This year, Monster Hunter is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a franchise and is looking back on many titles before Monster Hunter Wilds sees the light of day as the latest part on February 28, 2025. On this occasion, we are interested in your opinion: What do you think – which is the best part of Monster Hunter?
The journey into the realm of hunters on the trail of large monstrosities began in 2004 with the first Monster Hunter. Since then, many parts and various spin-offs have been added, making monster hunting accessible on a variety of platforms. Not all titles were also published in Europe.
The series has come a long way, which is why we ask ourselves which Monster Hunter is actually the best and what makes it so special. That’s why you’re asked now! We are particularly interested in the titles that were published in Europe. We also left out the spin-offs in our survey. Please let us know in the comments why you particularly like your favorite part or which part you found particularly gruesome.
Here you can see some impressions of our studio tour in Japan:
This is how Monster Hunter Wilds is made: We got a studio tour at Capcom
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The Monster Hunter games at a glance
In order to indulge in nostalgia and perhaps give some people a boost, we have all the titles in a brief overview:
The very first Monster Hunter was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 in 2004 and then released in Europe in May 2005. The first part already offered multiplayer for up to 4 hunters, but this was canceled in January 2008. At that time you could hunt 13 small and 17 large monsters. At that time there were only 7 weapons: great sword, shield and sword, double blades, hammer and lance as well as a light and a heavy crossbow. Rathalos was the main monster in this part and laid the foundation as an icon for Monster Hunter.
Freedom was released in Europe on May 12, 2006 for the PlayStation Portable. Here too, Rathalos was the flagship monster, which could be hunted with 7 different weapons. He brought with him a variety of new big and small monsters. The first farm in the series, Kokoto Farm, was also introduced where you could grow and collect materials. You could also start treasure hunts in the form of co-op quests with a friend.
The next offshoot for the PSP followed on September 7, 2007. For the first time, you could now go into battle with a long sword, a rifle lance, a hunting horn and a bow. With Tigrex, a new flagship monster was introduced alongside other new monsters. There was also a hunting area in the snow for the first time. For the first time, treasure hunts were carried out alone and Akantor stood in your way as the elder dragon and final boss. It was also possible for the first time to take part in event quests and there was also a farm again in the form of the Pokke Farm.
Freedom Unite could also be played on the PSP from June 26, 2009. You could look forward to Nargacuga as the flagship monster. The new part also needed fresh behaviors and attacks from the other monsters. For the first time, any material could be stored up to 99 and up to 20 sets of equipment could be stored, which made life much easier for many hunters. The Pokke Farm has been redesigned and best of all: you could take Felynen with you for the first time!
With Monster Hunter Tri, the franchise came to the Nintendo Wii on April 23, 2010, bringing with it a completely new type of control. If you didn’t want that, you could also play with a Classic Controller Pro. For the first time it was also possible to play the whole thing with a split screen in co-op.
This part also featured the appearance of the infamous underwater fights with the new flagship monster Lagiacrus, which got on some people’s nerves, but was somehow still fun. In addition, there was a new companion, the Cha-Cha, that you could take with you on quests. The morph ax and the medium crossbow were introduced as new weapons. It was also possible to put together a crossbow yourself from various individual parts.
Monszer Hunter 3 Ultimate brought underwater combat to the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in a kind of expansion to Monster Hunter Tri on March 22, 2013. With Brachydios and the Azure Rathalos, the hunters encountered two flagships in this part. It was possible to play together in local co-op with a Wii U and up to three 3DS. Two new areas are also being added: the Mist Peak and the Sea of Rot. However, the middle crossbow was removed and with it the possibility of making one yourself.
On February 12, 2015 you were able to start playing Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS. With the new weapons Insect Glaive and Energy Blade you could face the flagship Seregios, which finally brought together today’s 14 weapons. Apex monsters appear due to a mysterious illness and are significantly stronger than their healthy counterparts. Players could also be infected by the virus and had to get rid of it. The dunes, the Plarfeld, Schade Castle and the trap grounds could also be explored for the first time.
The last Monster Hunter for the Nintendo 3DS, Generations was released on July 15, 2016 and received a revised version with the addition of G ranks for the Nintendo Switch on August 28, 2018. The hunters were presented with 4 flagship monsters in the form of Astalos, Gammoth, Mizutsune and Glavenus, while in Generations Ultimate Valstrax and Blutbad Diablos were waiting for you. Felyne were your loyal companions again and can also be played.
In 2018, the most successful offshoot of the series was released with Monster Hunter World with its later expansion Iceborne. World was the first title to be released for PlayStation, Xbox and PC equally (although not at the same time). You could go hunting again with up to four other players. Here you face Nergigante and Velkhana, two particularly dangerous elder dragons.
As part of a research commission, you explore the “New World” with the help of scout beetles. Other new features include the claw claw, which caused some discussion, and the slingshot, which could be used, for example, to distract monsters or to shoot a grappling hook to move around. Or you could use it to climb onto monsters and make them run into walls. The sweet Felynen (Palicos) were also there again and accompanied your adventure.
Monster Hunter Rise is currently the latest installment in the series and was released for Nintendo Switch on March 26, 2021. Here you could face the flagship Magnamalo and take with you both a loyal Felynen (Palico) and, for the first time, a mount in the form of the dog-like Palamute. The title was later released for PC, Xbox and PlayStation. On June 30, 2022, the title received a major expansion with huge new areas, Sunbreak. This also meant that Malzeno became the flagship monster.
MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya has already had the opportunity to spend 7 hours in Monster Hunter Wilds. Afterwards she also had the opportunity to talk to the developers about some questions. A monster was also brought up that you apparently don’t like, which Leya can’t understand at all: Because you were mean to Rompopolo in Monster Hunter Wilds, it made his designer sad and that’s not okay