While Capcom has been quite proactive in bringing its older Resident Evil titles to modern platforms, either through remasters or remakes, the company has been seemingly content to let older games in the Monster Hunter franchise stay where they are. In a recent interview with Arrekz Gaming, series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto revealed the complications that might arise if the studio were to remaster older Monster Hunter games for modern platforms.
The decision seemingly comes down to the fact that, from its very beginnings, Monster Hunter has always been envisioned as a multiplayer franchise first and foremost. And because of this, the multiplayer systems in various Monster Hunter games over the years have been designed around the platforms the games were released on.
“One of the barriers to trying to remaster or remake a Monster Hunter game is that it’s always been an online game with multiplayer,” said Tsujimoto. “So each generation of Monster Hunter game has been structured and built around the online capabilities of that generation.”
“We now have a much better online infrastructure,” he continued. “Trying to go back to a game that was from 2004 Internet, update it in a way that actually feel[s] good to play in the modern day, would probably end up making so many changes that is it actually meaningful to call it a remake or a remaster of the first game? I think that that’s one of the principal reasons we generally move forward with the series rather than look back to remakes.”
For context, Monster Hunter originally made its debut on the PS2, and made heavy use of the console’s online modem for its multiplayer mode. Since then, the series has jumped around on different platforms, featuring local multiplayer through ad hoc connections on the PSP and 3DS, as well as online multiplayer on Wii, Wii U, 3DS and Nintendo Switch.
While games in the franchise since World have been fine in terms of preservation, since alongside consoles they’ve also been coming to PC, older titles are still stuck on platforms that essentially have no online capabilities anymore. This includes Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Generations. Generations Ultimate is seemingly fine for the time being, since it is available on the Nintendo Switch.
Even the last console release of a Monster Hunter game before World, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, is unfortunately stuck on the Wii U and 3DS. While still playable if you have the appropriate platforms, online multiplayer can’t be experienced anymore since Nintendo has since shut down servers for the consoles.
Currently, Capcom is gearing up for the release of Monster Hunter Wilds tomorrow. The game is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, check out our review. And also check out details of the big day one patch. Leading up to the game’s release, Capcom has also released a new live action trailer that shows off some more gameplay, while also doubling down on its central themes.
In the meantime, you can also check out our rankings of the 25 hardest monsters in the Monster Hunter franchise.
