History MonsterHunter / TropesNToR

** The series has Purple as the highest accessible level of melee weapon sharpness in the main series. The only games that really subvert this are the PC games, though occasionally there will be the odd main game that only reaches up to White sharpness, the level immediately below Purple. Purple is typically reserved only for the final tier or upgrade of weapons, and will occasionally require an additional armor skill to unlock, though some weapons will never reach Purple no matter what you do.

** The Felyne Comrades/Palicoes and Shakalakas. The former are capable of wielding weapons bigger than they are, while the latter [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom can send even hunters flying]] in a single attack when enraged. Not to mention the fact they're MadeOfIron. ''Generations'' lets you ''play'' as a Palico (i.e. Prowler mode), and with the right setup, a Prowler is just as dangerous to a monster as a human Hunter is.

** The Felyne Comrades/Palicoes and Shakalakas. The former are capable of wielding weapons bigger than they are, while the latter [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom can send even hunters flying]] in a single attack when enraged. Not to mention the fact they're MadeOfIron.

** The whole point of the game is to kill monsters for their gooey bits (scales, bones, and even organs) to make better weapons and armor to kill even stronger monsters for ''their'' gooey bits. Certain monsters will drop parts if you hit them hard enough or deal enough damage to certain parts of their bodies. Also, there are a couple that can be carved for parts ''while they're still alive''. Even when you [[NonLethalKO capture them alive with traps and tranq bombs]], you're ''still'' rewarded with their gooey bits, and they're pretty much alive and well, contently sleeping in [[VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld Astera]] despite having just ''lost their organs''.

** Pretty much how the Tonfas work.

** The whole point of the game is to kill monsters for their gooey bits (scales, bones, and even organs) to make better weapons and armor to kill even stronger monsters for ''their'' gooey bits. Certain monsters will drop parts if you hit them hard enough or deal enough damage to certain parts of their bodies. Also, there are a couple that can be carved for parts ''while they're still alive''. Even when you [[NonLethalKO capture them alive with traps and tranq bombs]], you're ''still'' rewarded with their gooey bits, and they're pretty much alive and well, contently sleeping in [[VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld Astera]] despite having just ''[[FridgeLogic lost their organs]]''.

** Ever wonder why the food you seem to eat before hunts are as fattening as possible? The reason why has to do with real life excising: many athletes bulk up on highly caloric foods in order to ''survive'' their workout regimens, as the constant exercise they do runs the risk of literally depleting their body and killing them. Thus, the meals you eat in ''Monster Hunter'' are designed to give you as many calories as possible before a hunt so that carrying your armor, weapon and inventory doesn't completely exhaust you by the end of it. Even then, eating before a quest does not stop the hunter's stamina from depleting, as they burn through these excess calories.

** For all their awesome weapons and armor, Hunters are still fighting monsters far larger and more powerful than themselves. It only takes a few hits, and in some cases just one, to knock Hunters out; and even the smallest blows can still send them flying. As a result, every Hunter using a weapon that doesn't have a shield is a FragileSpeedster. The one exception being the Great Sword, which is large enough to guard with.

* NintendoHard: The games become this on High and G Ranks.

** Going too long without eating on hunts or expeditions will cause the hunter's stamina bar to shrink as exhaustion and hunger set it.

** Ever wonder why the food you seem to eat before hunts are as fattening as possible? The reason why has to do with real life excising: many athletes bulk up on highly caloric foods in order to ''survive'' their workout regimens, as the constant exercise they do runs the risk of literally depleting their body and killing them. Thus, the meals you eat in ''Monster Hunter'' are designed to give you as many calories as possible before a hunt so that carrying your armor, weapon and inventory doesn't completely exhaust you by the end of it.
** For all their awesome weapons and armor, Hunters are still fighting monsters far larger than themselves. It only takes a few hits, and in some cases just one, to knock Hunters out; and even the smallest blows can still send them flying. As a result, every Hunter using a weapon that doesn't have a shield is a FragileSpeedster. The one exception being the Great Sword, which is large enough to act as a pseudo shield.

** For all their awesome weapons and armor, Hunters are still fighting monsters far larger than themselves. It only takes a few hits, and in some cases just one, to knock Hunters out; and even the smallest blows can still send them flying. As a result, every Hunter who isn't using a weapon that has a shield is a FragileSpeedster who must rely on dodges and evasion. The one exception being the greatsword, which is large enough to act as a pseudo shield.

** Monsters must be studied and researched in order to learn their various strengths and weaknesses, and different equipment is needed to meet the requirements of different hunts.

** A lot of mainstay monsters that appeared in previous generations of games were removed for this game, with some of them being brought back for ''Portable 3rd'' and/or ''3 Ultimate''. ''4'' would bring back a lot of the usual 1st- and 2nd-gen monsters (and, in a reversal, ditches all monsters from ''Tri'' except Great Jaggi and Deviljho).

* OminousLatinChanting: During the battles against the three varieties of Fatalis, recurring {{Bonus Boss}}es of the games.
** Also, the first part of the fight with the Lao-Shan Lung features some Latin.
** White Fatalis' theme has some Russian mixed in.
** The Ceadeus's second battle theme includes a lot of tonal chanting, but it's Indonesian instead of Latin. Ominous Indonesian Chanting -- that's a new one.
** Dire Miralis' theme in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.

