TheMonster Hunterseries has been rising in popularity since the release ofWorldbrought in a new western audience, and withRisecoming fast on the horizon. A lot of players may have started withWorld,due to its greater accessibility relative to the older games, while more still jumped on earlier in the franchise’s life with the Playstation or3DS titles.
RELATED:The 10 Best Handheld Games Of All Time (According To Metacritic)
Wherever players stand in the timeline, new or old, theirlove for the seriesstands strong. It was impossible to predict how popular the charming Japanese titles would become in recent years, and just how many new players would be joining guilds and hunting their way to the top. A lot of these same players, however, may not have experienced the series prior toWorld,and may not know where to start.Monster Hunter, now nearly two decades old, has plenty of wonderful titles to explore. For anyone looking to fill the gap beforeRisereleases in a couple of weeks, this compilation may shed light on some of the best ports and releases well-deserving of a second look.
11Monster Hunter Freedom - PSP
The first game, on the Playstation 2, and its counterpartFreedomon the PSP, released back-to-back with the latter being an upgraded and enhanced version of its console sibling.Freedomadded to the overall experience, providing slightly more content as opposed to the PS2’s release.
Newcomers to the series found themselves slightly more at home with the handheld port, which provided them with more accessibility on the go, and felt more like what the developers intended from the multiplayer mechanics. Now, almost20 years after its release, the original game may be clunky and dated, but it still holds a surprising amount of charm for what it is.
10Monster Hunter Freedom 2 - PSP
The franchise’s second entries,Monster Hunter 2andFreedom 2were much-welcome upgrades to the first game’s formula, fine-tuning the mechanics and adding new equipment and quests to enhance the experience. While these two followed the same cycle as the first, releasing on the PS2 and PSP respectively,MHF2had to sacrificemore of its predecessor’s components to make room on the handheld console’s drives, instead vouching for new quests and minor content to fill the gaps.
Regardless of its downfalls, the second entries' additions to the game’s quickly-growing fanbase were impressive, and left players excited for future installments.
9Monster Hunter Freedom Unite - PSP
WhereFreedom 2left off,Monster Hunter Freedom Unitepicked up and carried. Intended as an enhanced edition ofMHF2,proposed to fill in the empty space of its predecessor,Uniteadded an enormous amount of refurbishment to the series' previous entry.
WithMonster Hunter’sgameplay growing more and more addictive, andUnite’sadditions to the roster (including fan-favorite Tigrex, alongside new questlines and equipment) brought this title into a lot of players' top-ten lists.Unitewas also the last mainline entry to release on a Sony console, instead moving toward new horizons with Nintendo’s hardware suiting the company’s needs more sufficiently.
8Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate - Wii U & 3DS
Monster Hunter Triwas not only the first in the series to release exclusively on Nintendo consoles, withTrireleasing on the Wii only to be followed by its enhanced “Ultimate” editions on the Wii U and 3DS, but also a stepping-on point for a lot of new players.
RELATED:The 10 Best Nintendo Wii Games Ever Made (According To Metacritic)
With new mechanics, new monsters, companions, and an intriguingly beautiful setting,MH3became a favorite for Nintendo gamers looking for a more dedicatedmultiplayer experience, which later grew into a much bigger crowd with theUltimate’sportability and general upgrades from the original.
7Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - 3DS
FollowingMHTri’s success on Nintendo hardware,Monster Hunter 4 Ultimatewas a perfect next step for Capcom, releasing exclusively on the 3DS with quite a few new elements to keep fans interested.MH4Utraded inTri’s swimming mechanics for a much more vertical experience, a gimmick amplified by the newly added Insect Glaive alongside morein-depth environments.
Alongside the aerial playstyle,4Uprovided players with a much more visually striking style, and brought in quite a few tie-ins with other games, including palico costumes and player armor modeled after famous Nintendo characters and Capcom classics.
6Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate - Switch
Monster Hunter Generations, releasing at the end of the 3DS' cycle, was a wonderful look back at the series' origins. Aptly titledGenerationsfor its larger-than-ever roster, and world map spanning several of the previous games' locales and villages. In opposite fashion from the original titles,MHGwas ported to the Switch as an enhanced ultimate edition, adding more quests and upgraded accessibility.
While Switch players loved the game for its top-tier culmination of all the previous games, the release ofMonster Hunter WorldbetweenMHGandMHGUmeant that a lot of players who started withWorldwere disappointed to see thatGenerationswas a more difficult approach to the series' core.
5Monster Hunter Stories - 3DS
Monster Hunter Storieson the 3DS was a surprising spin-off for the series, taking a solid departure from the franchise’s staple tone. Where the original games have a lot of charm, they’re still grounded in a more harsh realism as opposed toStories’morePokemon-esque appearance.
RELATED:The 10 Best 3DS Games That Never Left Japan
Storiessurprised players with its beautiful story, and appealed to casual gamers with its simplified turn-based gameplay and vivid art style. The first entry was popular enough that Capcom decided on producing a sequel,Wings of Ruin, releasing on the Switch later this year afterMonster Hunter Rise.
4Monster Hunter World - PC, PS4, Xbox One
Nobody could have predicted just how popularMonster Hunter Worldwould be.World tookthe series in a much different direction with its advanced graphics and mechanics, as well as upgraded accessibility for new players who were unfamiliar withMonster Hunter’score difficulty. Hitting the community by storm on PC, PS4, and the Xbox One,MHWbecame one of the best-selling and most popular games in the series,let alone the decade.
With its numerous additions to the universe, and breathtaking scale, it’s hard to imagine how future entries will advance, but it’s equally exciting to watch the community grow in the core ofMonster Hunter’sfellowship.
3Monster Hunter Rise - Switch, PC
Coming off the popularity ofWorld, one can imagine how hard it would be for Capcom to live up to its western audience’s expectations with a new title. Much to the surprise of newcomers,Risewas announced to be a Switch exclusive on launch, and would come to PC much later.
From what Capcom has shown so far in their numerous presentations and demonstrations this last month,Riseappears to be a wonderful homecoming for the series, returning to its peak on Nintendo consoles. AsRisereleases later this month, the community is excited to see what the new monsters and companions have to offer, and how the franchise will continue to evolve with its future releases.
2Mobile Games
Though themobile market never really took off forMonster Hunter, seeing as it’s not exactly the type of game players wanted on their phones, Capcom still delivered on a handful of spin-off titles. A few of these were region-locked, though the rest didn’t find the player base they were looking for regardless of location or release date, and most (if not all) went completely under the radar for fans.
RELATED:PlayStation Now: 5 Best PS2 Games On The Service (& 5 Worst)
Among the few that were released areMonster Hunter Explore,Monster Hunter Riders, Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting,and a Japanese exclusiveMonster Hunter i. None of the mobile games released to rave reviews, most actually getting quite the opposite.
