Prepare for Monster Hunter Wilds with a look back at the series’ evolution on PlayStation
Twenty years ago, the original Monster Hunter first introduced players to its ever-expanding arsenal of weapons and memorable monsters. Since then, the series has grown in popularity around the world, and been refined into one of the finest multiplayer experiences gaming has to offer. There’s still a special satisfaction that comes from taking down an unfathomably huge creature by the skin of your teeth, coordinating with your fellow hunters, and using everyone’s weaponry and abilities skillfully to topple the most fearsome foes out there.
To celebrate 20 years of the series – and Monster Hunter Wilds’ upcoming February 28 release – let’s examine how the series evolved alongside PlayStation since its 2004 debut.
The biggest behemoths often emerge from humble beginnings. The game that started it all was released in Japan in March of 2004, with a North American release a few months later in September and a European release in March of 2005. It introduced the core gameplay that would define Monster Hunter in the decades to come: quest-driven progression, resource gathering and management, weapon and armor crafting, and the need to approach and attack ferocious monsters with strategy, planning, and perseverance to succeed.
By the series’ current standards, Monster Hunter looks a bit sparse, with only seven weapon types and thirty monsters (including many now-famous creatures like the Rathalos), but the game offered quite a bit of variety in quest types and difficulty. Also, the game was designed around online multiplayer when that was still somewhat of a novelty, even offering special event quests that could only be played online.
Monster Hunter did very well in Japan, and while Capcom worked on the follow-up, they released Monster Hunter G, an upgrade with improvements, new features, more monsters, and higher-difficulty quests.
The true Monster Hunter sequel would emerge late into the PS2 era–and only in Japan. Monster Hunter Dos released for the PlayStation 2 in
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