Monster Hunter Freedom

Monster Hunter Freedom from 2005 was a reworked release of the Japanese Monster Hunter G for the PlayStation Portable handheld, and also the first game in the series to be released outside Japan. Capcom kept the basic hunting and crafting formula from the older PS2 original, but completely adapted it to the smaller display, shorter play sessions, and gaming on the go - quests were designed so they could be completed in shorter blocks than in the original. Here too, players could choose from several weapon types with different pacing and combat styles, from slow and powerful to fast and technical, which remained a cornerstone of the combat system throughout the rest of the series' history.

Compared to the PS2 original, the portable version brought noticeable gameplay adjustments. Controls were simplified due to the lack of a second analog stick on the PSP of the time, new quests were added, and the game was tuned so it wouldn't depend on a complicated network connection - local multiplayer between PSP consoles worked over ad-hoc Wi-Fi, so friends could play together in the same room without a router or adapter. Freedom also merged into a single release content that in Japan had previously come out gradually as Monster Hunter G, so players outside Japan got a more complete and expanded version of the series' earlier development right away. It was exactly this accessibility - playing anywhere and with friends anytime - that made Freedom a huge phenomenon in Japan and laid the foundation for the series' massive popularity on handhelds, which then lasted the entire PSP and Nintendo 3DS generation. For many players in Asia and in the West, this was their very first contact with the series.

Why play it: Freedom is an ideal choice for players who want to experience Monster Hunter in its portable, socially oriented form - the way millions of players first got to know it through the PSP. Controls and pacing are friendlier than in the PS2 original, though still noticeably older than modern entries. Anyone who wants to understand why the series became a cultural phenomenon in Asia even before it conquered the West a few years later will find the answer right here.