I absolutely love Balahara. He’s utilizing the traditional leviathan skeleton but he isn’t an aquatic creature, he swims in sand. Pretty unique for recent MH if you ask me. They absolutely nailed his movements to make him look like a drill going through the desert, and his body reflects that lifestyle very well. Not very realistic even by monster hunter standards, but a very cool looking creature nonetheless. Though we can’t really speak on Balahara’s realism yet, since we simply don’t know anything about its ecology. If Wilds will be like World we’ll probably find out about some behaviors of the monster that were inspired by real life animals, making the design seem a lot more believable and realistic
Nice post man! I agree with everything you said with the exception of his realism and the fact that we need to wait for ecology. While I understand what you mean by that, when I talk about realism I am specifically talking more about the visual design features rather than on how they live/survive etc... Basically, whether its a creature that can or may exist in the real world. Thanks for the engagement and if you enjoyed the video make sure to like and sub ! Looking forward to making more =D
@@RathalosWatch I see it this way: design is half the realism. The other is its place in the ecosystem, generally it’s behavior, and the lore. For example an explanation of why they travel in packs. Or if they have some advanced hunting tactics. Not really „realism” but more like „how fleshed out is the monster” Cause MH can make monsters believable through their behavior too. We already have that with Balahara, with his drill movements through the dunes because of how his body is shaped, but I’m sure there will be more of that kind of stuff shown to us once we actually play the game. For me at least it’s a big part of rating a monster design
@KsnypsAdventures fair enough. I am very curious too see what other monsters Wilds will have. For some odd reason, I have a feeling that this game will have more new monsters never seen before rather than returning old ones.
@@RathalosWatch I feel it’s gonna be a World situation. The only returning monster we saw in the trailer was Rathalos, everything else was completely new. Logically they’d want to make new designs to keep the series fresh for experienced players (as if the myriad of new mechanics wasn’t doing that already) If they are going to make returning monsters, they’ll most likely go the Iceborne route and pack them into an expansion
@@KsnypsAdventures I am thinking of making an epic video that will be discussing which monsters could potentially be returning to MH Wild and which ones most likely won't return. It will take a while to produce, but I believe you will find it very interesting entertaining and so will other MH fans. What do you think about this my friend? :)
What I like most about Balahara is it's suspension of disbelief. It has the inspiration of an aquatic creature, but it isn't, while still having the qualities of a creature suited for thriving in the desert. This is an instantly iconic monster
100% and thanks so much for commenting, it really helps! If you enjoy the content please consider subscribing my friend. I have some interesting video ideas :)
For the realism section, the animal origins of balahara do not stop at clams. All leviathan are at least partially inspired by a type of fish, and Balahara is no exception! The way its mouth opens by making its insides of the jaws is very similar to real life Hagfish, and generally speaking, its silhouette and color scheme is very similar to hagfish as a whole Its mouth inside also has a second row of theeth reminescent of anglerfish and the splitting jaw also is something that is taken from aquatic animals, in particular bobbit worms. All but the bobbit are deepsea animals, so it is why it still feels so alien despite this characteristics being from existing animals
@Mirawaru awesome insightful post. Thanks for the input, you bring some good valid points that I'll keep in mind for future videos like these. Hope you enjoyed the content, and if you have please consider subscribing and turning on notifications 🥰🥰
@@RathalosWatch Heheheee I just did Since you gve a good rating to this guy It has become needlessy controversial, with people saying it is too sci fi and doesn't belong in the series and all of that So seeing someone appreciating it even if creepy sci fi somewhat unrealistic monster aren't your thing,means you have a critical eye on things...and good taste cuz you like it everything considered lel It is by far my favourite of the three new monsters, mainly because I am huge fish geek and hagfish were in mHfication wishlist for a long time loool
@@Mirawaru People are claiming that Balahara is too futuristic? What about Valstrax? A dragon that acts like a power-ranger in the sky with bright red LEDs and flies like some insane sci-fi fighter jet. Yeah, Balahara is far from Sci-Fi imo. Thanks for the kind words by the way, I can't wait for them to showcase future monsters so I can make more visual design rating videos!
@@RathalosWatch Yea It is like people saying Magnamalo is too over the top... when my own dark OC kut ku that is strongest and fought after Lao (thank god that it was retconed in just a normal ED tier like Devilijho and friends...lmao) existed till gen 1... not liking is one thing, and that is understandable... saying it doesn't belong in the series is just flat out wrong.
I don't k there has been yet a design that "doesn't fit" except King shakalaka and Primordial Malzeno honestly As long as it looks and behaves like an animal it fits
The legs are the most unrealistic aspect because they would get in the way when digging. But what if it uses them to chase prey on rocks that would give it a "leg" up on the worms from Dune and Tremors.
These are great to watch as an MH addict! I enjoy how you pick apart their inspiration and realistic biology. Your mic is a bit quiet in this one, though!
