Monster hunter is an incredible series that saw huge success in Japan before the advent of Monster Hunter World, then global success that will now ultimately cement it as a series that any seasoned gamer will at least have heard of. With a series that has seen an impressively consistent lifespan of over 15 years with each title improving on the last and only gaining in stature, it’s always hard to ask where to go from here. So here I’m going to go through all the monsters that should either be created to fill a niche, or should return in all of RE engines shiny new glory. And for the sake of not looking like any of these ideas are above others, the list wont be numbered, they’re all equal (except you Hypnocatrice, sorry bud). Lets jump into the Monster Hunter Top Ten wishlist:
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Akantor/Ukanlos
These two beautiful lads get put together because they’re essentially heads and tails of the same coin. Surprisingly not classified as Elder dragons, these walking disasters were introduced in the second generation of monster hunter to much love and applause. They’re hard hitting, their visually beautiful, and their weapons and armour have both great attributes and unique aesthetics. They offered a compelling arena match to all players who faced them, with large frames that required careful positioning pre-empting attacks to take down with ease. Fans have wanted these guys back for a while and it’s shocking Ukanlos wasn’t a major feature of the iceborne expansion for MHWorld.
Yama Tsukami
An elder dragon introduced in the second generation that eats by, and I quote, ‘sucking up entire forests’ plants, monsters, all of it goes in. The gases released from the breakdown of all the organic material give Yama Tsukami bouyancy and a passable ecological explanation. Fans who remember this fight may not want a return however due to his fight being less than stellar after a first hunt buzz wears off. You essentially poke a big ball until it dies. However, the potential for mobility and 3D aerial attacks from this monster are staggering with the new verticality to compliment it and a gifted dev team could do some incredible things to bring this guy back from the ashes.
Giant Centipede
Monster hunter began to delve into more insect like monsters in its fourth generation, with the arrival of both Nerscylla and the Seltas Queen. MHWorld was severely lacking on monsters with more unique skeletons, doubled down in the Iceborne expansion where the majority of monsters were old fan favourites returning. MHRise has done a better job introducing the new Rakna-Kadaki, but we can go deeper. The rotten vale would have been the perfect environment to implement an enourmous centipede with attacks similar to najarala with its elongated frame but with far more unease and creepiness. Monster Hunter is at its best when all the monsters feel wholly unique and different, creating a rich tapestry of ecological nightmares, something a giant demonic centipede would make a fantastic edition to.
Agnaktor/Glacial Agnaktor
The Agnaktor is a fan favourite with a unique hunt mechanism; an agnaktor is covered in a thick layer of lava, and when not exposed to blistering heat that lava will cool and form a armour that causes your weapons to bounce. Once heated again though, the armour will soften and attacks will land more easily. Hunters could choose one of two options; take a fire weapon which would soften the lava and help with landing hits at the cost of damage due to agnaktors inate resistance to fire, or take a weapon with water or another element to inflict more damage, but forcing you to wait until it dives underground to soften its lava armour. These kind of interesting fighting decisions are being phased out of future games, and while some may call it a gimmick, monster hunter was built and loved on finding each monsters gimmick and learning your way around it.
Deep Water Squid
Another concept that would add some flair to the roster, this comes from my love of fighting more unique monsters that fill different ecological niches. There are only so many times I can see a variation of a dragon or a T-Rex before I start to crave a different meal, and this would go a long way. Those who remember the Nakarkos will be thinking ‘But Fracter, we already had a squid and the fight really isn’t that fun’ true, but thats because aquatic monsters work best in aquatic environments. The lagiacrus was a far cry from its terrifying reputation once it went on land, the same for any leviathan monster. I want underwater combat to return, and with it, a new wave of exclusively ocean dwelling creatures.
Rare Species
In Monster Hunter 3U, we were introduced to Lucent Nargacuga, a powerful Nargacuga variant that could turn invisible and use poison attacks. In Monster Hunter 4U, we were introduced to Molten Tigrex, a Tigrex that was about twice the size of a normal one and could attack with blastblight powder. These are monsters that evolved into incredibly powerful alternate versions of the normal species, and as such congregated in special arenas like the Tower. The newer games are missing this edge, we don’t need to constantly fight just world ending creatures for our endgames, throw in some fresh reworkings of classic monsters with love and care put into them and we would be more than satisfied.
Black Dragon
Black dragons are fabled creatures in the Monster Hunter world, being seen as acts of god rather than living creatures. Each one has the title given to it when it can singlehandedly destroy entire civilizations or end the world, and thankfully that title is given sparingly. Having too many around would inevitably soil the classification, so canonically only five exist; Fatalis, Crimson Fatalis, White Fatalis (Theories are out whether these three are the same monster at different stages of their life, up to you to decide), Alatreon, and Dire Miralis. Now, a new Black dragon is not something to be created arbitrarily, as that title is very exclusive and the monster should be beyond impressive, but there are so many ideas left to explore.
Hypnocatrice
Rumoured to be rarer than even a Fatalis or Alatreon, a Hypnocatrice can only be found in the second generation game (and spin off titles but who’s counting). Hypnocatrice were pelican like birds who could put a hunter to sleep, and though I debated keeping him off this list he’s been gone long enough, I think it’s time to let the lad back in.
Giant Weasel
Monster Hunter loves to take concepts we find familiar and throw them on their head. We’ve got a ram crossed with a camel, mixed with a hammer for a tail in our friend Duramboros, we’ve got a wolf that can call bugs to it like batteries in Zinogre, so why not a giant weasel with some unique ability as well? A slick leviathan body but specifically adapted to stay on land, this creature could be fast and cunning like a Nargacuga with tricky moves that would give us all something unique to change up our game plan.
Dalamadur
And to round off the list, the OG snake that creates enormous sky pillars by winding it ways around mountains and carving out grooves into the rocks. Dalamadur was introduced in the fourth generation, and was met with almost immediate fan favourite status for its design (not so much the fight, but we’ll forgive that). With all the new bells and whistles available a reworked Dalamadur fight in the correct environment could be something incredible, and the best part: MHWorld showed us that the one we fought in Monster Hunter 4U was at best, a teenager. They can get bigger; much, much bigger.
There you have it, the list of what I think should be coming right round the corner for the next Monster Hunter titles. Before there are comments asking ‘But what about Lagiacrus/Gore Magala/favourite monster x,y and z’, the simple reason is the list could only be ten entrants long and is entirely subjective to my tastes. Maybe Lagiacrus would work great in the reworked flooded forest, maybe you do miss Gore Magala’s gear, in that case I hope you get your wish and they make a triumphant return. But for me, these monsters deserve love or would make great unique additions, either way new fans and old would enjoy the games just that little bit more.
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