* OddballInTheSeries:
** ''tri-'' does a lot of things differently compared to games before and after it:
*** It is the only game in the series with motion controls, although it is also compatible with the Wii's Classic Controller.
*** Along with its UpdatedRerelease ''3 Ultimate'', it is the only mainline game (i.e. not ''Frontier'', ''Stories'', etc.) to have non-Felyne AI companions, and the only game to have Shakalakas as companions.
*** Along with ''3 Ultimate'', it is the only game to have underwater mechanics.
*** It is the only game to remove weapons (Dual Blades, Gunlance, Hunting Horn, and Bow).
*** It is the only game in which Bowguns come in mix-and-matchable parts rather than being entirely-fixed weapons.
*** It is the only game to have Medium Bowguns.
*** A lot of mainstay monsters that appeared in previous generations of games were removed for this game, with some of them being brought back for ''Portable 3rd'' and/or ''3 Ultimate''. ''4'' would bring back a lot of the usual 1st- and 2nd-gen monsters.
** The same is true for ''World'', which like tri- features only a handful of returning monsters and the ability to mod bowguns (though only with fixed stat improvements), and brings with it entirely open maps with no zone barriers, much more simplified gameplay and crafting compared to previous games, and the slinger, a hybrid slingshot and grappling hook that every hunter starts out with and opens up dozens of options both combat and mobility.

* RealityEnsues: The series takes a fairly serious and grounded approach to its premise, with various mechanics and techniques in line with real world hunting.
** Monsters must be studied and researched in order to learn their various strengths and weaknesses, with different equipment being needed to meet the requirements of different hunts. Armors and weapons that are effective against one monster being entirely useless against another.

** Hunters traveling through desert LethalLavaLand regions must stock up on consumables to avoid dehydrating in the scorching heat, or freezing during the cold nights.

** Hunters traveling through desert regions or [[LethalLavaLand|s]]must stock up on consumables to avoid dehydrating in the scorching heat, or freezing during the cold nights.

* OddballInTheSeries: ''tri-'' does a lot of things differently compared to games before and after it:
** It is the only game in the series with motion controls, although it is also compatible with the Wii's Classic Controller.
** Along with its UpdatedRerelease ''3 Ultimate'', it is the only mainline game (i.e. not ''Frontier'', ''Stories'', etc.) to have non-Felyne AI companions, and the only game to have Shakalakas as companions.
** Along with ''3 Ultimate'', it is the only game to have underwater mechanics.
** It is the only game to remove weapons (Dual Blades, Gunlance, Hunting Horn, and Bow).
** It is the only game in which Bowguns come in mix-and-matchable parts rather than being entirely-fixed weapons.
** It is the only game to have Medium Bowguns.
** A lot of mainstay monsters that appeared in previous generations of games were removed for this game, with some of them being brought back for ''Portable 3rd'' and/or ''3 Ultimate''. ''4'' would bring back a lot of the usual 1st- and 2nd-gen monsters.

** "Brute Wyverns" are more [[DinosaursAreDragons tyrannosaur]]-like theropods, always wingless (their forelimbs are typically stubby arms) and built for brute strength.

** Rathalos has a move dubbed the "[[FanNickname Rathalos World Tour]]" in which he takes to the air, flies one or two rounds around an area, and finally dives at the Hunter with talons outstretched. This was updated a bit in ''4U'' wherein it will shoot some fireballs while it circles, which makes it a little less tedious, but not by much. This move was heavily restricted in ''Generations'', where Rathalos only uses it in a select number of areas.

* PistolWhipping: Taken to the LogicalExtreme with the "Nibel Blammer", a weapon for your palicoes in ''4/4U''. It's an assault rifle made from Nibelsnarf scraps... but they use it as a hammer. The weapon's description states that the firing mechanism was removed for easy palico use. Two other related cases: The Nibelsnarf Charge Blade in Generations is a Charge Blade that looks like a riot shield and bayonet-equipped rifle, which obviously cannot shoot (since it's a Charge Blade, not a Bowgun) and the various 'Drome weapons for the Palicoes in Generations resemble rifles -- again, only for clubbing.

** Hunters traveling through desert regions must stock up on consumables to avoid dehydrating in the scorching heat, or freezing during the cold nights.

** ''World'' will have Palico armor based off of Franchise/MegaMan, done in a blocky style to simulate pixels.

* RaptorAttack: The first aggressive monsters the player always encounters are basically these. The first generation introduces the "Velociprey" line -- Velociprey, Genprey and Ioprey, as well as their "alpha" males Velocidrone, Gendrome and Iodrome, respectively, with the second generation adding the Giaprey and Giadrome to the family. The third generation replaces them with the "Jaggi" line -- Jaggi and Baggi, with their "alpha males" Great Jaggi and Great Baggi, respectively, with ''Portable 3rd'' adding the Wroggi and Great Wroggi to the roster. ''Generations'' introduces the Maccaos and their alpha, the Great Maccao, which are feathered, kangaroo-kicking raptors.

* PaletteSwap: Most monsters have subspecies (eg. Rathalos: red, blue, and silver), with each different color variant having few, if any, noticeable physical differences between them.
** Subspecies often appear to be this, but they always have new moves and almost always have different elements associated with them. For example, the regular Gigginox poisons, while the Baleful Gigginox subspecies uses lightning. The craftable equipment from these monsters are very different in terms of statistics and use as well. Another notable difference from 4/4U are the pink Rathian/azure Rathalos - those in particular appear to be subspecies that indicate hermaphroditic transformations, as evidenced by pink Rathian lacking regular Rathian's raging [[MamaBear egg-protecting instincts]].

*** The Sunken Hollow is ''supposed'' to be the game's resident Volcano area... Except there's no lava. Once you get the lava flowing, the area returns as the Volcanic Hollow, now with fire hazards ([[CaptainObvious obviously]]) and a whole new mix of monsters.