In a recent interview with IGN, Monster Hunter Rise producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yasunori Ichinose shared some insight on how the games will be named moving forward. From the interview, it seems that Capcom is opting to move past the numbered nomenclature that fans are used to in favor of more descriptive titles.
When Monster Hunter Rise was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show, fans were caught off guard. Some expected to see Monster Hunter 5 or even Monster Hunter World 2, but they were instead treated to an entirely new game. It seems in the future this may become the norm.
Up until the release of Monster Hunter Generations, each game was titled with a number that let players know where in the franchise it fit. This theme varied a little bit, with names like Monster Hunter Tri and Freedom Unite breaking the mold slightly, but never to the extent that is happening now.
To be fair, this change makes a lot of sense when looked at from an objective perspective. The title Monster Hunter 5 tells fans nothing about what to expect from the game. It could an identical clone of the previous game or vastly different, but the name does it a disservice by not highlighting its differences. By contrast, players know getting into Monster Hunter World to expect a much bigger experience with wide open areas and a larger scope than the games that came before it. Likewise, Monster Hunter Rise informs players that verticality will be a big feature in the upcoming game.
A lot of other games have fallen into the habit of numbering their releases as well, with perhaps the most notorious example being the Final Fantasy franchise. After the recent PS5 reveal of the newest Final Fantasy, there are a grand total of 16 numbered entries in the franchise, and that's not even including those games which received direct sequels like Final Fantasy X-2. What makes this especially bizarre is that Final Fantasy games differ from one entry to the next vastly, so much so that they often take place in completely different universes, but numbers are used instead of words to describe them.
It's unclear how long this trend will stick for the Monster Hunter franchise, but it seems that Capcom intends for it to hang around. Having more informative titles is probably a good move, as it will help players differentiate between the different games moving forward.
Monster Hunter Rise will be available on March 26, 2021 for Nintendo Switch.
Source: IGN
