Celebrating 20 Years of Monster Hunter Series By Exploring the History and Essence of Hunting Through Its Systems

Reflecting on the Charm of the Monster Hunter Series with CG Art!

“The immensely popular Monster Hunter series has undergone astonishing evolution. Alongside powerful CG art of the large monsters, the editorial team behind ‘Monster Hunter Super Encyclopedia’ explains the background of its popularity.”

With a total of 100 million copies sold as of March 2024, the Monster Hunter series has pioneered the hunting action genre and has become a beloved title worldwide. The highly anticipated new installment, Monster Hunter Wilds, is set for release in 2025. As attention turns to this upcoming release, let’s trace the series’ evolution, focusing primarily on its game systems.

The first installment, Monster Hunter, released in 2004, had already established the foundation of what would become a continuous hunting action series. It’s remarkable to note the significant features that set this game apart.

That is the fact that the game’s primary focus is thoroughly on “confronting large monsters.”

In games across eras and genres, a common flow involves defeating waves of enemies along the way and then facing a final boss. However, Monster Hunter was groundbreaking in that it allowed players to challenge large monsters even if they didn’t necessarily defeat the smaller ones that appeared.

This allowed players to engage deeply with fierce battles against formidable large monsters such as Rathalos, enjoying robust action while experiencing the monsters’ allure firsthand.

In 2005, the series released Monster Hunter G, which introduced high-difficulty quests known as “G-Rank” and “subspecies monsters” that differed in appearance and behavior from the standard ones. Monster Hunter 2 (Dos), released in 2006, added the mystical and powerful “Elder Dragons” and new weapon types including the Great Sword.