Anyone who's wondering whether or not Monster Hunter Generations performs better on the New Nintendo 3DS than on the old model can finally put those speculations to rest, as Digital Foundry conducted an in-depth comparison test to find things out.
For a little background, not only does the New Nintendo 3DS have improved processors and RAM under the hood, but it also sports the C-Stick, the ZL and ZR shoulder triggers, a 4 GB microSD card out of the box, built-in NFC and many more.
What all that means is that it's only natural to assume that the upgraded handheld will be capable of handling Capcom's latest action-adventure title a whole deal better.
Going straight to the big question, does the New Nintendo 3DS run Monster Hunter Generations better than the Nintendo 3DS? Short answer is yes but not really.
According to Digital Foundry, all texture, geometry and draw distances are the same between the two gaming systems, and that means players will see identical quality in terms of graphics.
As for the frame rates, they are also equal despite the beefier hardware components that the New Nintendo 3DS houses, and that's because Capcom set a 30 FPS cap on Monster Hunter Generations.
At this point, it seems that there isn't any significant difference, but in come the loading times. The people behind the test discovered that the New Nintendo 3DS can go 4 seconds faster when the players starts a new game and departs on a quest and 3 seconds quicker when going to the Hunter's Hub.
Here's a breakdown of the times:
| Nintendo 3DS | New Nintendo 3DS | |
| Starting a New Game | 10 seconds | 6 seconds |
| Departing on a Quest | 12 seconds | 8 seconds |
| Going to the Hunter's Hub | 7 seconds | 4 seconds |
As every hunter knows, the game will load whenever they move from one place to another during a quest, and simply put, it'll take a bit longer to finish one on the Nintendo 3DS, as the seconds will eventually add up.
To boil things down, the loading speed is the only advantage that the New Nintendo 3DS has over the older model, and its true potential in running Monster Hunter Generations may not see the light of day because of the restrictions that the game developers set.
It seems a bit much to upgrade just to save a couple of seconds, but with that said, are you willing to spend more cash for the sake of it? Let us know in the comments section below.
Monster Hunter Generations went official in the United States earlier this month, and we have a compilation of tips and tricks to help new hunters out.
Also, don't forget to hit up the video below to see the comparison in action and check out the other works of Digital Foundry.
