I’m still not over the whiplash I experienced when Monster Hunter Wilds was revealed at The Game Awards last year. The exultation I felt when the next mainline Monster Hunter was finally revealed, immediately followed by total dejection when I learned I won’t be playing it until 2025, cannot be overstated. There needs to be a government-funded study on the emotional damage this announcement caused fans. Seriously, my Monster Hunter fan Discord servers (plural) went from unfettered jubilation down to the pits of despair faster than you may say Raging Brachydios.
I know it sounds entitled, but Monster Hunter Wilds was teed up perfectly for a 2024 launch. It’s been six years since the last mainline game, Monster Hunter: World, and Capcom just ended support for Monster Hunter Rise this past June. In March of this year, Monster Hunter will celebrate its 20th anniversary. When the trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds premiered as this year’s ‘one more thing’ announcement during The Gamer Awards, it seemed like a 2024 release was guaranteed. But like a Seething Bazelgeuse swooping in to bomb you back to the stone age in the middle of a hunt, Capcom hit us with a nasty surprise when we least expected it.
While the community copes with the long wait until 2025 byretreating back to Monster Hunter: World, Capcom still has quite a few plans for the series’ big milestone. There are a number of events, crossovers, and product collaborations happening throughout 2024 to celebrate the vigintennial, but none that I’m particularly excited by. There’s no way to make up for Wilds missing the anniversary, but the events Capcom has planned are leaving me colder than the time I hunted a Shrieking Legiana in the Hoarfrorst Reach with no Hot Drink. Okay I’ll stop.
The first one that caught my eye is a collaboration with Zoids, the ‘80s mech anime I haven’t thought about since, well, the ‘80s. Zoids vanished for more than a decade but apparently came back with a new series in 2018, called Zoids Wild, which ended a year later. To celebrate Monster Hunter’s anniversary, Takara Tomy is releasing two new zoids - Sonic Bird Reus inspired by Rathalos, and Beast Liger Magai inspired by Magnamalo. The toys likely won’t release outside of Japan, but even with that being considered, this is still the most exciting collaboration for the anniversary.
The rest, as Marie Kondo would say, do not spark joy. There’s a crossover with 2023’s Exorprimal, Capcom’s less-successful take on Earth Defense Force (with dinosaurs). It may not technically be part of the anniversary event as it seems to be lumped in with Capcom’s effort to drum up interest in Exoprimal, starting with a Street Fighter collab last October. The start of the event gave the game a small spike in its player count, going from less than 100 average on PC to a little over 400. I think this is the most anyone ever has or ever will talk about this event.
Last and certainly least is the Raid: Shadow Legends crossover, which features five legendary champions based on Monster Hunter monsters. The designs are cool, but unfortunately Raid is still a casino disguised as a video game, and does not deserve our attention. I’d say shame on Capcom for partnering with these cons, but seeing the type ofmobile dreck Capcom itself releases, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
Beyond those video game crossovers (a term I’m using loosely when Raid is on the list) is a collection of MSI PC accessories branded with Monster Hunter imagery. I’m impressed by the PC case and the controller, and I’ll probably end up grabbing them like the good little consumer I am. There’s also a new build-it-yourself figure for Alatreon, which I wish I could say I’ll be buying too, but it’s over $300, so I won’t.
Capcom has promised more events and crossovers leading up to the anniversary in March, so my fingers are crossed, hoping we’ll see some cooler collaborations down the line. My money is on a Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair or Universes Beyond set, which seems likely given there’s already been a Secret Lair collection for Street Fighter. I’d also love to see some classic monsters show up in the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma 2, either as easter egg boss fights or as the subject of DLC quest lines. I would love another sequel to Monster Hunter Stories, or even a new spin-off that brings the series to another genre. Monster Hunter Tactics, anyone?
There’s a lot that could happen between now and March, and I hope a lot does, because this first round of Monster Hunter collabs stinks worse than the fart cloud from a raging Congalala on Taco Tuesday.
