Man, I just couldn't disagree with the article even more. MHGU is full of bells and whistles with all the extra experimental fluff they added. World condensed a lot of said content into something more cohesive and refined.
Scoutflies are just a straight upgrade from the old system. There's nothing enjoyable about spending 10 minutes blindly looking for a monster who somehow leaves the area before you enter it. There's nothing smart about the old system, because there aren't even any tracks to follow. It all boils down to which 3-4 zones a monster normally goes in, or plain luck on your first time. Paintball system is nothing more than the game checking if you can count 5-6 minutes.
"Oh, but Acquila, you can wave at balloons / use Psychoserum". Sure, but you've just invalidated the "fun" to be had searching for monsters. It's the same thing as not bringing hot/cool drinks, and not bringing enough whetstones. They serve no purpose but to catch players offguard and force them to restart a quest which becomes unbeatable. It's not skill; it's just a gotcha from failing to follow a checklist this one time.
People also kept comparing World to other popular Western releases. Problem is that MHF1, MHFU, MH3U, MH4U are either G Rank editions, or enhanced ports. MHG is best described as a "Greatest Hits" edition of the entire series. It's odd that no one really compares the amount of content of World to Tri. Once World's own G Rank expansion rolls around, this will likely become a moot point.