The Monster Hunter franchise is riding high following the success of Monster Hunter World, which helped the series break into the mainstream. World has become Capcom’s highest-selling game of all-time. Its expansion, Iceborne, was also a huge success. It has even followed in Resident Evil‘s footsteps and had a Paul W.S. Anderson-directed movie.
Monster Hunter Rise is poised to continue that success, and it’s already a hit with critics. However, the series’ deliberate pace hasn’t always elicited high review scores. Here’s what Western critics have said about the series’ main entries over the years, based on aggregate professional critics’ scores from review aggregate site Metacritic.
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Monster Hunter: 68/100
2004’s Monster Hunter received mixed reviews because it was ahead of its time. It was one of the few games offering online multiplayer on the PlayStation 2, via the system’s network adapter. To show how different the game industry of 2004 was, the original Phantasy Star Online (which launched on the Dreamcast) was the frame of reference for online console games.
Critics held the game’s offline single player mode, camera and controls against Monster Hunter. They praised its online co-op gameplay, addictive progression and the fact that it wasn’t just a button-mashing action game. It may be the lowest-rated mainline Monster Hunter game, but it laid the groundwork for future installments’ success.
Monster Hunter Tri: 84/100
Originally intended to be a PlayStation 3 game, 2010’s Tri moved to the Wii due to cost considerations. It brought the series back to a console after six years of installments on the PlayStation Portable (and a mobile port). Tri provided online co-op and a steep learning curve on a system known for more “casual” couch co-op experiences like Wii Sports.
Tri had generally favorable reviews. It began Capcom’s iterative strategy of retaining the core gameplay but attempting to be a more accessible (though still challenging) version of the game. The game’s niche as an online action-RPG with a demanding play style helped it stand out on the Wii. However, like the original, reviewers warned players off of the game’s offline single player mode, which was still obligatory at the time.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: 86/100
2014’s Ultimate continued Monster Hunter’s gradual upward trend, receiving a higher average of generally-favorable reviews. Capcom continued to make the series more accessible to new players without sacrificing its hardcore bona fides in the first portable mainline Monster Hunter game (which was later ported to the Wii U).
A vertical element was added to the game’s movement. Despite being the first major installment on a handheld, the Nintendo 3DS offered a smoother online experience than previous games, although some lag remained between players in different countries. The game retained some of its rough edges, including a problematic camera, but earned high marks for its commitment to the series’ trademark gameplay loop and demanding but rewarding play mechanics.
Monster Hunter World: 89/100
The most acclaimed Monster Hunter game is also its breakout hit. World is the only game considered to have “universal acclaim” by Metacritic, with 89 positive reviews and zero negative on PlayStation 4, the platform with the most reviews. In fact, Metacritic didn’t log a single negative critical review of any version of the game.
A functional reboot, World features the best graphics and online play of the series to date. Capcom’s ongoing attempt to balance Monster Hunter‘s demanding mechanics with making it accessible to a wider audience worldwide finally paid off, commercially and critically. World completed the series’ transition from a niche title outside of Japan to one of Capcom’s biggest franchises alongside stalwarts like Resident Evil and Street Fighter, with critics appreciating how well it pulled off this balancing act.
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