I've been on a real Monster Hunter tear lately and I've even decided to try and platinum Monster Hunter World(pray for my soul). I've been so enthusiastic about the series, in fact, that I've been tempted to go back and play some of the older entries in the series that passed me by. But that will have to wait. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is out, the long awaited massive expansion for Rise, and it's sure to be an exciting adventure in the vein of Iceborne. I, personally, cannot wait to see what kind of new and terrible monsters the expansion introduces. For now, I've been reminiscing about my favourite monsters we've seen so far. There are a lot to choose from, but I think I can narrow it down to a top ten.
Honourable Mention-Fatalis
NOTE: After much deliberation, he didn't quite crack the top 10, but he deserves his own mention nonetheless.
If you're any kind of a Monster Hunter fan, the name Fatalis should ring a few ominous bells in your head. In the very first game, there was a series of hunts you could do that were only available with an internet connection, something that is no longer possible on the antiquated PS2. The final challenge amongst these after completing the others was Fatalis, a terrible black dragon rumoured to have laid waste to an entire kingdom overnight. The area where it is fought, a ruined fortress called Castle Schrade, implies this to be true. Fatalis and its two variations appear several times throughout the series and the creature is regarded as incredibly powerful and mysterious. Its true abilities are unknown or merely speculated on, and it belongs to a group of beasts classified as 'first-class dangerous monsters', Elder Dragons a cut above the rest capable of large-scale destruction, if not worldwide annihilation. Only five of these monsters have ever appeared in the main games. Three of these are the three versions of Fatalis, which should tell you more than you need to know. Fatalis is always the toughest challenge a hunter can face, and taking one down is a testament to one's skill. They are gods among monsters.
10/10-Deviljho
A voracious eater capable of devouring entire species into extinction, Deviljho is a terrifying dinosaur-like monster introduced all the way back in the Third Generation's main entry in the series; Monster Hunter Tri. Since then, he's become known as an Invader, which is a monster that interrupts the player during hunts to cause anarchy and hinder their progress. Deviljho are so ravenous that they spend little to no time doing anything except eating and hunting to sate their endless appetites. Some of them end up driven mad by their hunger, overpowered by it and turned into Savage Deviljho. They're already incredibly powerful, so just imagine what this variant is like. They are not to be underestimated.
9/10-Lunastra
She may be the female counterpart to Teostra, but she is infinitely more badass. She originally appeared as the final boss of Monster Hunter 2 and only reappears a handful of times throughout the series. Her fight is always a visual treat due to the fact that she emits purple sparks from her body that combust and cover the area in fire. Her striking blue colouration is so visually stunning that it is easy to become entranced watching her flying around you as she prepares to go in for the kill. She also has a particularly nasty ultimate attack that can easily put hunters down if they aren't careful. Being an Elder Dragon, she should be treated with the utmost respect lest she tear you to shreds. With Teostra having returned in Monster Hunter Rise, it would be nice to see Lunastra come back in the Sunbreak expansion.
8/10-Dalamadur
Zorah Magdaros is big, right? I mean, when he appears at the beginning of Monster Hunter World, he's basically Godzilla and the player has to scale the length of his back after their ship gets destroyed. Dalamadur is even larger, almost double the size of Zorah Magdaros from snout to tail. That's fucking big. Exclusive to the Heaven's Mount area in Monster Hunter 4, it wraps its serpentine body around the rocky crags and peaks before launching an assault against the hunter. The fight is naturally untraditional, and the hunter must seize numerous opportunities to attack different parts of its body that they can reach. Dalamadur simply moving and traversing the mountains above Cathar Village causes debris to fall around the area frequently. In Monster Hunter World, the skull and bones of a Dalamadur appear to make up sections of the Rotten Vale, implying that even these gargantuan serpents migrate to the New World to die. There aren't that many David vs Goliath-style hunts in the series anymore, but fighting Dalamadur was a task players won't soon forget.
7/10-Zinogre
Now we're getting to the crazy stuff. What's better than an electric wolf? Not much. Zinogre(ain't that the coolest name of all time) was the flagship monster of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, the first title that released eclusively in Asia-a trend that would continue for some time. I don't think I have to explain what's great about Zinogre. He's a large wolfish creature that can wield the power of lightning to attack his enemies. It's refreshing to see a powerful monster and a flagship that isn't a dragon or winged beast. His design is incredible, too, and fans have unsurprisingly become enamoured with him. Why wouldn't they? He's the goodest boy!
