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.

This is the first Monster Hunter I played back when I learned you could play games via pirating ethernet cables on my chipped PS2.

Even then (around 2015-2016) it felt ancient, going through impossible ways to feel awkward and alien to play with an utterly generic aesthetic even for the day, with the monsters being really more of a proof of concept with solely Kirin barely standing out for not being a dragon or dinosaur.

Both of this problems combined made me vibe hard off this game, and knowing this franchise I learned to love and thoroughly enjoy started from this mess of a game is mesmerizing, and it makes me wonder if there even is the possibility of Monster Hunter grognards existing.

Being an absolutely brave and innovative idea implies that you, as a developer, before it is even possible to explore the foundation of a genre, you have to get a foundation in the first place; and by that standards, this game works perfectly, since everything is so raw and so many mechanics are presented both exploration and action are at the same level. The problem is this is no Super Metroid, no Doom, no Super Mario, this is not thank kind of foundation that works as a standard as well for the genre, making it something they would get as a reference point to make something better out of, which is why this is considered the worst in the series as well as the worst entry point. Yet I still have a lot of respect and appreciation for what they made.