Monster Hunter Freedom (Subseries)
The Freedom or Portable series is the subseries of Monster Hunter games directed by Yasunori Ichinose. While it was initially defined by it consistently releasing on the Playstation Portable, its games have also seen releases on the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch.
Terminology & Definition
While there have been various factors that fans have attributed to the Portable Series over the years, the only consistent element is that they are directed by Yasunori Ichinose (with two exceptions, both of which are expansions rather than full new games). There is also a process of elimination: Every mainline game has been, at one point or another, called such by Capcom themselves - those that have not can thus be assumed to potentially fit into the Portable Subseries.
As all of these games share the same director, certain commonalities in design and structure emerge as a result. Ichinose games are generally focused on letting the player get into the action quickly, with a special emphasis on battle mechanics and boss design. This stands in contrast to the mainline games' general focus on immersion and environmental design. Ichinose games also tend to simplify story progression, mostly having the player do regular quests until more quests unlock without much narrative context - which is again different from the mainline games' more involved story elements and progression systems. It has to be noted however that these differences have been blurring over the years, with tons of Portable-like design making its way into mainline entries.
History
List of all Freedom/Portable Games
- Monster Hunter Freedom
- Monster Hunter Freedom 2
- Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
- Monster Hunter Portable 3rd
- Monster Hunter Generations
- Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
- Monster Hunter Rise※
- Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak※
※Monster Hunter Rise and its expansion, Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, were made at a time when the line between mainline and portable games was beginning to blur. Simultaneously, Capcom abandoned numbered titles for the mainline series, making it harder to place Rise than any of the other games. However, due to the base game being directed by Ichinose, it and its expansion can be at least tentatively placed in the Portable subseries.
