A yr faraway from its twentieth anniversary, Capcom’s monster-hunting franchise returns in 2025 with Monster Hunter Wilds. The prolific sequence has lived by a number of generations of house and moveable consoles, reaching new peaks with 2018’s Monster Hunter World and 2021’s Monster Hunter Rise — the sequence’ best-selling video games so far and Capcom’s two best-selling video games of all time.With Monster Hunter Wilds out on February 28, we’re trying again on the franchise’s historical past with a listing of the sequence’ most vital video games, ordered chronologically by launch date.There are upwards of 25 Monster Hunter video games when contemplating all base video games, spinoffs, cellular entries, and enhanced variations. Nonetheless, for this listing, we have compiled the 12 most related Monster Hunter video games. Our listing excludes mobile- and arcade-exclusive video games (Monster Hunter i, Monster Hunter Spirits, and so forth.); beforehand shuttered MMOs (Monster Hunter Frontier, Monster Hunter On-line); and the FromSoftware-developed, Japan-exclusive, Animal Crossing-like recreation Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village.There isn’t a steady story all through the Monster Hunter franchise, so you may take your decide of which recreation to begin with. When you’re leaping into the world of Monster Hunter in 2025, you would possibly need to wait and and see reactions to the most recent recreation, Monster Hunter Wilds, which will likely be launched on February 28. When you’re wanting to strive the sequence earlier than investing in Wilds, we suggest Monster Hunter World or Monster Hunter Rise. World ought to enchantment extra to those that worth exploration and immersion; Rise is healthier suited for individuals who put the next worth on pace and fluidity.Monster Hunter Wilds – Customary Edition6Every Monster Hunter Recreation in Launch OrderMonster Hunter (2004)Monster Hunter, alongside Auto Modellista and Resident Evil: Outbreak, was developed as a part of a three-game plan to discover the market potential of the PS2’s on-line community, Capcom’s Ryozo Tsujimoto advised Eurogamer in 2014.The primary Monster Hunter laid the muse for the franchise, introducing lots of the sequence’ defining programs. Gamers, on their very own or with others on-line, are given quests to hunt monsters, after which they use supplies harvested from the world and the monster’s stays to craft and improve weapons and armor earlier than embarking to combat, effectively, stronger monsters. An expanded model known as Monster Hunter G was launched completely in Japan the next yr.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Freedom (2005)The sequence discovered its house on moveable consoles in 2005 with Monster Hunter Freedom, an enhanced port of Monster Hunter G tuned for single-player play on the PSP. This primary moveable entry within the franchise offered over one million copies, in response to Capcom, starting a development during which Monster Hunter’s moveable variations handily outsold its house console counterparts — a development that held till the breakout success of Monster Hunter World in 2018.Charge this gameMonster Hunter 2 (2006)Capcom returned to house console for the sequence’ second correct entry, Monster Hunter 2 (aka Monster Hunter Dos). It was launched completely in Japan for PS2. Monster Hunter 2 launched a day-night cycle and gems, additional enhancing your alternatives for weapons and armor customization.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Freedom 2 (2007)The second handheld recreation within the sequence, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 once more took the core of its house console counterpart (MH2) and constructed upon it with new content material and a single-player focus. The sport was expanded additional in 2008’s Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, which added new monsters, missions, maps, and the power to have a Felyne fighter be part of the participant in battle.Charge this gameMonster Hunter 3 (2009)Monster Hunter 3 (aka Monster Hunter Tri) debuted in Japan in 2009, earlier than being launched internationally in 2010. The third mainline MH recreation was initially in improvement for the PS3, although it could finally be launched as a Wii unique. Along with new monsters, weapons, and places, Monster Hunter 3 launched the sequence’ short-lived underwater fight.It later got here to Wii U and 3DS as Monster Hunter 3 Final with new monsters, a reworked single-player expertise, up to date graphics, and a brand new multiplayer space.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Transportable third (2010)Like the 2 mainline entries earlier than it, Monster Hunter 3 was tweaked and ported to PSP as Monster Hunter Transportable third. In contrast to the 2 moveable variations earlier than it, this recreation additionally bought a console launch on PS3 as Monster Hunter Transportable third HD Ver.Regardless of by no means being launched within the West, Monster Hunter Transportable third is the best-selling recreation amongst Capcom’s handheld-exclusive Monster Hunters with 4.9 million copies offered.Charge this gameMonster Hunter 4 (2013)Monster Hunter 4 was initially launched completely for 3DS, completely in Japan. Solely the improved version, Monster Hunter 4 Final (Monster Hunter 4G in Japan), was launched globally as a launch recreation for New Nintendo 3DS. This technology of Monster Hunter video games most notably improved traversal by pairing elevated verticality with extra fluid participant motion. It additionally improved the single-player expertise with a deeper story and extra NPCs.