The Monster Hunter series has traveled a long path since the PlayStation 2, going from a strange experience niche in the west but beloved in Japan to an unmitigated international hit. Between the two most recent games — Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise — the franchise that once struggled to get a foothold in the west is now one of Capcom’s flagship properties, standing alongside the biggest titles in the company’s history.
But Capcom is no stranger to crossovers, which left us wondering how the developers think those other worlds might slot into Monster Hunter. We asked series Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and Monster Hunter Rise Director Yoshitake Suzuki a simple question: Which Capcom characters would they place in their hunting party if they were going into the jungle to fight a Rathalos?
“If I had to say just a Capcom character, Akuma from Street Fighter,” Tsujimoto immediately answers. “But if it had someone that actually wields weapons, then probably Dante [from Devil May Cry]!”
Suzuki agreed but bemoaned that Tsujimoto sort of stole his answer. “Tsujimoto-san beat me to the punch by mentioning the obvious answer of Dante, but if I had to think of someone appropriate, I would say someone like Ryu or Ken from Street Fighter. I think a lot of the Street Fighter characters have long mid-air abilities and moves that would be cool to see being unleashed on a Rathalos — like a Hadouken or a Shoryuken. That would be a lot of fun.”
Tsujimoto added, “Another character I think would be good is Strider Hiryu. I think his ninja abilities like wall running would be put to use really well in Sunbreak.”
There are a lot of Strider-like designs in Monster Hunter Rise due to the game’s ninja village theme. We asked Tsujimoto if the cyber-ninja had any influence on the game’s mechanics or designs.
“Ahh, I wouldn’t say that,” Tsujimoto laughed.
You can find our preview of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak right here to read all about the major expansion to the 2021 game, as well as the rest of our interview with Tsujimoto and Suzuki. We also asked the pair whether they consider the long-running series to be primarily multiplayer or single-player.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak will be released on June 30 for Nintendo Switch and PC.
