My first (and only) experience with Japan's most popular dinosaur-poaching sim franchise was the newest Wii iteration, Monster Hunter Tri. I logged over sixty hours in a relatively short time because of its latching addictive qualities. However, its pitfalls have moved my interest to other games. My point is this: weirdly enough, I liked Monster Hunter Tri so much that I want to stop playing it; I want to play WoW instead.

I want to begin by requesting advice from fellow Bitmobbers about my interest in WoW based on my experience with Monster Hunter. (Also, die-hard fans of the latter franchise beware.)

Monster Hunter has been, to me, a picture of Japanese game development in the second decade of the 21st Century. Unfortunately, this is not a compliment. It stands next to a bevy of Western franchises that kick ass by most accounts: Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, God of War, and Warcraft, to name a few. In short, Japanese games, as represented by one of its most popular series, are stagnant. They have by and large progressed at a snail's pace, if that.

This opinion is bolstered by all the talk I have heard about the legacy of Dragon Quest. This series seems most famous for changing as little as possible over the years while still keeping fans' avid support, for better or worse.

The controls in Monster Hunter Tri are at best unpolished. And if Tri were the first in the series, I could easily forgive the camera issues and the absence of any sort of target-locking feature. But that isn't the case, and the rough edges--more like cracked-to-the-core--confound me. (To anticipate the argument that target locking isn't realistic: it is far less realistic and "sim-like" to have your character labor to lift his heavy Great Sword, for instance, putting several seconds of work into simply unsheathing it and lifting it into the air to strike, approaching a monster and missing by inches because the character faced slightly away from the monster. I'd assume he would turn his wrists.)

The user-interface is equally old and boring. Why can't I go into my house after I have accepted a quest in single-player mode? Why do I have to report the freehunt kills to the record keeper instead of the game automatically giving me the resources? Why does the online chat window disappear in place of far less essential text? Why doesn't time pass on my farm when I'm in the city (i.e., online)?

But enough of that. I really should talk more about why I fell in love with the game and played it constantly for a couple weeks. The progression was paced well early on (this was also ruined a short time later by huge road blocks that required grinding) and I craved the next weapon. I loved asking my Felyne friends to plant Blue Mushrooms and multiply my Honey while I was out fighting hyperrealistic (to me) monsters. The bosses are incredibly fun to fight. Their incidental movements are so believable; their aggression rises as they feel more threatened; they are often as powerful as they look (meaning very much so). I like the challenge of felling strong monsters. Sure, they're cheap sometimes, but I've had more fun failures than frustrating ones.

Now, to my original point. Not only is this my first Monster Hunter game, but my first non-shooter online experience. The questing and the upgrading and the communication with real people in Monster Hunter's online mode were a lot of fun. But I feel like it falls short of the quality pacing and story and ease of communication (I can't use my Wii Speak with strangers!) of a Western MMORPG. And which of these is more tried and tested than World of Warcraft?

I'm relying on anecdotes and hearsay (and, well, crazy sales figures) here, so that's why I ask of you your opinions.

What I am sure of is that Monster Hunter piqued my interest in online multiplayer quest-based gaming enough to find some better version of it elsewhere. What I am unsure of is what the best option is, now that I am at this point.

What should I play?