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Generations (2015)Capcom adopted up MH4 with Monster Hunter Generations (Monster Hunter X in Japan), one other installment launched completely for 3DS. Generations had, as our evaluate said, “the enchantment of a biggest hits album,” mixing previous and (on the time) new mechanics from the sequence’ then-10-year historical past. Most notably, Generations featured new wrinkles to customization and fight by Looking Kinds and Arts.Generations later obtained an enhanced version, often known as Monster Hunter Generations XX in Japan and Monster Hunter Generations Final internationally. It was the primary Monster Hunter recreation launched on Nintendo Swap.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Tales (2016)Monster Hunter Tales is a by-product that takes the motion sequence into the world of RPGs. True to the style, Tales trades within the real-time motion of the mainline video games for a turn-based fight system and places extra emphasis on story and exploration.It was initially launched for 3DS, although it’s since come to PS4, Swap, PC, and cellular.Charge this gameMonster Hunter World (2018)Monster Hunter World is, so far, the sequence’ excessive level from each a vital and industrial perspective. With 27 million copies offered, it’s the sequence’ (and Capcom’s) best-selling recreation, and with a Metascore of 90, it’s additionally the sequence’ best-reviewed recreation.With World, Capcom moved the first improvement of Monster Hunter again to house consoles, particularly PS4 and Xbox One. For the primary time, it made a concerted effort to succeed in a wider Western viewers by transferring to a extra seamless open-world design, lowering the educational curve of the sequence’ intricate programs, absolutely supporting on-line play with world servers, and releasing concurrently throughout all areas.An enormous enlargement, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, was launched the next yr. Much like the Final variations of previous video games, Iceborne added new monsters and mechanics to the bottom recreation, in addition to an all-new story that rivals the dimensions of the marketing campaign in World.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Rise (2021)Monster Hunter Rise is the sequence’ second best-performing recreation, rating solely behind World by way of gross sales and Metascore. Because the subtitle ‘World’ denotes the earlier recreation’s extra world method, ‘Rise’ signifies a larger give attention to verticality, a design choice supported by the introduction of the Wirebug, a brand new mechanic that enabled wall-climbing and general extra fluid traversal.Rise builds off of the earlier Swap entry, Generations Final, as a lot because it does World, given World and Rise had been, for a time, being developed in tandem. As said in our evaluate, “a lot of the streamlining World did has been carried ahead” in Rise, whereas “different issues like separate Village and Hub questlines for single- and multiplayer and the power to tweak a weapon’s playstyle a bit return from older Monster Hunter video games.”Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak was launched the next yr. The enlargement features a new storyline, monsters, and places.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Tales 2: Wings of Damage (2021)Capcom adopted Rise with Monster Hunter Tales 2: Wings of Damage, a sequel to the 2016 RPG. Co-developed by Marvelous Inc. (Story of Seasons), Wings of Damage leans into tried-and-true JRPG programs like turn-based fight, character customization, and an emphasis on story. Tales 2 once more enables you to combat alongside monsters (aka Monsties) as an alternative of strictly searching them, creating a celebration system that ought to be acquainted to anybody who’s performed a Pokemon RPG.Charge this gameMonster Hunter Wilds (2025)Monster Hunter Wilds would be the newest recreation within the sequence when it’s launched on February 28 for PS5, Xbox Sequence X|S, and PC. Wilds is a mainline Monster Hunter recreation that builds on the design rules of World and Rise. It boasts “dynamic, ever-changing environments” and the sequence’ “most advanced motion and improved immersion,” in response to Capcom.As famous in our 2024 Monster Hunter Wilds preview, it’s shaping as much as be “a Monster Hunter that embraces the components of Rise that made it a lot extra inviting but additionally doesn’t draw back from the bigger scale and spectacle that helped make World the extra enduring entry.” WishlistUpcoming Monster Hunter GamesNext up for the franchise is the aforementioned Monster Hunter Wilds, due out February 28 for PS5, Xbox Sequence X|S, and PC. You may learn up on all we find out about Wilds by our intensive IGN First protection:Capcom can be working alongside TiMi Studio Group (Name of Obligation Cellular, Pokemon Unite) on Monster Hunter Outlanders, a free-to-play cellular recreation with multiplayer hunters and “a large open world.” A launch window for Outlanders has not but been introduced.Jordan covers video games, reveals, and films as a contract author for IGN.
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