Summary
Since the franchise began in 2004, theMonster Hunterseries has released 17 games, withMonster Hunter Wildsjust around the corner marking the 18th. That number easily makesMonster Hunterone ofthe Capcom franchises with the most games. Impressively, Capcom has managed to keep the quality of the franchise pretty consistent, at least with the mainline titles.
Compared to some publishers, Capcom has been fairly restrained when it comes to releasingMonster Hunterspin-offs.These days, only a small handful ofMonster Hunterspin-offs are still available to actually play, and many of them were only released in Japan. That makes ranking them difficult, so the followingMonster Hunterspin-off games have been ranked based on a mixture of Metacritic scores, what was said about them at the time of their release, and overall commercial success.
Platform: IOS/ Android
Genre: Action RPG
Upon its release, Capcom claimedMonster Hunter Explorewas their first attempt at a mobileMonster Huntergame, which wasn’t technically true. It was, however, their first attempt at a modern (aka. heavily monetized)Monster Huntermobile game.
Monster Hunter Explorewas a four-player social game that launched in Japan in 2015 and stayed online until 2020. It was relatively popular there, but attempts to release it in other countries were ditched after a disastrous Canadian launch. Gameplay was inspired by traditionalMonster Huntergames, but employed a free-to-play model that utilized gems as a paid currency. That alone probably makes it deserving of the bottom ranking for most gamers, and it’s safe to say this wasn’t one ofthe best mobile games of all time.
Capcom’s next big attempt at a mobileMonster Huntergame wasMonster Hunter Riders. Once again region-locked to Japan, it was released in 2020 and was shut down just two years later. Surprising pretty much no one, it relied on gacha mechanics where players were encouraged to spend real money to buy in-game currency, which would allow them to summon new monsters and riders.
While not exactly ground-breaking, the game did at least try to do something new with the franchise. While it didn’t havethe best story in a mobile game, it did have a story - one that focused on theMonster Hunteruniverse’s Riders Guild on the continent of Felgia, and fighting the “Dark Malice”. It also focused on humans and monsters working together rather than humans chopping monsters up, which was a nice change of pace for the series. Just for attempting to tell a story in a traditionally story-light franchise,Ridersranks slightly higher thanExplore.
Genre: Fighting, Action RPG
Capcom’s true first attempt at a mobileMonster Huntergame,Dynamic Hunting,was released way back in 2011. A very different beast to the main games, players fight 1-on-1 against boss monsters rather than hunting them in an open world. It also used simplified combat mechanics that focused on swipe and tap gestures to attack, dodge, and block.
The game certainly isn’tthe best RPG released by Capcom, but it was fun enough in small bursts, even if its simple gameplay got boring pretty quickly. The main reason it ranks higher than its other mobile siblings is that it utilizes a pay-once model, meaning fans bought the game once and that was it.. With a little tinkering,Dynamic Huntingis still playable today, something that can’t be said for our first two entries.
Capcom’s most recent stab at a mobileMonster Huntergame has also been its most successful. Released in 2023, it quickly reached 10 million downloads, made $14 million in its first week, and gave Capcom’s stock price a nice little bump. It’s also pretty fun to play.
Developed by Niantic, the game shares a lot of DNA with the developer’s hit success,Pokemon Go. InMonster Hunter Now, augmented reality is used so that players can hunt lifelike monsters that appear around them. Inspired by the main games, players are expected to hunt monsters, collect materials, and then craft ever-stronger weapons and armor. Much likePokemon Go,the gameplay loop is pretty addictive.Monster Hunter Nowmay not be as successful asPokemon Go,but fans of the series seem to be enjoying it.
Platform: PSP/ Nintendo DS
Genre: Adventure
Thankfully, not all theMonster Hunterspin-offs are cash-in mobile games.Monster Hunter Diaryis a super cute spin-off that ditches the monster hunting of the traditional series almost entirely, in favor of completing quests and managing a village full of the felyne mascot characters.
Only released in Japan, the game received generally positive reviews. Full of mini-games and activities like fishing and farming, the game was a far more child-friendly experience where fans played by giving commands to felynes. The game sold well enough that it got an expansion back in 2011 and a Nintendo DS version in 2015.
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Vita, WiiU
Genre: MMORPG
While many fans outside of Japan have never heard of it,Monster Hunter Frontier Zwas one of the franchise’s most successful games. An online-only MMORPG, it was released in 2007 and stayed up and running for an impressive twelve years. During that time, the game earned a reputation for beingthe hardestMonster Huntergame around.
Over the years, Capcom kept the game fresh by continuously releasing “Seasons” and “Forwards”, which introduced new monsters, gear, and locations to the game.FrontiersblendedMonster Huntergameplay with more traditional MMORPG mechanics, and was a lot of fun to play with friends. While some fans disliked its excessive grind and difficulty, others lapped it up. Its ultimate shutdown likely had less to do with the game’s quality and more to do with the fact that it relied on a monthly subscription model and could only be played in Japanese (despite the fact many Western players would have loved to give the game a try).
TheMonster Hunter Storiesgames take a very different approach compared to the mainline games. Instead of hunting and dissecting monsters, players befriend them and battle alongside them in turn-based combat. If that formula sounds a little familiar, that’s becauseMonster Hunter Storiesis one ofthe best games to play for fans ofPokemon.
That being said, the game is far from a cheapPokemonknock-off.Monster Hunter Storieshas its own style, and considering its original hardware, it was pretty nice to look at. The game did well enough to be nominated for both “Best Handheld Game” at The Game Awards 2017, and “Best 3DS Game” and “Best RPG” at IGN’s Best of 2017 Awards, which is pretty impressive.Monster Hunter Storiesisn’t just an excellentMonster Hunterspin-off, it’s an excellent RPG in its own right.
A lot of games have tried toreplicateMonster Hunter’scombat,so it’s kind of ironic that the best franchise spin-off pretty much ditched it completely. A direct sequel to the originalMonster Hunter Stories,Wings of Ruinsimply took what made its older sibling so special and improved upon it.
Wings of Ruinfeatures improved graphics, expanded gameplay mechanics, and arguably a better story. On top of this, environments were more dynamic, character models were improved, and animations were much smoother; basically, everything one would expect from a generational leap in hardware. On top of all this, this sequel introduced multiplayer, with co-op quests and a versus mode, which was pretty cool. Ignoring some technical hitches on the Switch,Monster Hunter Stories 2was well-received by both critics and fans alike, and is easily the bestMonster Hunterspin-off so far.
