No better argument for "less is more".

There is good stuff here, but the way it's presented is so frustrating. There's a version of this game that still includes a broad selection of monsters, and directs you through the best fights the series has to offer. But it does the opposite, forcing you to play a weirdly small pool of monsters over and over again, many of whom are just bad fights.

To wit, the key and urgent quests force you to fight Plesioth three times, while only having you fight four different elders. Over the course of twenty one village and hub ranks, you have to fight Narkarkos twice, Shagaru three times, Valstrax twice, and Lao-Shan Lung once. The game celebrating MH history can be beaten while only seeing one elder from before 4th gen. But don't worry, they make sure you have to fight Gravios three times.

All of this compounds with brand new systems that work to completely obscure the worthwhile content. Can't upgrade your weapons without slogging through hypers. Can't fight G rank deviants without grinding all of their low rank versions. Hell, the only reason I finished the game is because I wanted to fight Ahtal-Ka. Great fight! Not worth the time it took to get there.

I feel guilty about rating it so low, cause it's still Monster Hunter, but it's hard to imagine a worse way to make an anniversary collection.