When Monster Hunter first appeared on the PlayStation 2, it built a small community of loyal fans despite its inability to attract a larger audience. As the years went on and later entries became more accessible to new players, the community continued to expand until Monster Hunter World finally blew the doors open and eventually became the highest-selling Capcom game ever.
Since the series began in 2004, Monster Hunter has grown spectacularly. There have been multiple mainline entries, a couple of spin-offs, mobile games, and both live-action and animated adaptations. Every hunt feels like a new adventure, but if you're someone who wants to dive into the series from the beginning, you should prepare for a long journey full of epic battles, gorgeous environments, and, of course, Palicoes.
A majority of early Monster Hunter games had multiple iterations that usually culminated in an Ultimate version that included all the content from each title. To make things easier, we are only including the Ultimate versions of the first five games because they are the most accessible and complete versions of each generation.
We also won't be including mobile games like Monster Hunter Now or any other game that could be played indefinitely.
How Long To Beat Every Mainline Monster Hunter Game
Though there are multiple iterations of most Monster Hunter games, there are only seven that you would need to play to get the most out of the series. Each title has its own unique story, so you don't have to worry too much about lore or world-building as you advance through them all. Certain monsters, weapon types, and more will appear in a majority of the games, but how you approach each situation makes every encounter feel unique.
Monster Hunter Game |
How Long To Beat (Main Story) |
How Long To 100% Complete |
---|---|---|
Monster Hunter Freedom |
42 Hours |
409 Hours |
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite |
100 Hours |
454 Hours |
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate |
75 Hours |
553 Hours |
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate |
78 Hours |
394 Hours |
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate |
79 Hours |
877 Hours |
Monster Hunter World |
48 Hours |
407 Hours |
Monster Hunter Rise |
22 Hours |
164 Hours |
TOTAL: |
444 Hours |
3,258 Hours |
How Long To Beat Every Major Monster Hunter Expansion
For both Monster Hunter World and Rise, Capcom launched massive expansions that almost feel like sequels to their base games. Both Iceborne and Sunbreak take you off to brand-new adventures with astonishing creatures to fight and mesmerizing environments to explore.
Monster Hunter Expansion |
How Long To Beat (Main Story) |
How Long To 100% Complete |
---|---|---|
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne |
37 Hours |
336 Hours |
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak |
33 Hours |
331 Hours |
TOTAL: |
70 Hours |
667 Hours |
How Long To Beat Every Monster Hunter Spin-Off
The Monster Hunter series has grown so much in popularity that a handful of spin-off games have been developed under its banner. Many of them were mobile games that were either never available outside of Japan or have been discontinued, but the main spin-off series — Monster Hunter Stories — is available on nearly every platform except for Xbox. While the creatures and world feel familiar, these titles feature turn-based battle systems similar to Pokemon with enough unique mechanics to help them stand apart from other games in the genre.
Monster Hunter Spin-Off |
How Long To Beat (Main Story) |
How Long To 100% Complete |
---|---|---|
Monster Hunter Stories |
38 Hours |
96 Hours |
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin |
41 Hours |
136 Hours |
TOTAL: |
79 Hours |
232 Hours |
How Long To Beat Every Monster Hunter Game
If you want to play through the main story of every Monster Hunter game, you should make sure to pack a lot of mega potions, whetstones, and meat, because it won't be a short journey. If you start from the beginning, it should take you roughly 593 hours to complete every game in the series.
If you really want to be the greatest hunter ever known and have the time to complete every aspect of each Monster Hunter game, it should take you a staggering 4,157 hours to complete the ultimate hunt. This could also be looked at as either nearly 175 days or roughly six months, which means you could be busy for quite some time if you decide to go on this adventure.