@@cr-volcanic defiantly! I also like the axe shaped hammers like vall hazak and astalos

[@jatinmarcob2128]

Same with kut-ku, it's amazing

[@dracotoy]

Nothing beats the plesioth hammer imo

[@TheLordGojira]

I have been diving into the mythological/religious/cultural symbolism in Monster Hunter for months now. Mostly I’ve been swimming around with elder dragons, since they bear the bulk of the franchises fantastical elements, but as time goes on it’s become clear to me that there’s something really, really important about Rathalos. I’m not sure quite what it is yet, and moreso I’m certain it’s not always the same thing from game to game. But there’s something there, and there’s a great deal of importance behind it. It’s true that Rathalos is largely underrated, but even more so than that, the narrative of Monster Hunter, which is exceedingly subtle and largely symbolic and metaphorical, is criminally under appreciated.

[@Dovahninja]

One thing I will never forgive Capcom for is changing his Iconic roar that him and Rathian shared to the more high-pitched not as cool one in WorldBorne.

[@cr-volcanic]

I prefer the old one too

[@shagarumedic]

Tbh same

[@PieMK6R]

Rathalos has been well known for me. To roar at every rage sequence and if you don't avoid the roar, you took a point blank fire blast 😆

[@alderwield9636]

god bless yt algorithm for this gem of a video also 1st gen rathalos got 60% attack boost in enraged state, so its backward fly fireball after enrage roar will pretty much oneshot you. This would then nerfed to 26% in later gens

[@YoyoitsMothic]

Been playing since Tri as well, Rathalos will forever stick out to me

[@cr-volcanic]

Oh hell yeah, fellow third fleeter! That’s definitely an advantage of Tri’s small roster, you really remember all of em

[@marcrosario6357]

As someone newer to the series, I used to not really care for rathalos, but after playing the other games and spending more time with the series I definitely have grown to love and appreciate the king. I now look forward to seeing him every game

[@TrillForTheWorld]

tri rath was such a fun experience as a kid!

[@z0r4nba80]

Blessed be thy algorithm for giving me this wonderful analysis

[@cr-volcanic]

I really appreciate that man, thank you!

[@z0r4nba80]

@@cr-volcanic you deserve all the praise I have to offer. It’s a better approach to analyzing, where one not only says that it could be better, but how it should be made better. Love this new technique of analysis.

[@Just_a_rathalos151]

Same

[@Just_a_rathalos151]

This analysis is just amazing, I look forward for the others, especially for monsters like Monoblos and the EDs

[@cr-volcanic]

Next one's gonna be an ED, and you bet your ass Imma be talkin about Monoblos at some point. I miss him bad

[@Just_a_rathalos151]

@@cr-volcanic same, I was rven making a rare species for him Context: I make fanmade species on Google docs, basically describing them. If you want I could show you one or two

[@crono6874]

This video is such a breathe of fresh air. Lately I've been hearing ppl complain so much about Rathalos and it's been so weird to me. I never understood why ppl felt that way. I've heard the talk that they could give that slot to another monster. Which I found odd because I'm pretty sure that isn't how that works. I don't believe there should ever be a MH without the Rath couple (probably same for Diablos for that matter). Like you every single MH game I make sure to make Raths sns, usually the armor too. He's not my fav He's not in my top 5. However he is the most important monster in the franchise to me. This video genuinely was very special to me, for it entailed a lot of how I felt towards the subject. I thank you for it like and sub from me.

[@cr-volcanic]

Comments like that more or less inspired me to make this video. I don’t have anything against anyone who doesn’t love Rathalos, but saying he should take a break or is over saturated is such a weird take to me.

[@Sunaki1000]

Because Rathalos isnt just in every Game, hes in every Game trice. Even if you like him, he gets realy overdone fast after 2, 3 Games.

[@crono6874]

@Sunae he's just twice in Rise and we didn't get Silver until a title update in Sunbreak. Sure we don't really need Azure in every MH game but Regular and maybe metal is a must

[@Sunaki1000]

@@crono6874 I highly dissagree. Silver is still in Rise, and it just a strong Rathalos, its a flashy Afflicted Rathalos. I can accept Rathalos role in the Series, but he needs to have a Game just for himselfe. Or maybe show up in Highrank first. I mean, thats the next thing, Diablos another very prominent Monster shows up as Highrank, or G-Rank Addition, but Rathalos is allways in the first Set.

[@crono6874]

@Sunae actually I agree with you here I believe both Rathalos and Diablos should be high rank monsters. Excluding village and/or event. Black Diablos should only be G rank imo and Silver as well as any special species should only ever be end game.

