The Ultimate Ranking: The Toughest Monster Hunter Games Ever!

Highlights

Despite some franchises becoming more accessible, the Monster Hunter franchise remains challenging with each new entry.

Monster Hunter Rise enhances accessibility and introduces quality of life enhancements, ensuring that hunts are more manageable, yet it still delivers challenging battles.

Monster Hunter World elevates gameplay quality while maintaining its level of difficulty, solidifying its position as one of the finest installments in the series.

Some video game franchises are consistently known for their difficulty, even though some have attempted to become more accessible over time. The Monster Hunter franchise, however, continues to present significant challenges with each new release.

At its core, the Monster Hunter franchise revolves around the thrilling pursuit and elimination of massive and treacherous creatures. While many games explore similar themes, none do it quite like Monster Hunter, offering endless entertainment for decades. Nevertheless, the series, especially its latest entries, remains particularly demanding.

8 Monster Hunter Rise

Monster Hunter Rise

Platform(s) Switch, PCReleased March 26, 2021Developer(s) CapcomGenre(s) Action, RPG

The latest installment in the Monster Hunter franchise has received praise for being relatively approachable compared to previous games. However, it still offers its fair share of challenges and cannot be considered a simplistic game when compared to other franchises. The key factor contributing to the increased accessibility of recent entries lies in the plethora of options available to players when combatting the colossal beasts they face.

Monster Hunter Rise greatly enhances the feasibility of hunts if players adequately prepare. The game includes numerous small but significant improvements that streamline the player experience and make monster encounters more manageable. Despite these improvements, there are still formidable battles that provide a significant challenge. One notable addition is the introduction of Silkbind attacks, which greatly facilitate immobilizing monsters and subsequently expedite hunts, ultimately contributing to an overall slightly easier gameplay experience.

7 Monster Hunter Generations

Monster Hunter Generations

Platform(s) Nintendo 3DSReleased July 15, 2016Developer(s) CapcomGenre(s) Action RPG

Generations, a Monster Hunter game released exclusively for Nintendo handheld devices in 2016, is not considered a part of the main franchise. This entry introduced several new features, such as the Hunting Arts, which added an element of difficulty and required players to adapt to new gameplay concepts during hunts.

The handheld versions of other Monster Hunter games have had mixed success, as it can be challenging to translate the controls of these games to these devices. Consequently, in games like Generations, some of the difficulty may be unintentional. Nonetheless, Generations is a highly enjoyable entry in the series and is fondly remembered by fans.

6 Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Platform(s) PS4, Xbox One, PCReleased September 6, 2019Developer(s) CapcomGenre(s) Action RPG

Considered one of the greatest Monster Hunter experiences in history by many, the upgraded version of Monster Hunter World, accompanied by the impressive Iceborne DLC, has left fans debating between World and Rise for the title of the best game. What sets Monster Hunter World apart is its ability to enhance the overall gameplay experience for players without sacrificing the level of difficulty.

Compared to previous entries, the challenge in Monster Hunter World primarily reduced the need for excessive grinding. Tasks such as gathering materials and tracking creatures were made more efficient, consequently increasing the time allocation for these supposedly "tedious" aspects of the game. As the best-selling game ever developed by Capcom, the creators of Monster Hunter World have no regrets regarding the game's level of challenge, even with its exceptional cooperative play opportunities.

5 Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Platform(s) Nintendo 3DS, Wii UReleased April 20, 2010Developer(s) CapcomGenre(s) Action RPG

The Ultimate upgrade in this generation of Monster Hunter games posed several issues, making it more difficult than the original version, Monster Hunter Tri. Despite introducing new elements like underwater combat, the overall execution of the games lacked cohesion, resulting in a less successful generation than anticipated.

The hunts, particularly the underwater ones, presented a significant challenge, and unfortunately, underwater combat did not make a comeback in subsequent games. Moreover, although players had the opportunity to explore a larger map and engage in hunts independent of quests, the challenges inherent in implementing these features were not completely resolved at that time.

4 Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Platform(s) 3DSReleased February 13, 2015Developer(s) CapcomGenre(s) Action RPG

Monster Hunter 4, released exclusively in its ultimate handheld form in the Western market, presented players with another formidable challenge. This edition introduced heightened verticality in both hunts and maps, along with an increased level of environmental-based difficulty, putting players' skills to the test.

Upon reaching G-Rank, players would encounter the pinnacle of difficulty in the franchise. While the level of challenge maintained a fair and reasonable balance compared to other games, many players opted to lower their ranks whenever possible to avoid the intense difficulty. Monster Hunter 4 truly pushed boundaries, surpassing its predecessors in terms of the most demanding gaming experiences.

3 Monster Hunter

Like any new franchise, Monster Hunter faced difficulties in finding the perfect balance of difficulty. It was designed to be a challenging game from the beginning and was released for the PS2 during a time when game accessibility was not a main focus. Each hunt presented a demanding challenge, often reaching extreme levels that resembled the difficulty of the Souls series.

Players were encouraged to learn the unique movements of each creature and push themselves by repeatedly dying in order to figure out the best way to approach them. Despite the imperfect controls and unresolved balancing issues, Monster Hunter still stood out as one of the most challenging games of its era.

2 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

The ultimate edition of Monster Hunter 2, and one of the rare releases in the Western market, stands as a prime example of challenge within the series. While some controls improved compared to its predecessor, the game's limited options for combat against creatures remained evident.

Furthermore, players still had to possess extensive knowledge about each creature in order to overcome them. However, this task became significantly more daunting due to the overwhelming presence of numerous creatures in the second generation of Monster Hunter games. Consequently, mastering the game from the start proved to be a gruelingly difficult endeavor.

1 Monster Hunter Frontier

The leveling and grinding system in the MMORPG version of the Monster Hunter franchise presented an arduous experience, making it one of the most challenging in the series. With numerous gear options to acquire and the increasing difficulty of creatures, particularly those introduced later on, the game became incredibly demanding.

Frontier gained notoriety for its challenging nature, often being perceived as "against the player." The creators constantly aimed to provide their fan base with even greater challenges, resulting in insanely difficult fights, requiring players to undertake significant efforts to be prepared for encounters with the game's largest creatures.