With Monster Hunter Rise in development for 2021 on the Nintendo Switch, Capcom has been releasing new information about the different creatures that will inhabit the wilderness in its upcoming title. Much of its focus thus far has been on Monster Hunter Rise's flagship monster, the Magnamalo, but other upcoming beasts like the Aknosom have also been given time in the spotlight.
Aknosom is described as a "peculiar" monster in a post by the Monster Hunter Twitter account yesterday that shared a piece of concept art for the bird wyvern. That art gives a closer look at the Aknosom's seemingly blood-tipped wings, eyeball-patterned crest, and propensity to stand on one leg — which the Japanese Monster Hunter Rise Twitter account says earned it the nickname "umbrella bird."
That Japanese social media account shared a video of a Bow-wielding hunter battling an Aknosom Sunday. In the video, the bird wyvern moves gracefully like a dancer as it knocks away the hunter with a jumping swipe before landing on one leg. Aknosom also shoots fireballs at the player, which is a skill that was revealed in the initial Monster Hunter Rise trailer posted last month as part of a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.
Monster Hunter Rise will be bringing more than just new monsters to the series when it releases next month. Capcom has also confirmed new traversal mechanics will be available in Monster Hunter Rise, one of which being its fleet-footed new companion animal the Palamute. The Palamute, Palico, and Magnamalo will all be featured in Monster Hunter-themed Amiibo.
Another new Switch game called Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin was also announced alongside Monster Hunter Rise, but video games are not the only upcoming projects for Capcom's popular action RPG series. A new trailer for the Monster Hunter movie featuring Diablos was released recently, though many are still cautious about how the Milla Jovovich-led picture will perform this December.
Many more fans seem to be looking forward to Monster Hunter Rise, which will apparently help represent a larger transition for the series according to Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and Director Yasunori Ichinose in a recent interview with IGN. Capcom will no longer be using numbered entries for Monster Hunter games, as the developers feel subheads like "Rise" will help fans better anticipate new features such as the Wire Bug that allow hunters to explore more vertical-oriented areas.
Monster Hunter Rise will be available March 26, 2021 for Nintendo Switch.