[@Vortiger_the_1_and_only]

I even got an rathalos weapon stuck to my wall, not because he's my favorite monster. No. Because he's just THE monster hunter monster. Give him all the respect he deserves.

[@Sahlos]

I started with 4U but ragequit after the first Gore fight only to return in Rise 2 years ago. I vividly remember asking my friend who got me back into the series “Is Rathalos in this one?” and his respond was “He’s the Pikachu bro, of course he is!” I guess I’ve been spoiled by his 5th gen incarnation but my first proper hunt with him was a very memorable and enjoyable one. My channel is kinda all over the place since it’s just a collection of my gaming experiences, and got that reason I’ve got friends that span across multiple video game communities. But for some reason, no matter what videos I make for any video game, if I make a Rathalos video it’s always my best performing video. And I think that’s due to most people at this point knowing WHO Rathalos is and just wanting to know more about how the icon functions in his home game. I’ve seen the respect he’s given the series first hand. Great video man, I really enjoyed watching it! You’ve definitely earned my sub❤

[@cr-volcanic]

I checked out your content and tossed a sub your way, liked your stuff too! I really fuckin appreciate the nice words. It's been kinda sick to see not only Monster Hunter, but Rathalos make this gradual triumphant rise from niche to icon. Not only that but he keeps getting better every game. It's been so cool watchin this go down for the last few years.

[@Mekudan]

The Rise version of Rathalos is imo so far the coolest/strongest one, he has significant improvements even compared to its iteration in World (Like his new attack where he casually flies sideways while spewing fireballs, or, his new coolest move imo, the big fire beam that he launches from midair)

[@cr-volcanic]

@@Mekudan The Rise and Sunbreak fight was such a huge breath of Fresh air, as I said in the video, its gone from a fight I liked, to a fight I love just from this game. I can't wait to see where they take him next

[@DIHVLD]

How does someone ragequit to Gore? Genuinely curious.

[@Sahlos]

@@DIHVLD It wasn’t entirely gore himself since I never really carted to any monster up until that point, just the clunky controls of the 3DS (especially for ranged weapons) with a middling combat system for me just made the game generally unfun to play. Every quest nearly went to time and just became mentally draining versus fun. Even going back now with experience with Sunbreak, World and Gen U, my opinion on 4U hasn’t changed too much. It’s only been made manageable on specifically a New Nintendo 3DS, where the addition of the C stick significantly improves the controls for me.

[@grimreefer213]

I would have to agree, i’m a fan of Rathalos and I have no problem with him being in every game. I like what they did with him in Rise, he feels like more of a threat now and got a few tricks up his sleeve

[@htfs493]

I would love it if one day, Capcom made Rathalos and possibly Rathian elder dragon level monsters like Bazelgeuse, Rajang, Deviljho, and Magnamalo. Plus, it would be cool to give them back the titles they once had, make Rathalos King of the Skies again, have him fly circles around the likes of Seregios and Astalos. I know the whole point of them is that they outperform Rathalos in the air but animals can adapt and evolve, I would just love a juiced up base version of him one day.

[@soulblazer2392]

The Rath duo already have an elder level subspecies. The Gold Rathian and the Silver Rathalos. Rare species in general are elder level.

[@htfs493]

@@soulblazer2392 I know but I want the base form to be the elder dragon level monster. Espinas I’d say is an elder dragon level threat and he has a rare species.

[@gojifacepalm3165]

Rathalos is at least a peer to either of those two wyverns. The lore and in game dialogue makes that abundantly clear. Try not to listen to the Steve/Astalos wankers. They're completely full of shit, I would know, my brother is unfortunately an Astalos wanker.

[@Pokeysanic]

No point in making the base version Elder dragon level if they cannot be able to beat up other monsters like Seregios in an air battle

[@senseispyro8742]

Honestly I think it would be missing the point of what this monster is about if the base was elder dragon level. Also Espinas May have defeated kushala Daora but only because he has that weakness to poison. I would say Espinas is what I call a “super apex” definitely a step above Apexes like zinogre, seregios, tigrex & Rathalos etc but A step down from Elder dragon level. A perfect example is not even original, Espinas can take on kushala but not Teostra but flaming Espinas can.

[@ZarChannel]

Its so good to see the king get love. I played the original game partially through for ps2(I had a friend who had it, and they're responsible for introducing me to the game that kickstarted my favorite franchise.) so Rathalos will always have a special nostalgic place for me. Its been really fun to see him grow and change with each new game and every time he pops up its just a joyful "there my boi". It'll be curious to see if Capcom ever gets bold enough to tinker and experiment more with him, but I can also see their fear in altering too much considering his iconic status now growing.

