Monster Hunter Generations

Imagine hunting a gigantic dragon, where every blow, every dodge, and every second spent sharpening your blade decides between life and death. Monster Hunter Generations is a celebration of everything that made the Monster Hunter series a phenomenon, and on the Nintendo 3DS it proves that depth of action doesn't require the power of next-generation consoles.

The core of the game is the loop fans know and love: you set out to hunt a giant beast, take it down after a long and exhausting battle, forge better armor and weapons from its materials, and head out after an even bigger opponent. Generations added to this formula the so-called Hunting Styles and Hunter Arts, that is, new sets of moves and special attacks that fundamentally change how each of the fourteen weapon classes handles. The game thus offers enormous freedom in how you build your hunter.

Monster Hunter Generations was developed and published by Capcom, which has held the series since its roots. The title was originally released in Japan under the name Monster Hunter X (Cross) and arrived in the West in 2016. It was a kind of celebratory compilation that gathered monsters and environments from previous installments and served them up in a new, significantly expanded form.

Culturally, the Monster Hunter series represents a genuine social phenomenon in Japan, where players gather for local cooperative hunts. Multiplayer is precisely the heart of the experience: with four people the hunt is far more manageable and at the same time socially gripping. Generations was later improved into the form of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch, which added more demanding G-rank hunts and additional content.

Thanks to its combination of accessibility for newcomers and enormous depth for veterans, Generations ranks among the best-tuned installments on a handheld console. It's a game in which you can easily sink hundreds of hours without noticing.

Why play it: If you want to understand why the world fell for monster hunting, Generations is the ideal gateway, full of freedom, tactics, and unforgettable battles.