Thank you friend! How did you find me and which videos have you already watched and what would you like to see in the future? Discord is opening up soon! 😀
Why is this video so quiet? My volume is nearly maxed and I can barely hear you. Also I never knew that about clams, that is creepy. That gave me shivers and I don't get creeped out easily. Something I've been thinking, the silhouette section should include similar creatures not just the same selection. I don't want a sand wyrm/serpent-esc monsters compared to monkey's and dragons it should be compared to other sand monsters and serpents, where is Lagiacrus' silhouette and the other similar body shaped monsters?
yeah, a ton of weird creepy stuff in the sea for sure. Not sure why the video is quiet, I think i had some weird audio stuff going on. However, that should no longer be an issue. The last 5-6 videos do not have this problem thankfully, so no need to worry. And yeah you are probably right about the silhouette. Would it be more fair if I compared Leviathans silhouettes to other leviathans instead? And fanged beasts to fanged beasts, will that work you think? Let me know!
@@RathalosWatch Yes that sounds much better. For balahara even like the lavasioth, dalamadur, jyuratodus, and the tobi-kodachi I think are interesting comparisons.
@@RathalosWatch I hated how often we had to fight it throughout MHW. Especially since barroth returned and kinda does the same things as jyuratodus but better. Otherwise its still a monster with a silhouette worth comparing to similar ground swimming creatures.
@@HateSonneillon oh yeah it's worth the comparison for silhouette purposes. But I was simply making a statement that I do not enjoy his fight. I really don't get what Capcom tried to achieve with him.
I think balahara is a little more realistic than you gave it credit for. While another commenter suggested design origins to deep sea animals, I thought of the split jaw and luminous mouth almost being reminiscent of the sarcastic fringehead, a territorial fish that has a unique mouth meant to compete with others of its kind. I also think the luminous mouth is meant to be a form of communication, and with the biggest balahara being underground, the limited vision would in theory necessitate a glowing body part to communicate. I also think that deep sea animals are an inspiration here, cause balahara reside in the harshest parts of the windward plains, that would have the least amount of life available and the least amount of nutrients. This is probably another reason why balahara attack in such large numbers aside from it being an opportunistic behavior similar to crocodiles where they take advantage of their prey crossing their territory.
Feel free to ask questions in regards to Balahara or anything else MH Wilds related! How do you feel about this monster? Let me know
I absolutely love Balahara. He’s utilizing the traditional leviathan skeleton but he isn’t an aquatic creature, he swims in sand. Pretty unique for recent MH if you ask me. They absolutely nailed his movements to make him look like a drill going through the desert, and his body reflects that lifestyle very well. Not very realistic even by monster hunter standards, but a very cool looking creature nonetheless. Though we can’t really speak on Balahara’s realism yet, since we simply don’t know anything about its ecology. If Wilds will be like World we’ll probably find out about some behaviors of the monster that were inspired by real life animals, making the design seem a lot more believable and realistic
Nice post man! I agree with everything you said with the exception of his realism and the fact that we need to wait for ecology. While I understand what you mean by that, when I talk about realism I am specifically talking more about the visual design features rather than on how they live/survive etc... Basically, whether its a creature that can or may exist in the real world.
Thanks for the engagement and if you enjoyed the video make sure to like and sub ! Looking forward to making more =D
@@RathalosWatch I see it this way: design is half the realism. The other is its place in the ecosystem, generally it’s behavior, and the lore. For example an explanation of why they travel in packs. Or if they have some advanced hunting tactics.
Not really „realism” but more like „how fleshed out is the monster”
Cause MH can make monsters believable through their behavior too. We already have that with Balahara, with his drill movements through the dunes because of how his body is shaped, but I’m sure there will be more of that kind of stuff shown to us once we actually play the game.
For me at least it’s a big part of rating a monster design
@KsnypsAdventures fair enough. I am very curious too see what other monsters Wilds will have. For some odd reason, I have a feeling that this game will have more new monsters never seen before rather than returning old ones.
@@RathalosWatch I feel it’s gonna be a World situation. The only returning monster we saw in the trailer was Rathalos, everything else was completely new. Logically they’d want to make new designs to keep the series fresh for experienced players (as if the myriad of new mechanics wasn’t doing that already)
If they are going to make returning monsters, they’ll most likely go the Iceborne route and pack them into an expansion
@@KsnypsAdventures I am thinking of making an epic video that will be discussing which monsters could potentially be returning to MH Wild and which ones most likely won't return. It will take a while to produce, but I believe you will find it very interesting entertaining and so will other MH fans. What do you think about this my friend? :)
What I like most about Balahara is it's suspension of disbelief. It has the inspiration of an aquatic creature, but it isn't, while still having the qualities of a creature suited for thriving in the desert. This is an instantly iconic monster
100% and thanks so much for commenting, it really helps! If you enjoy the content please consider subscribing my friend. I have some interesting video ideas :)
For the realism section, the animal origins of balahara do not stop at clams.
All leviathan are at least partially inspired by a type of fish, and Balahara is no exception!