[@oeeo6thealatreon118]

I’ve always loved Rathalos While he can sometimes be annoying, I’ve always gave him respect I also LOVE silver rathalos a lot, it gives me a rathalos that feels like the true king, since he’s an elder dragon tier monster (although old gen him was just Rathalos with higher scaling so that was kind of boring) I wish normal him was harder, but regardless I will always give him the respect he deserves

[@fuckhead0]

I feel like it was about time someone dedicated a video to talk about Rathalos, he deserves it, other franchises could've pushed him to the side but the MH team brought him along for the ride and made sure to keep him fresh, imho no monster hunter game can go without having Rathalos, Rathian and Diablos in the roster

[@Sunaki1000]

But do he have to bring in two Versions of him every Game? I wouldnt mind him so much, if he didnt came whit Silver, and eighter Dreadking, or Azur. His fight just gets stale super fast if you have to do it trice.

[@OGXenos]

I think a very significant portion of the playerbase actually wishes Monster Hunter games WOULD stop shoehorning in ten types of Rathalos every single game. Rise didn't even include Azure and STILL gave us three types of the guy.

[@_Tzer]

Pikachu is like the only exception to good mascots something about it just irked me especially after learning it stole that spot from clefairy. Rathalos though rathalos is always awesome always has good armour for where you fight it, a fight you will always remember and be good at and genuinely fun look to the guy. Also no mention of frenzy rathalos lol granted it's a thing applied to a lot of things it's still interesting to mention.

[@cr-volcanic]

I have never heard that Clefairy was originally considered to be the Pokemon mascot. That's fascinating

[@bladezoidz]

I love seeing the king get his flowers, he’s always gonna have a special place in my heart and in my hunter’s journey

[@nadlanod5897]

I want a Rathalos that can continously evolve and adapt as you hunt it. Thunder element weakness? It harnesses the power of Fulgerbugs. Flash bombs? Special membranes over the eyes that prevent it from being blinded. Counter spam from LS players? It randomly pauses before and after attacks to avoid being predicted.

[@cr-volcanic]

There's actually some mechanics a bit like that utilized by some monsters in MH Frontier. Tho not quite at the same level as your're suggesting. Their good ideas tho and tho it'd likely be tough to implement some universal behavior recognition mechanics for monsters would be really cool.

[@nero6271]

I'm a fairly new hunter, started with World, Rise and Sunbreak, loved Rathalos but did feel that he is a little overused, until I got to play Monster Hunter stories 2 - This game made me fall in love with Rathalos and truly made me appreciate them more of a mascot - This video solidifies my feelings completely! Tl;dr play MHS2 , it's worth it.

[@cr-volcanic]

I really like what the Rathas do to diversify Rathalos and give him something new to do and some new personality. Also I think they nailed the chibi look while still making the monsters look cool

[@luckykitty1740]

Rathalos is my favorite monster, calling it the Pikachu of the franchise does it a disservice.

[@kanijah5209]

What a great video, was watching this while frustrated troubleshooting my pc and it totally calmed me down

[@cr-volcanic]

Happy to improve your day man, have a good one!

[@kanijah5209]

@@cr-volcanic thanks I got so impatient waiting for my pc so I just got MHGU on my switch so no biggie

[@cr-volcanic]

@@kanijah5209 Imma have to put some practice hours back into GU for footage gathering purposes lol. Lemme tell ya, not playing it for months and then swapping between it and Rise for footage capture caused some fuckin whiplash

[@natsu_kamado1865]

Honestly Rathalos is still in my favorite list cause among all these monsters with these gimmicks and abilities, it’s nice just to have a classic dragon. (And I don’t mean a world destroyer like Fatalis)

[@dumithegreat3892]

Dude, Zerureusu was the best Rathalos iteration, pre-Sunbreak. definitely the most experimental take on the monster as well, considering his entire Adaptation mechanic, where he changes his behavior and parts, depending on which weapon type does the most damage to that part. the sweeping light beams, and homing spike attacks, and the way he balanced his aerial combat, with his grounded moveset, is also very reminiscent of how Sunbreak Rathalos fights, and definitely showed off how good the Rathalos formula could be, if the team were allowed to experiment more.

[@cr-volcanic]

If I have one regret about this script it's that I didn't really do any research at all into the versions of Rathalos from the games I haven't played. I wish I actually talked about them, I think it was late when I was writing that part of the script. That's a mistake I'll be correcting going forward with other monsters

[@Seth-uo4zn]

Even the armor is iconic

[@JohnkyTonkbadonkadonk]

Rathalos is indeed a standout.. Not as a favorite. Nay. But as a terror of the skies, destroyer of homes. This beast still causes a pit of pain and despair to form in my heart. Rathalos shall never be forgotten.