6/10-Rajang
Something of an Invader itself, Rajang is one of the most interesting monsters to come out of the series. They are considered an Elder Dragon-level threat despite not being classed as such themselves, which should speak to how formidable they really are. In previous games, it was altogether exciting and terrifying to watch this enraged monkey rampage around and cause havoc, but it is in World where Rajang really shines through its turf wars with other monsters. If you thought Deviljho was ferocious, Rajang pummels it to the ground with minimal effort. He's one of the series' coolest monsters, hands down, and has been a mainstay since the Second Generation. Long may he reign.
5/10-Nergigante
It's surprising it took Capcom until the Fifth Generation of games to execute this idea. Nergigante is an Elder Dragon that eats other Elder Dragons, which is a concept so unique and badass that I could just leave it here. But I won't, because I love Nergigante. He shows up during the Elder Crossing in World, an event where groups of Elder Dragons migrate to the New World to die as their natural lives come to a close. This is nothing more than a feeding frenzy for Nergigante, who aggressively hunts down potential meals as well as meddlesome hunters that might get in his way. In Iceborne, he is also shown to be something of a guardian in nature, one who keeps the balance when dangerous creatures start to stir up trouble. This becomes most apparent after defeating the Old Everwyrm, Shara Ishvalda, who serves as the expansion's final boss. As the Old Everwyrm gets back up when the human characters think it is dead, Nergigante appears and puts it down for good before flying away, its work done. It's a curious angle for Capcom to take, depicting Nergigante as something of a hunter himself that dispatches dangerous monsters in nature in the name of maintaining balance. He almost eliminates the need for hunters in a way, who carry out the very same purpose with the intention of protecting their villages and fellow humans from harm. I hope the Eater of Elders makes a return in the future. He's one of Capcom's finest creations.
4/10-Thunder Serpent Narwa
Narwa made her debut in Monster Hunter Rise as one of the two God Serpents responsible for the Rampage plaguing Kamura Village. Along with her mate, Wind Serpent Ibushi, she plans to reproduce and reign in nature as queen. During the final fight, she devours Ibushi and becomes Narwa The Allmother, Rise's true final boss. The God Serpents are an interesting concept on their own. They are clearly supposed to be something more than the other monsters in the series, with their abilities to control the more destructive forces of nature and the fear that their offspring will pose a great and terrible threat to the world. They also speak through the Wyverian twins, Hinoa and Minoto, through something called 'Resonance', where the twins find themselves momentarily possessed. Narwa's initial theme before becoming the Allmother is also one of the series' best pieces of music. It is beautiful and tragic, perfectly encapsulating the idea that, despite Narwa's sinister and harmful intentions, she just wants to survive and reproduce at the end of the day, something she must die for to ensure the continued survival of humanity. The God Serpents are both great additions to the series' roster of monsters, but Narwa takes the cake for her blend of ultimate power and tragedy. Plus, when she devours Ibushi, she absorbs his abilities and becomes the master of controlling storms. A truly dangerous but beautiful monster.
3/10-Magnamalo
It seems Capcom sprinkled a little of Nergigante's flavour into Rise with this beast. Magnamalo appears during the Rampage caused by Narwa and Ibushi's storms, seizing the opportunity to feed and sate his appetite while large congregations of monsters are gathered in the same area. Magnamalo's design is apparently modelled on the armour of fallen Samurai, which explains why he looks both peculiar and visually exciting. Because of his excessive eating, noxious gas has built up inside Magnamalo's body that he has learned to utilise as a weapon. It resembles purple flame and it is a deadly tool that Magnamalo uses to its full potential. It is unclear if Magnamalo officially qualifies as an Elder Dragon-level threat, but he certainly gives off that impression during turf wars, where he more than holds his own against monsters like Teostra and Kushala Daora. In keeping with the theme of Nergigante, he is also depicted as something of a hunter himself, like the player character, and there is an implied duality there. He even shows up during the final boss fight against Narwa The Allmother to assist the player, perhaps fulfilling the role of nature's guardian and keeper of balance(this is one of the series's best moments, by the way, I'm never forgetting Mags showing up to help me with the final boss). It seems I'm not alone in liking him, either, as he has become quite popular amongst fans since Rise launched. What an absolute beast.
