Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate brought to 3DS an expanded version of the game that was released on Wii under the name Monster Hunter Tri. As a hunter, the player ventures into vast aquatic and land environments, gathering materials, completing tasks for the village, and above all hunting increasingly dangerous monsters - from smaller creatures to imposing aquatic and flying beasts. Trophies and materials collected from hunts are then processed into new weapons and armor, creating the series' typical cycle between hunting and crafting.

Compared to the Wii original, the 3DS version adds new areas, monsters, and improved controls adapted for the handheld, including the use of the second analog attachment for the camera. Combat is built on careful timing of strikes, dodging, and choosing the right weapon, with each weapon type - from great swords to hammers and bows - offering a completely different playstyle. The game also supports both local and online co-op, allowing tougher hunts to be tackled together with other players, which was fairly rare in the handheld library of the time.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is among the titles that helped the series gain wider popularity in the West and established it as one of the pillars of the 3DS library alongside other Monster Hunter entries. The mission structure gradually unlocks tougher and tougher hunts, with gear crafted from gathered materials being a necessary prerequisite for tackling further, stronger monsters. Thanks to its wealth of content and progressively harder missions, it offers dozens to hundreds of hours of gameplay, making it one of the most extensive titles on the platform overall.

Why play: An extensive and demanding hunting RPG system that showed on 3DS why Monster Hunter became one of the platform's key series.