[@LeoTheYuty]

I love rathalos, super epic monster

[@blueraptor1013]

Whoever is calling rathalos mid is just wrong, he is THE monster hunter monster.

[@TheIdealofGreed]

Ok, yeah, I'm liking the armor talks, too. Afterthought developed while writing that last sentence: I don't suppose we'll see a video discussing monster parts &/or armor in that sword & shield way you did?

[@cr-volcanic]

Maybe. I figured the weapons would be the easiest to play around with in that format

[@pitshoster401]

You put so much passion into this video. Looking forward to your future Monster Hunter content!

[@cr-volcanic]

Thank you! Lookin forward to only gettin better from here

[@RyanN9419]

Subscribed, good video, Monster Hunter is amazing even though i suck pretty hard at the games, gonna look through your other videos now.

[@cr-volcanic]

Much appreciated

[@SirWafty]

I also started with tri. Had really no idea what I was doing but i has fun. 4u was the game that made me really love monster hunter

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

i'm a fifth fleet noob and a low-key Rath hater (Gold and Silver were just a bridge too far, for me, in World/Iceborne) and this video turned out way more persuasive than i expected

[@elchjol2777]

As someone that only got into monster hunter about a month or so ago with Rise. The Raths are now my favorites,and the first two I captured. Specifically the Rathalos fight got out of hand quickly as a three way turf war happened and it was rather difficult but fun trying to keep Rathalos alive, defeate or run off the other two monsters and the swarm of smaller ones that kept showing up and capture the king if the skys. There was a moment where his tail got knocked off by one of the two other monsters and I thought I was about to fail to catch the guy and went into a bit of a dual blade frenzy where I outright killed one of the two extra monsters before it could run off and got the other to flee. Add the catch of the Rath right after and thats the fight that has become the talk of my friends that played the series more than me and my favorite fight in a game in a long time.

[@Evan-mt7bc]

Another thing that's really cool about Rathalos is that he'll usually be the last monster with a lot of attack up boost and typically the last monster in Low Rank that will have this skill and Weakness Exploit. A lot of Monster Hunter players will farm out a set of low rank Rathalos gear and carry that into likely mid high rank when they can refight Rathalos for the High rank version of this set before replacing it with an Elder Dragon set. People will probably also mix and match Rathalos gear with the flag ship of the game or other iconic monsters like Zinogre, Rajang and Nargacuga in high rank too and sort of subconsciously celebrate the franchise in their gear set.

[@kirara2516]

And now he's got a crossover event where he's ended up in the world of Final Fantasy VII. Battling Cloud Strife. In Ever Crisis as a crossover event. Which is AWESOME!!

[@notme8152]

Definitely. And Rise raths are awesome to fight.

[@masao7863]

As far as how I play monhun Rathalos has always been my measuring stick in the franchise. He's never an easy fight and I'm glad that he's there to tell me wether I need to git gud or that I'm doing gud.

[@stormerjc9493]

Something I love about rathalos from a ecology standpoint, and this goes for some of the other flying wyverns aswell, is that they represent different birds of prey and rathalos in particular seems to represent eagles which I think is a great way to look at him As for his modern interpretation, the way he looks 5th gen and fights in sunbreak is fantastic, let's hope they keep him like this, I just think he needs a few more small touches to reach his apex 1. Give him his badass old game roar back pls, that roar was bellowing and intimating, 2. Give him his own dedicated theme back to him, every other Flagship has a theme rathalos should get the same treatment 3. Give him turf wars with Seregios, astalos and Lagiacrus 4. Give him more interactions both behaviour and fight wise with rathian Do all that and I think rathalos will be peak

[@Shadow-id8sy]

Rathalos is one of my favorite monsters of all time easily in my top ten if not top five

[@jurassic7793]

I LOVE YOU RATHALOS

[@cr-volcanic]

And he loves you, random citizen!

[@SillyGuy67]

no i still got ptsd this monster move. Insta charge, fireball from sky, round around area for 30 minutes, stupid ass claw move

[@DIHVLD]

@@cr-volcanic fighting him in MH1 was actual aids. It would be less painful having my testicles crushed by a hydraulic press, then covered in oil and burned alive. And his god damn giraffe neck.

[@gardevoirtrainer4526]

Wasn't really a fan of Rathalos in World, but his fight in Rise is actually fun for me.

