Whatever happened to underwater combat?

It sank under its own budget: magnificent, expensive, and, by its own director’s account, not worth what it cost the rest of the game.

Underwater combat headlined Tri in 2009 and returned in 3 Ultimate, letting hunters swim, fight in three dimensions, and face Lagiacrus in its own element. Then it vanished. No mainline game since has let a hunter dive.

Director Kaname Fujioka explained why in a 2017 interview: building the underwater sections consumed so much development time that it took away from everything else the team could have made. Tri’s weapon cuts happened for the same reason; every weapon had to be re-animated for the water. Fujioka said he would like to return to it someday, but the cost has kept the series on dry land ever since.