Monster Hunter Rise's Palico noises come from the dev team's cats

Palicoes in the Monster Hunter franchise are cat-like animal companions that possess skills on par with those of hunters. They are adept at providing hunting support in the form of placing traps and healing you. They’re also incredibly cute and irresistibly charming!

While out on a hunt in Monster Hunter Rise, there’s no doubt you’ve heard a meow or two from your Felyne friends. Wondering how Capcom made those noises? Turns out they come straight from the real deal!

In an interview with VG247, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak director Yoshitake Suzuki confirmed that the cat noises coming from Palicoes were indeed recorded from real cats. Even better, the dev team collected those sounds from their own cats! Suzuki did mention that cats are quite temperamental, so the team has to work with whatever sounds their cats are willing to make. The devs aim to record their cats when they’re in a good mood for the best results.

Equally interesting, most of the Palico sounds from the original Monster Hunter to Monster Hunter Rise are the same, and they came from the cat (named Migya) of the original sound director of Monster Hunter. When new sounds are needed, other members of the dev team step up to get their cats to perform.