[@cr-volcanic]

I get that, I kinda feel the same. I always thought the fight was just alright until Rise came in and gave him a lotta cool new stuff to do and made him less annoying in the air

[@zoinksscoob6523]

World rathalos is just nonstop fireballs

[@Hooy-Jaymay]

I much personally prefer the "Rathalos style" type armors in Monster Hunter, Brachydios, Tigrex and Lagiacrus armor look nice, but they feel like something a rich noble would wear for a festival or tournament. Hunters receive and brush off life crippling concussions on the regular, you'd think they'd favor more practical armor, sometimes slapping some horns and skin of their trophy kills on them as display or decoration.

[@cr-volcanic]

That's a big reason I like Rathalos armors too. I made a point about that in my Teo video. As good an idea as practical "parts reinforcing actual armor" is, I do think they're might be a limit for how much you an do with it

[@snowfox6795]

Real talk i usually swap to Heavy Bowgun specifically to annihilate that floor-is-lava fiend

[@blade24liger]

Im sure youre aware, but the us translation changed the cover art for world. In japan Nerg is the cover

[@richardoc7294]

back since OG mh on ps2 , in every game rathalos was like mile stone in the game.

[@FlintsForge6931]

from my first hunt in rise till sunbreaks hunt ( i know its not that long) rathalos was such a good fight , and sunbreaks fight made him perfect , fast and a true king of the skies but its not unfair

[@ender_z4nd3r83]

I forgot how hard is to kil rathalos the first time you fight it untill I saw my friend hunting it for the first time (it was in world)

[@ultimasurge]

Rise rath put respect back on his name frfr. Dude still roast me with the slownwind toast when i get caught slippin.

[@AvalonQueen34]

He's not in my top 3 favorite monster list but his wife is, but this is only because i got to fight rathian first in my first MH game (it was also Tri!) lol, but he definetly is in my top 10, good to see a video doing him justice

[@cr-volcanic]

Interesting, I don’t see a ton of love for Rathian, but I’m happy to hear it. She might be even more underrated

[@Vipera217]

I wanna see Rathalos humble the new monsters for once

[@cr-volcanic]

Facts. I get he’s a good measuring stick, but let the King be the king

[@Vipera217]

@@cr-volcanic just now i get the point of why Rathalos has to lose thanks to your video essay but if this keeps up, he's gonna look like a chump

[@DIHVLD]

He’s so underrated he has 12 versions. There’s almost more Rathalos types than monsters in MH1.

[@SCP-4335MW]

​@Espinas Aren't deviants,apexes and apexes(rise) variants?

[@T-REX-KNIGHT]

Rathalos has the Superman/Charizard/Tyrannosaurus Rex effect. He became so overated to the point he became under rated by the community. Most of the comments on Rathalos i hear is how boreing and basic he is. Honestly to me why Rathalos is my favorite monster is due to its simplicity. To me Rathalos being the most normal looking wyvern in the crazy roster makes him special same applies to Fatalis and Saffi. extra points to the fact he still rules ecosystem and even battles and fights off crazier apexes is icing on the cake.

[@cr-volcanic]

That's a pretty interesting point. Something gets so popular that it becomes cool to think its not that great which then circles back into people appreciating it. I think Rathalos grounds Monster Hunter really well. acts as a template to build off of. Honestly I also don't think he's as "basic" as some people say he is. He's just common. He's super adaptable, he's an apex predator, he's one of the most successful species of monsters out there, he's part of a sexually dimorphic species that fights in tandem with his mate, his presence greatly affects the ecosystems he's a part of, he's got a lot bird-like qualities baked into his design and isn't just a straight up dragon, and the fight has evolved super well over the years. He's cooler than he gets credit for

[@voidhunter2800]

I'd honestly love if they gave azure a new element, like water or ice if not both; it'd make him stand out some more.

[@mblade01]

I started playing since the very weird right analog stick to attack days of the PS2 Monster Hunter. Los was on the cover and the reason why I bought the game. I fought him in-game and fell in love with him immediately despite him refusing at all to fight me most of the time, he just had that flair and arrogance that his title describes him as. I was one of the those hardcore dudes that said MHW wasn't a MonHun game since it didn't feel or look like a MonHun game at all until I saw him flying into view and I immediately disregarded all my previous thoughts and opinions and said that I HAD to play this game no matter what. The moment a MonHun game doesn't have Los is the moment I stop playing MonHun and it being my fave franchise of all time.

[@cr-volcanic]

I both do and don’t envy people who experienced those fucking bonkers old Monster Hunter controls. I kinda wanna see what they feel like, but at the same time they sound so fucking ungodly.

[@EpicPandaPat]

banger video! subbing after this shit. Love to see more!

