If youre new to Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, this YouTube playlist is must-watch

Monster Hunter is a very intimidating series to get into. But as I mentioned in Polygon's review of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate last week, there's no better time to jump in than now. If you still need a little extra push, one great YouTube channel is here to help.

That channel is appropriately enough titled "Gaijin Hunter" — "gaijin," of course, being the Japanese word for "foreigner." In other words, it's a place for those unfamiliar with Monster Hunter. It provides some of the best tutorials I've seen for figuring out the many moves and abilities available for each weapon type in Capcom's notoriously complex game.

In the video above, for example, Gaijin Hunter explains the intricacies of the insect glaive, one of two new weapon types added in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. I was able to figure out the basics on my own and using the in-game tutorial, but Gaijin Hunter's video helped me discern some of the more important and powerful extended combos available with the weapon.

The Gaijin Hunter YouTube channel currently has a full playlist with lengthy tutorial videos for each of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's 14 weapon types. My hope is that Adam Evanko, the Japan-based mind behind Gaijin Hunter, will do more tutorials from here. How great would it be to have tutorials for each of the game's massive boss creatures? He's already started posting some new videos, such as this tutorial on how to stun monsters.

In the mean time, Evanko has a Reddit page and Tumblr where he provides advice for fresh-faced hunters. Check them out, and happy hunting!