2/10-Gore Magala
Only recently have I realised how much I actually adore Gore Magala, and this feeling was ultimately set in stone when Capcom confirmed he would be making his return in Sunbreak. The first thing about Gore that most people will probably notice is how different he looks compared to other monsters. With a third pair of limbs supporting his wings, his lack of eyes, and the dark aura that surrounds him, he looks like he would be more at home in something like The Elder Scrolls or Dragon Age. He is gothic and otherworldly, and yet he almost instantly became a fan favourite monster. In Monster Hunter 4, where he is introduced for the first time, he crops up multiple times during the story to hound the player and their companions, even becoming something of a direct nemesis to the protagonist as he ruthlessly tries to disrupt their efforts during the plot. Gore Magala is also found to be the source of the Frenzy Virus infecting local ecosystems, a disease that drives monsters berserk while also making them stronger than before. In Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, those powerful enough to overcome the Virus become Apex versions of themselves. Apex Monsters are incredibly dangerous and difficult to dispatch, and they are a mainstay during Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Just to address any possible confusion, Apex Monsters appear in Monster Hunter Rise, as well, but these are much different than the Apexes of 4. The use of the term in Rise seems to be an oversight, as the localisation team presumably didn't realise the word had been used in the series before. When certain monsters succumb to the effects of the Frenzy Virus, they collapse from its disastrous effects, visually lifeless, before apparently ressurecting as Apexes, adding to the already morbidly gothic aesthetic of Gore Magala. It sounds wild on paper, like nothing seen before or since in the series, but fans absolutely love Gore and his fiendish abilities. I'm beginning to see why.
1/10-Safi’jiiva
Where do I even begin with Safi'jiiva? In Monster Hunter World, the final boss is a monster known as Xeno'jiiva, an aptly named alien-esque creature with glowing tendrils emerging from its skin and translucent flesh. There's a bit of backstory behind Xeno'jiiva's existence. When Elder Dragons die in the New World, they release huge quantities of bioenergy from within their bodies that culminates in something called the Everstream. Think of this as a sort of underground river of energy that new life can spring from. It fuels the nature we see in the New World. Xeno'jiiva has been feeding off of this energy as it incubates in its cocoon to accelerate its growth and level of power. There is also a hint towards the juvenile Elder Dragon's intelligence and how it potentially lured other Elder Dragons to the New World so that they would die and fuel the Everstream with even more energy. Just to throw this out there, some fans also believe it is actually an alien in more than just appearance. Due to an old story about a blue comet called the Sapphire Star that possibly crashed into the earth coupled with the fact that there appears to be a crater on the world map around where Xeno'jiiva is found at the end of the game, there is evidence to support the theory that Xeno'jiiva came from space in this comet. Creepy stuff.
In Iceborne, we finally see what an adult version of this creature looks like in the form of Safi'jiiva. When he shows himself(not as the final boss, unfortunately), he appears to have shed his otherworldly physical traits in favour of a more traditional dragon-y form. Once more, some believe he is intelligent and powerful enough to know he looks out of place in this world and consciously decided to take on a more boring appearance so that he would blend in with the indigenous life. Again, how's that for fucking creepy? It goes without saying that Safi'jiiva is more than powerful, he is godlike in his abilities and can even manipulate the bioenergy in the earth to both heal himself and attack his enemies. I found Safi'jiiva almost immediately fascinating for all of the reasons above and more. Most people find his appearance dull and uninspired, a generic dragon in a world of eldritch Narwas and electrifying Zinogres. But a part of me likes the idea that he took on this appearance to blend in. Even without that theory, as far as generic dragons go, he is incredible in his design. Unlike with Magnamalo, I'm certainly alone in placing Safi'jiiva at the top of my list of favourite monsters, but I can't explain it any more than I already have. He's just a big fuckin' cool dragon.
King And Queen
Can we take a second to appreciate how far this series has come since its beginning? Monster Hunter spent years as something of a niche series that not many people knew about, and this was only exacerbated when it stopped releasing in the west altogether for several years. Monster Hunter World might still be a lot of fans' least favourite entry in the series, but it did for Monster Hunter what Elden Ring has done for the SoulsBorne and FromSoftware series of games, bringing it into the limelight and the mainstream. I've been having a blast with the Fifth Generation and I can't wait to see how Sunbreak caps it off for the future. The monsters have always been what really makes this series great, and Capcom have been knocking it out of the park every step of the way. Just look above at two of the Fifth Generation's best Elder Dragons(so far), the King and Queen of all that we have seen up to now. They will take some beating, but it's entirely possible they will be dethroned. For now, I'm going to go and dive into the expansion headfirst. I hope Monster Hunter is always this damn fun.
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