[@cr-volcanic]

"More" is currently in the editing process

[@EpicPandaPat]

@@cr-volcanic bet

[@bruceellis5253]

You know what would be awesome? How about a Rathalos that can breathe electricity. He doesn’t do good against weapons that have that element, so imagine your gearing up to take on a new species of Rathalos and you take a Thunder element weapon with you. Your feeling confident, cocky even, planning on taking out the king of the skies when you see this new beast of a preexisting monster appear and challenge you. You swing your weapon only to find out that it didn’t do anything and you get hit with a strong surge of electricity. That would be terrifying but also breath new life into the mascot.

[@hexagonrz7813]

THIS. This is what Azure should have been.

[@raditz2737]

The reason why I think the fact Rathalos flies more in Rise yet still remaining fun is because in the older games his moveset in the air was very disengaging, spaming fire balls and claws while in Rise when he takes to the air he still interacts with you and does so in a way that makes sense. As for Zenith Rathalos I have personally fought that monster and can say he's honestly super fun and has kinda the same antithesis as Rise Rathalos in the fact he interacts with you more when he's flying. As for the design choice there is a reason for his wings to look so exaggerated. For those that DONT know, Zenith monsters have what is known as a "Zenith Part" this is part of a monsters body that has been blown up essentially and are a part of the monsters gimmick. If you break these parts you can make the fight easier, Zenith Rathalos specifically has a damaging fire aura that you can shut off by breaking his wings and iirc his moves come out slower. These exacerbated features are meant to draw the eye, if youve ever seen Zenith Tigrex, one of my all time favorite Zeniths, his claws look mangled and metal looking. In his fight he uses them to send blades of wind that cause you to bleed horribly but break them both and only one or two of his moves will cause you to bleed instead of most of his moveset.

[@cr-volcanic]

Yeah man, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I wish I actually looked into the Frontier Rathalos variations more. I’m not making that mistake again.

[@raditz2737]

@@cr-volcanic dont feel bad about it, a lot of people just look at the high tier Monsters of Frontier and go "Too many lasers" or "Too many spikes" which is fair, people are entitled to their own opinions and I won't blame them for that. The good thing about Frontier is tho its accessible rn thanks to the fans putting in a massive amount of hard work to get it up and going again not to mention translating the game to English. I didnt play the game when it was live but I made it up to Z3 Zeniths before my save was lost and it was honestly my second favorite MH Game right behind GU. Despite being made in the Dos Engine combat just has this certain feel to it that no other MH Game has and I love it.

[@cr-volcanic]

@@raditz2737 I've been doing a lot more research into Frontier recently, starting to properly understand it a bit more. I always had a kinda distant respect for it but thought it looked a bit to wacky. Some parts of it still don't quite click for me, but in looking more into it, I've come to really respect the game.

[@raditz2737]

@@cr-volcanic well Im glad cause not many folks take the time to do that. Much respect

[@cr-volcanic]

@@raditz2737 gimme a week or so, I'm workin on something I think you'll enjoy

[@BiryuTheFox]

Rathalos might not be one of my favorite monsters, but if some weird, wish granting genie was like, we will put in three of your favorite monsters, guaranteed in the new MH game, BUT, Rathalos won't be in it, I would absolutely decline... it's not the game without him. "Oh but you could have Abyssal back! Or Nercylla! Giganox! Magnamalo, Gore and Zinogre could be in from the start!" Nope. Nope. Most my faves are shared with others and might get in through popularity. It wouldn't be a Monster Hunter game without the mascot of the whole series. "Gogmazios and Dalamadur?" ...I want you to understand that my answer is the same, it just hurts me more now.

[@DarthDookieMan]

Rise has done so much in my impressions of Rathalos and Silver. I already did like Silverlos back in Iceborne as a IG player, but still.

[@GuyWithAGreatsword]

20:38 I personally like the original djinn design it's skinnier but I like how it looks a bit more molten than the modern one which just looks like a hunk of glowing orange crystal

[@PyroOfZen]

The first time I saw him, I was horrified that I was gonna have to fight him...then I took him down so easily, I never let him live it down. I've called him Bitchalos ever since. There haven't been many hunts vs. Rathalos I've been on which were anything other than a walk in the park. I've shared clips among friends of me toppling him 4-5 times back-to-back, despite never having a build focused on CC. No other monster lets me bully them that hard. I love him to bits, but only because he makes me feel like I'm actually good at the game.