The way its mouth opens by making its insides of the jaws is very similar to real life Hagfish, and generally speaking, its silhouette and color scheme is very similar to hagfish as a whole
Its mouth inside also has a second row of theeth reminescent of anglerfish and the splitting jaw also is something that is taken from aquatic animals, in particular bobbit worms.
All but the bobbit are deepsea animals, so it is why it still feels so alien despite this characteristics being from existing animals
@Mirawaru awesome insightful post. Thanks for the input, you bring some good valid points that I'll keep in mind for future videos like these. Hope you enjoyed the content, and if you have please consider subscribing and turning on notifications 🥰🥰
@@RathalosWatch
Heheheee I just did
Since you gve a good rating to this guy
It has become needlessy controversial, with people saying it is too sci fi and doesn't belong in the series and all of that
So seeing someone appreciating it even if creepy sci fi somewhat unrealistic monster aren't your thing,means you have a critical eye on things...and good taste cuz you like it everything considered lel
It is by far my favourite of the three new monsters, mainly because I am huge fish geek and hagfish were in mHfication wishlist for a long time loool
@@Mirawaru People are claiming that Balahara is too futuristic? What about Valstrax? A dragon that acts like a power-ranger in the sky with bright red LEDs and flies like some insane sci-fi fighter jet. Yeah, Balahara is far from Sci-Fi imo.
Thanks for the kind words by the way, I can't wait for them to showcase future monsters so I can make more visual design rating videos!
@@RathalosWatch
Yea
It is like people saying Magnamalo is too over the top... when my own dark OC kut ku that is strongest and fought after Lao (thank god that it was retconed in just a normal ED tier like Devilijho and friends...lmao) existed till gen 1... not liking is one thing, and that is understandable... saying it doesn't belong in the series is just flat out wrong.
I don't k there has been yet a design that "doesn't fit" except King shakalaka and Primordial Malzeno honestly
As long as it looks and behaves like an animal it fits
The legs are the most unrealistic aspect because they would get in the way when digging. But what if it uses them to chase prey on rocks that would give it a "leg" up on the worms from Dune and Tremors.
true
How would they get in the way digging? Plenty of burrowing animals have limbs
These are great to watch as an MH addict! I enjoy how you pick apart their inspiration and realistic biology. Your mic is a bit quiet in this one, though!
Thank you for the kind words! How did you find me? I am going to try some new video ideas as well :)
Also, was wanting to ask, what type of other videos would you like too see? Habe some ideas maybe?
I love your channel! This is an epic monstee
Thank you friend! How did you find me and which videos have you already watched and what would you like to see in the future? Discord is opening up soon! 😀
@@RathalosWatch I was watching wilds videos and I found yours! I watched all of them :).
@@Anthelia. that sounds amazing!
im like fairly certain these guys are based around cryptids tbh!
Why is this video so quiet? My volume is nearly maxed and I can barely hear you. Also I never knew that about clams, that is creepy. That gave me shivers and I don't get creeped out easily. Something I've been thinking, the silhouette section should include similar creatures not just the same selection. I don't want a sand wyrm/serpent-esc monsters compared to monkey's and dragons it should be compared to other sand monsters and serpents, where is Lagiacrus' silhouette and the other similar body shaped monsters?
yeah, a ton of weird creepy stuff in the sea for sure. Not sure why the video is quiet, I think i had some weird audio stuff going on. However, that should no longer be an issue. The last 5-6 videos do not have this problem thankfully, so no need to worry.
And yeah you are probably right about the silhouette. Would it be more fair if I compared Leviathans silhouettes to other leviathans instead? And fanged beasts to fanged beasts, will that work you think? Let me know!
@@RathalosWatch Yes that sounds much better. For balahara even like the lavasioth, dalamadur, jyuratodus, and the tobi-kodachi I think are interesting comparisons.
@@HateSonneillon I hated Jyratudos. Such a boring monster both visually and gameplay
@@RathalosWatch I hated how often we had to fight it throughout MHW. Especially since barroth returned and kinda does the same things as jyuratodus but better. Otherwise its still a monster with a silhouette worth comparing to similar ground swimming creatures.
@@HateSonneillon oh yeah it's worth the comparison for silhouette purposes. But I was simply making a statement that I do not enjoy his fight. I really don't get what Capcom tried to achieve with him.
I think balahara is a little more realistic than you gave it credit for. While another commenter suggested design origins to deep sea animals, I thought of the split jaw and luminous mouth almost being reminiscent of the sarcastic fringehead, a territorial fish that has a unique mouth meant to compete with others of its kind. I also think the luminous mouth is meant to be a form of communication, and with the biggest balahara being underground, the limited vision would in theory necessitate a glowing body part to communicate. I also think that deep sea animals are an inspiration here, cause balahara reside in the harshest parts of the windward plains, that would have the least amount of life available and the least amount of nutrients. This is probably another reason why balahara attack in such large numbers aside from it being an opportunistic behavior similar to crocodiles where they take advantage of their prey crossing their territory.
Why is this video so quiet?
@@Ducky_3.14 had an audio issue. New videos don't have this problem.