Welcome, intrepid travelers, to the wild frontier! The jungle is a lush, beautiful place, filled with vibrant life of all shapes and sizes. Your job as a hunter is to flush this fauna out, and smack it around until it’s a bloody pulp. It’s not for the faint of heart, and you may find yourself on the receiving end of some punishing blows that leave you collecting your teeth, but it’s great fun all the same.
Throughout the Monster Hunter franchise, we have been treated to all kinds of weird and terrifying beasts that require keen strategy to be able to subdue, and it’s our daunting task to try and narrow the list down to the five finest species of them all. Grab your supplies, take up your weapon, and be sure to pat your Felyne on the head (ain’t they cute?) – it’s time to get hunting!!
5. Zamtrios
Top 5 Monster Hunter Beasts of All Time
Street Sharks may have been jawesome, but this mean customer defies labels. With an icy exterior and a range of punishing attacks, Zamtrios knows exactly how to lay down the hurt on hapless hunters. It will radically change up its tactics as it takes more damage, initially relying on its armor to help it repel attackers, before finally employing its ultimate form of defense: inflating itself up into a giant ball and bouncing around recklessly. It’s admittedly not quite as cool to watch it do this, and in fact it looks remarkably like it spent too much time at the buffet, but you can’t argue with its effectiveness.
Many gamers have a particular phobia for sharks, and Zamtrios does little to dissuade this, crashing out from underneath you like Jaws at a smorgasbord. However, if you can gather your courage and avoid its wicked claws and gnashing teeth, you’re in for a unique battle that is an absolute ball. Pun fully intended there, not even sorry.
4. Lagiacrus
Top 5 Monster Hunter Beasts of All Time
Underwater battles were a major component in Monster Hunter 3, and Lagiacrus was the perfect poster boy to usher us into the thrills and spills of aquatic combat. From the get-go, you’re made aware that this enormous beast is lurking in the ocean, causing devastation on the harbor and being a general nuisance. You’ll have to deal with it eventually, and you can only hope that you’ll be strong enough to take it down when that day comes.
When you set off for the Monster Guts quest early in the game, your task is to head out into the sea to slaughter the small, herbivorous creatures swimming about. Once you have cleared out a few, you’ll head into a deeper body of water, and then… it happens. Lagiacrus makes his grand arrival, and decides that you look downright delicious. Whether or not you agree with this sentiment (after all, you may indeed be quite delicious!) you’d best haul tail and get as far away from there as possible, because you are not going to survive a tussle with this leviathan. It’s horrifying and hilarious all at once, and it still resonates with veteran players to this day.
3. Tigrex
Top 5 Monster Hunter Beasts of All Time
Tigrex knows that you don’t have to be fancy to get the job done. Electricity bolts, ice beams, inflation?? Tigrex don’t need that noise. This brute simply bangs around the arena with reckless abandon, and it manages just fine, thank you very much!
The only special technique Tigrex has up its sleeve is a roar so fierce, it can actually cause you damage. Considering the number of decibels it takes to injure a person, that is no small feat, leaving intruders vulnerable to its humungous claws. It can most often be seen running in erratic patterns, leaping back and forth and occasionally unearthing rocks to fling around. It’s hard to land a hit when it’s moving around so much, so it’s usually best to wait a moment or two for an opening. That’ll be sure to calm it down.
So popular is the Tigrex, it keeps resurfacing in subsequent Monster Hunter releases, arriving on the scene with all of the subtlety of a drunken rhinoceros. We simply never grow tired of duking it out with this juggernaut, and are down for a few more rounds any day of the week.
2. Gore Magala
Top 5 Monster Hunter Beasts of All Time
Considering all of the threats in the briny deep, it’s a wonder that anyone in the Monster Hunter universe is game enough to take a ship out to sea. Even if they don’t get ambushed by an angry (or playful) Lagiacrus, they’re liable to meet up with this wicked airborne son of a gun. The Gore Magala works under a veil of darkness, and in case you couldn’t tell from its imagery, it thrives on a shadowy arsenal of attacks to really ramp up the hurt factor. It’s not as big as some of the other hombres on this list, but the confined space upon which you fight it, aboard your humble boat for example, makes things particularly up close and personal. Kudos to the craftsmanship on this vessel, as it’s able to hold this lumbering beast atop its deck without ever toppling over.
Aesthetically, Gore Magala has got it all going on, with its six limbs and cape-like wings. That trail of black powder isn’t just for show either, as it uses this pollen to boost its senses, while also inflicting a detrimental status to its prey. Side effects include coughing, sneezing, runny noses and nausea. Please consult your doctor before trying Gore Magala spores. If symptoms persist, refrain from using this product further.
1. Rathalos
Top 5 Monster Hunter Beasts of All Time
An oldie but a goodie. Making its debut in the very first Monster Hunter back in the distant year of 2004 (with their primitive technology and Avril Lavigne music), Rathalos is every part the classic dragon trope. It swoops down from the skies, honing in on its meals and chomping into them before taking them off to a secluded area for some privacy. In case you’re wondering, yes it does have a flame sac and it is quite fond of spewing fireballs at you from above. This leaves you swinging at its lagging tail like some kind of epic piñata in a skirmish that would look ludicrous to anyone who passes by at the time.
Above all else, the Rathalos is an iconic part of Monster Hunter lore, and its very countenance evokes waves of nostalgia unlike any other. Along with its female counterpart, Rathian, it has become a staple of the franchise, and we’re ecstatic that it has returned to the fray in Monster Hunter World. We look forward to downing this sucker and many more beasties of all variety, then hanging their carcasses on our wall in a manner that would make Gaston proud.
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