Monster Hunter G

Timed PlayStation exclusiveExpanded edition

Monster Hunter G is a Japan-exclusive expansion of Monster Hunter for PlayStation 2. It featured more Quests, equipment, and recolors of the original monsters, as well as a brand new tier of "G-class" or "G-rank" Quests. The Hunter Rank cap was increased from HR20 to HR30, and many quality of life features were added to this version.

Released: 20 January 2005
Platforms: PlayStation 2 Wii
Genres: Role-playing Strategy
Developers: Capcom
Publishers: Capcom
Modes: Co-op Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Fantasy Survival
Age ratings: CERO C
Languages: Japanese

About

Monster Hunter is a 2004 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 2. The first installment of the Monster Hunter series, it was originally released in Japan in March 2004, in North America in September 2004 and in Europe in May 2005. It was remade and expanded in Monster Hunter G, which was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 (later ported to the Wii) and was brought to North America and Europe as Monster Hunter Freedom for the PlayStation Portable.

Much of the game can be played offline through single-player. The majority of the content is in the online section of the game. Only some monsters are found in single-player and the player's rewards are smaller (and less valuable) when they are offline. The goal for players online is not to defeat the most monsters but to reach the highest hunter rank, which is the storyline that is carried out online by non-player characters.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Monster Hunter places the player in the role of an up-and-coming hunter who must accomplish various quests to achieve glory. Armors, weapons, and other items are created from the remains of slain monsters by carving off their horns, scales and bones, as well as from mining for ores in the field. Monster Hunter plays in a similar fashion to Phantasy Star Online allowing the player to team up with up to three other hunters online to take down stronger monsters.

Monster Hunter is played through quests given to the hunter by the Village Elder or the Town Guild. Village Quests can be classified into four categories: hunting, gathering, capture and event. They are also categorized into different levels, ranging from 1 to 8. Higher level quests become available after quests in the previous level are completed. There are three types of quests:

Development

Monster Hunter was a part of an initiative from Capcom's Production Studio 1 to develop three network focused games on the PlayStation 2. The other games were Auto Modellista and Resident Evil Outbreak. Capcom's plan was that at least one of the games would sell a million copies. Both Monster Hunter and Resident Evil Outbreak eventually sold a million copies each.

Monster Hunter's online servers outside Japan were closed down on December 31, 2007.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights, for a total of 32 out of 40.