[@bathingsage3043]

he’s not the king of the sky when you’re an insect glaive main. 😂

[@Scrombo2]

I'd actually be down for an Azure Rath redesign where....idk he's got ice breath and blast instead of poison idk, we have a bunch of variations of Rathalos that are just Rath that are a different color, make him dig instead of fly ala Diablos, shake it up a bit, it's still gonna look like Rathalos (I don't dislike either Rath but, more/weirder variations would be cool)

[@arkamdjihad7195]

And his armor and weapons are pretty, attack boost and good fire élément exploit

[@ernjdasdd]

I remember livestreaming E3 2017 and being MH deprived since MH4U wanting so badly a mainline updated console game, i said to my audience i would delete my channel if there was just that, an updated modern console monster hunter game. I shit myself as soon as i seen the agito greatsword and capcom logo. Immediately knew and panicked. Was such an awesome moment

[@cr-volcanic]

I remember right before E3 my buddies and I agreed we would go into whatever the next MH game was completely blind. I saw the explosion of conversation around the reveal, watched the trailer myself, and told the guys, “fuck going in blind, look at THIS”. Fantastic memory

[@hartfantom]

I’m entirely new to monster hunter and funny enough, one of the FIRST things I noticed was the very dismissive tone of monster hunter fans when speaking about Rathalos. I was so confused as to why considering even I kinda seen he was the mascot and flagship of monster hunter. This video perfectly summarized the things people say. It blew me away because you don’t usually see people just straight up being dismissive of their mascot. Like it’s not common to see a sonic or Mario fan being so dismissive and annoyed at seeing their mascot lol. Like, your mascot is your representative. For whatever reason, monster hunter fans just seemed so dismissive of Ratha which sucks since it was the first monster I bonded with. Regardless, this video was amazing, especially as a new monster hunter fan.

[@cr-volcanic]

The disconnect miiiiight come from the fact that most mascots are the protagonist, not the antagonist. But even if that's the case, what's really the difference between playing a character every game and fighting a character every game? It also makes me sad when I see him get written off, especially with how good he is now, which partially inspired this video, hopefully it changes some minds

[@hartfantom]

@@cr-volcanic yeah, it’s pretty sad. My first monster hunter game is monster hunter stories 2 and in that game, your main monster is Guardian Ratha. (Ngl, I hate the design of it when they get rid of its unique purple wings because it ends up looking like a regular rathalos). That being said, I was immediately aware of how important Rathalos is to the franchise. I watched maximillion dood earlier this week in one of his videos where he ranked monsters and he was very dismissive of Rathalos lol. It’s pretty sad how they treat our baby face poster boy

[@Regufyz]

It might be just me but basic ass looking dragons like Rath, Fatalis and Safi Jiiva are some of my favorites

[@grandempress1947]

It may be due to me starting with later iteration of the game and not being introduced to the Deviants first, but I always thought the Apex variants from Rise got a lot of unnecessary hate. And personally think the designs look pretty darn cool. Especially Diablos, Mizutsune, and Zinogre. Bloodbath definitely gives Apex Dio some competition, but Apex Mizu and Zinny look INFINITELY cooler than Soul Seer and Thunder Lord imo

[@cr-volcanic]

Coming out of Generations Ultimate, the Apexes were a big disappointment for myself and I know a lot of others. They simply seemed very slapped together, very last minute. Whether or not you think the apexes look better is 100% down to simply personal preference, but the Deviants I believe simply had more personality, more style, more of an identity, and more of a purpose. So we felt really disappointed cuz these were watered down versions of monsters we really liked but with very little incentive to actually fight them. No disrespect whatsoever if you enjoy em, but as a fan of the deviants, I was very disappointed

[@nightbladex6929]

Flame Rathalos is a special species from Monster Hunter Explore.

[@Sara3346]

I like the longer wings but not the chunky body, win some loose some.

[@starfallmusicaus]

I absolutely fucken love Rathalos, and goddamn if Rise didn't make him an absolutely intimidating beast to fight all over again. He's significantly faster and more agile than ever before, and keep in mind I play LBG pretty much exclusively, so I'm nimble as hell, but even still if I take my eyes off him for even a second I'm thoroughly screwed. It excites the hell out of me to have him be such a challenge again, I'm genuinely terrified to face Azure and Silver when Sunbreak hits consoles.

[@cynicalgold9992]

rathalos is definitely an important monster, and easily the most iconic, but in every game other than rise i just depise his fight. i genuinely find pre 5th gen rathalos to be one of the worst fights in the entire series. however, i would never want him to take a break. monster hunter without rathalos just wouldnt be monster hunter

[@cr-volcanic]

Thank god for his Rise and Sunbreak incarnation. I'm actively excited to fight him in the next game now lmao

[@KaiserBeats]

while i can understand where most of these people's opinions on rathalos should deserve a break, but let's be real guys, That will not happen, that's like having a pokemon game without Pikachu, those 2 franchises deserve their iconic mascots to remind us that there is still some spirit in a series that's been going for 20 years and counting...

[@wavemasterxyra1630]

Been playing since Gen 1, Rathalos is one of my Favorites.

