TheMonster Hunterfranchise debuted almost two decades ago on the PlayStation 2, and has since lived on every console generation with a prominent presence on just about every platform. Between PlayStation exclusives, Wii exclusives,Xbox exclusives, and even mobile exclusives,Monster Hunteris a beast of a franchise - and a monumental one with over 15 major entires.
EveryMonster Huntergame has the same basic presence: grab some gear, head out into the wilderness, and hunt some hulking monsters. But the intricacies ofMonster Hunter’s mechanicsand the constant sense of progression keeps this franchise engaging to this day.Monster Hunterhas evolved over the years, but with this persistent expansion also comes more content, and more content means longer runtimes. Those who are looking at tackling the entireMonster Hunterfranchise are in for some great fun, but also some very lengthy campaigns.
RELATED:Discord May Have Just Leaked The Next Monster Hunter Game
How Long It Takes To Beat Every Mainline Monster Hunter Game
There are currently six mainlineMonster Hunterentries. These games are big, the ones that truly innovate and improve on the formula with each iteration. As such, they tend to boast some longer campaigns. The firstMonster Hunterreleased in 2004, and despite it being the most basic version of the formula, the average time to beatMonster Hunter’s storyis around 50 hours - which for a PS2 game is pretty impressive. However, to complete the game in its entirety, this runtime increases drastically, ranging from 200 hours all the way up to 500. WithMonster Hunter GandMonster Hunter Freedombeing enhanced ports of this first game, their runtime is comparable.
In 2006, the appropriately titled sequelMonster Hunter 2released. With even more content than the first game, the runtime for this one is naturally a tad higher. To finishMonster Hunter 2’s main quests, it should take about 55 hours, and to fully complete every aspect of the game players will shell out at least 250 hours, and possible even up to 550. Again, this title was ported over to the PSP via bothMonster Hunter Freedom 2andMonster Hunter Freedom Unite, so those versions have a similar runtime.
Moving over to the Wii,Monster Hunter Trireleased in 2009. The Wii was well-known and adored for its short, bite-sized experiences, butMonster Hunter Trihas even more content than its predecessors, coming in around 60 hours for its main campaign, with a whopping 320 hours for total completion. The same can be said for the campaign of its ports,Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, andMonster Hunter Ultimate 3, though the latter takes over 600 hours to complete fully due to an influx of additional post-game content.
The first mainline entry exclusive to a handheld console,Monster Hunter 4released only in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. Eventually, an enhanced edition of the game hit US store shelves in 2015, titledMonster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Continuing the trend,Monster Hunter 4 Ultimatehas a slightly higher runtime than its predecessors, coming in at a 75-hour-long campaign with a380-hour-long completion time.
With the 8th generation of consoles, theMonster Hunterfranchise was able to become bigger and better than ever, andMonster Hunter Worldmade excellent use of the new technology. Releasing in 2018 for the PS4 and Xbox One, and later on PC,Monster Hunter Worldtakes around 48 hours to beat, and 380 hours to complete. However, with the release oftheMonster Hunter World: Iceborneexpansion, this length is practically doubled with the DLC alone taking 36 hours to finish, and 260 hours to complete.
The most recent mainline entry in the franchise is surprisingly the one to break the trend. Released for the Nintendo Switch 2021, and then for PC in 2022,Monster Hunter Risetakes just 20 hours to beat, and takes only 142 hours to complete fully. These lengths are still impressive compared to even the biggest open-world titles, especially those on Switch, but they are significantly shorter than the game’s predecessors. The recently releasedMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakexpansionoffers a similar runtime, taking about 24 hours to finish, and around 100 hours to complete.
RELATED:Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak - Easiest Weapons For Newcomers, Ranked
How Long It Takes To Beat Every Monster Hunter Spin-Off Game
On the spin-off side,Monster Hunterhas an even more expansive catalog. The first official spin-off isMonster Hunter Frontier Online. Being an MMO,Monster Hunter Frontier Onlinedidn’t technically have an end point, and with its servers being shut down there’s no way to legally play it today. The same thing is true forMonster Hunter: Frontier G, which was an MMO released in 2013 for the PS3 and Wii U.
Released in 2010,Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Villageis quite the departure from the rest of the franchise, being primarily a village-management game similar toAnimal Crossing. Oddly enough, this game was also developed byFromSoftware, and is certainly very different to the studio’s other titles. No official runtime on the game is available online.
One of the more well-knownMonster Hunterspin-offs is the 2016 titleMonster Hunter Generations, originally released for the Nintendo 3DS and essentially acting as a “greatest hits” compilation for all the games prior. Despite the limited technology of the platform,Monster Hunter Generationsstill manages to put outa 50-hour campaign, and takes over 200 hours to complete. In 2017, the game was ported to the Switch. TitledMonster Hunter Generations Ultimate, this expanded version has a longer runtime of 78 hours, and takes 680 hours to complete.
On the more reasonable side ofMonster Hunter3DS titles, 2017’sMonster Hunter Storiestakes around 38 hours to beat, and 96 hours to complete; meanwhile its Switch sequelMonster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruintakes a slightly longer 40 hours to finish, and 140 hours to complete. All-in-all, theMonster Hunterfranchise is a truly intimidating one for newcomers and fans alike, with some of the most impressive lengths in all the industry to sink one’s teeth into.
