A common criticism is that the controls are bad. And while this is true, i think the controls work fine in the context of the game. The monsters move-sets are very basic, they charge, they bite, they swipe they're tails or they hip-check you. This means that keeping track of the monster even with the awkward controls is not that hard.
With that benig said, Monster Hunter 1 has some other problems. The small monster usually represent a bigger threat than the big monster, which is just silly. Your inventory space is quite small. The camera on some zones just didn't work. And the grind required to advance in the city is just absurd.
But despite all this problems, this game still has moments where the monster hunter gameplay shines, moments where the game is actually fun. It just happens that this moments not always occur and most of the times you're forced to deal with the frustrating part of the game.

You'd be surprised on how solid they got the formula right at the start of the series for what was essentially just a tech demo for online capabilities. Especially if you have experiences games like MHW already, there's a lot of value and even fun to be had if you're willing to engage with it. Although using unorthodox control methods by modern standards, it actually plays real well within the context of the game.

I would highly recommend playing the JP version and looking up MhOldschool, as that will let you play the online portion again via fan servers for the true, full experience.

I only had access to the village quests, need to play through the Japanese version to get the full experience with the online using Monster Hunter Old School's private servers.
A interesting conversation about instant gratification in video games could be made here, especially comparing this to World and Rise. I'm not gonna do it though, maybe another time.
I find myself with the urge to play it more despite the intense frustration it caused me. Patience is the name of the game, and it gives quite a different experience to any of the other newer games in the series.

For what its worth, its pretty good, as a first try its mindblowing. So much of this game's design decisions still exist in modern MH, specifically the balance of inventory item limits, which have been virtually untouched since their inception in 2004. Once you get over the more simple nature of combat, small monsters, and controls, you get a very enjoyable singleplayer experience. The online however, is painfully grindy, in the worst way; aimless points to progress, which automatically drops this game down an entire star for me, as mindless grinding is never a good idea. The worldbuilding and dialogue of this game are pretty great, and the theming of this generation is very unique, and hasn't been replicated in full by any other MH game since. Go play MH Freedom instead if you want Gen 1 MH.

The game was pretty unique and fun





Then I got into high rank