[@deamonbeasttm1485]

Rathalos in rise is just perfect

[@tykayneroberts4513]

No. No he's not. He quickly became one of my most hated monsters in World, and he became stale, predictable and boring in Rise. No new moves, no super mode, no extra layer of enrage at half health, just him and the hunter. He and Rathian have to move the fuck over for the unknown flagship we'll get in Wilds. Rathalos and Rathian's time has long since passed. It's time for them to quit. Nobody likes fighting either of them. Their armor and weapons don't even have good skills, their armor slots are abysmal. We need more Flying Wyverns that AREN'T Rathalos and Rathian.

[@xenodragomorph]

You forgot two Raths. Full-on Razorwing, which has wings, is more razor bird like, and he's black and Unknown the Rathalos/Rathian hybrid that has 7 enrage states

[@jeffreyseamons5514]

Rathalos doesn't necessarily need to have a good design as long as it's serviceable, because he's the baseline that all other monster designs are going to get compared against. So if someone thinks it's not a good design I'm okay with that, as long as they understand why

[@originalname4701]

What if Azure Rathalos had a different element, like lightning, water or ice.

[@senseispyro8742]

Now I have only played world, iceborne, rise, & Sunbreak but the Rath Family is in my top 10 favorite monster species in the entirety of rise & Sunbreak specifically. Because of how well their ecology is to the series. Yes even Apex Rathalos & Rathian are part of the reason why they’re in the top 10. Fight wise yeah they are definitely watered down but conceptually the apex Rath’s & metal Rath’s are basically The equivalent of how magic & dark magic are often depicted. Magic being the purest & more difficult way to achieve such power while dark magic is the easiest to achieve & the most corrupted but not as powerful as pure magic. If that makes sense to anyone that is.

[@Fenyxclips]

Monster Hunter isn't Monster Hunter without the Raths. Honestly find Rathalos a rival due to how equal the fight always is.

[@relaxoirl5920]

For me the face of Monster Hunter will always be Lagiacrus because tri was my first game but they can never do it justice without underwatercombat.... I know Rathalos is the mascott but to me Lagi is always the first assoziation even tho I like Gore more

[@GoldenLigerZero]

Same can be said for Charizard, people shame Charizard every chance they get because Zard has been in the last four gens.

[@juicyjuustar121]

Rathalos is cool and all, but to me he is just good. He absolutely has a right to be in every game, he's iconic, but he just hasn't really stood out to me in a long time. It probably doesn't help that his colors have been washed out and made way less vibrant as of the last few games, it takes away from his iconic look that is one of the best things about him to me.

[@Sara3346]

Hmm no touching on how he's playing off of large birds of prey as much as classic dragons with his beak and grasping feet?

[@ender_z4nd3r83]

I think they should keep adding it in every MH, just don't make it a main story quest

[@creativetitle9247]

Even if I've only ever really liked Rathalos in one entry (World, funny enough; can't say I care for his Rise incarnations), it would honestly feel just so wrong *not* seeing him in a MH game. Sure, you see him pop up constantly but that's the point of a mascot, no?

[@iiReaperv2]

I feel like a complete odd one out but I just don't enjoy fighting rathalos. I love the look of him but it's a fight that frustrated me a lot. Maybe because I hate poison in literally any game lmao

[@TheOnlyCoralBreather]

I love it but I hate fighting it.

[@leoxgamer1342]

rathalos is actually my favorite not elder dragon monster in the entire series

[@powerbalancevathelastkitsu2504]

Honestly, i can't put Rathalos in a top 10. It be too disrespectful. I put him at the same category as most mascots of franchises i like. Sonic, Pikachu, Godzilla. You don't say who's your favorite character in Sonic games. You say favorite Sonic character. You don't say Pikachu cause everyone loves Pikachu. And while you can say you can have a favorite version of Godzilla, most of the time its about his allies rather than him. Cause like them, Rathalos isn't just a Monster Hunter creature or flagship. He IS Monster Hunter.

[@hackalos8348]

Tell me more

[@BohrokKiller]

Personally, I think he's overrated. I would be fine with him, if he and Rathian are the only ones of their kind in the next game. No sub-species or variants. They don't need to take 6 slots in the monster roster that other new/returning monsters should get.

[@DrakoTheTwink]

He ain’t underrated people are tired of him returning in every single fucking entry of the series

[@joshelderkin9592]

I promise nobody would be mad if pikachu missed a game lmao as a pokemon fan i promise you not many people give a fuck about pikachu

[@formula091]

His hunts were mostly terrible, it's kind of funny how it took until Rise for him to be decent. Not really deserving of a player's respect if he's either wasting time or getting trolled by flashes pre-World