Games With The Best Stories

While the main draw of the Monster Hunter series is to do exactly what the title says, the franchise has also been getting better and better at telling an interesting story. While the earlier titles were really just focused on pitting players against giant monsters and letting them fight, the later ones have begun to develop ways to combine that gameplay loop with fleshed-out characters and narrative beats.

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Even so, not every story in these games is as good as other ones might be. As is the case with any series, not every single entry will be a home run in the narrative department. Because of this, players may be wondering which Monster Hunter titles are worth playing for the story and which ones don’t really need much attention to be paid to them. This ranking is here to inform the people of which games in the celebrated franchise have the best story for players to enjoy.

8

Monster Hunter Frontier

Not Bad For An MMO

• The fact that it keeps players invested in an MMO makes it worth consideration
• Fun for what it is
• No longer in service as of December 2019

Sometimes, a story just needs to keep players invested in what’s happening, and when an MMO can do that, that is something worth commending. The story isn’t necessarily anything special, but being able to play through it with hundreds of other players makes the game come alive.

Having that story continue to evolve and change as updates were released was a cool and memorable experience. This game is not a stellar story, which is why it’s at the bottom of this ranking, but it works well enough to earn this spot. Unfortunately, this game was taken offline back in December 2019 and can no longer be played.

7

Monster Hunter Stories

The Name Speaks For Itself

Released

October 8, 2016

Developer(s)

Capcom, Marvelous

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

• A nice story about bonding with monsters
• Simple, yet effective, storytelling

Now, with the word “stories” right there in the title, this game should be expected to focus on its narrative. And it definitely does with a pretty charming tale of a rider who sets out to find the source of a mysterious illness that caused a monster to attack their village.

It’s the kind of story that can be seen in many family-friendly movies out there, and while this does mean the story is rather simple, it is still engaging enough. The art style, soundtrack, and atmosphere of the game really create a charming world that is worth sinking some time into.

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6

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Fantastic Atmosphere

Systems

• A standard story for the franchise
• The game is elevated by its atmosphere and soundtrack

How the story of this game begins is not a shocker for anyone who has played multiple games in the franchise: a hunter stumbles upon a village beset by a monster attack and this is the first domino that starts them out on their journey. It’s not a unique narrative structure by any means, but it works here.

This is largely thanks to the way the game builds its atmosphere. The soundtrack is one of the best in the franchise, and it really builds everything up to be something special to play. It does a ton of heavy lifting to make the story far more interesting than it really is.

5

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

A Plain Good Story

Systems

OpenCritic

Top Critic Rating:
86/100

Released

February 13, 2015

• At one point, it was the best story in the series
• Intertwines the missions into the story beats

There was a time when this game had the best story in the entire franchise. It’s a simple story about a fledgling hunter who is thrust into an adventure after an attack. This is a formula that can be seen across the entire series, but this one stands out in a variety of ways.

The biggest thing that makes it feel different from the rest is that the game does a solid job of giving a narrative reason for each and every hunt. These are blended into the story beats themselves, such as asking the player to hunt a certain monster in order to get the right materials for repairing the ship. This makes the whole thing feel woven together in a great way.

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4

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

The DLC Makes It Worthwhile

Released

March 26, 2021

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

• Base game is fine as a narrative, but the DLC makes it special
• Easy to follow and engage with

Something that players will notice as they dive into the series is that when a new game is released, the story is often lackluster, if not just flat-out bad. This is changed when the DLC is released for the game, where the story is taken to another level, and it becomes something people actually want to see through.

This is the case here as the Sunbreak DLC actually makes the mediocre narrative of the base game better by expanding on the lore of the environments. This creates a well that players will want to dive into to get more information about what they are doing and why they are doing it. Despite the fact that Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is just a DLC, the quality of its story makes it worthy of consideration.

3

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin

Improves On The First In Every Way

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin

Systems

OpenCritic

Top Critic Rating:
81/100

Released

July 9, 2021

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

• Takes what the first games does and makes it better
• A darker tone is a refreshing change

Despite the series being about the constant killing of violent monsters, the games can often be pretty lighthearted. With cat companions running around, goofy characters doing their thing, and more, the series isn’t known for being a darker kind of game.

This game changes that by adopting a darker feeling, not only in comparison to the original game, but also the series as a whole. It has a great tie-in to the first one, while also bringing a cast of interesting characters to the forefront to combine into a really compelling story that does it a little differently from the other titles.

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2

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

When Story Really Grew

OpenCritic

Top Critic Rating:
90/100

Released

September 6, 2019

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

• First game with full voice acting in its cutscenes
• Sense of wonder permeates throughout

It really feels like this game is when the storytelling in the series took another huge step. Not only is the actual narrative about the Hunter’s Guild exploring a new land full of mystery engaging enough, it also is the first entry that featured full voice acting for its cutscenes that helped the character really come to life.

The DLC expansion continued this by improving the base game’s story and elevating the new lore in some interesting ways. It all works together to create a standout entry in the entire franchise.

1

Monster Hunter Wilds

Signs That The Best Is Coming

Released

February 28, 2025

• Even without a DLC, the base game feels like the presentation has been nailed
• Good characters, good environments, and interesting ideas

Even without a major DLC release for this game, the base story feels like the developers have really figured out how they want to tell these stories. The entire game feels driven by its narrative, rather than hampered by it, and it does so with epic cutscenes, realized characters, and lore that keeps players coming back for more.

While it may not be the most interesting of stories in the series, it just feels like the story that has been told the best. The entire presentation is, completely, the best that the franchise has seen. This is the kind of storytelling that Monster Hunter fans can keep fans excited.

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