I have a confession to make. Until now, I’ve generally detested Japanese games.

I suppose it doesn’t help their case that the Japanese games that are most likely to appeal to me, such as Dead Rising, Shadow of the Colossus or Demon’s Souls, never get ported to the PC which is my preferred platform. Still, the fact remains that many aspects of Japanese games turn me off: cutesy anime art, ridiculous hair styles, emo characters, overwrought and melodramatic plots, grindy gameplay. What’s more, the big name Japanese titles, such as Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid, tend to be the worst offenders. That they’re widely held up as the most famous icons of gaming culture constantly infuriates me to no end.

This is why it’s saying something for me to announce that Monster Hunter is an awesome, awesome game. The version I’m playing right on on my PSP is Monster Hunter Freedom 2, but I don’t think that really matters. Each iteration of the series, including the recently released Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, basically just adds more stuff without changing the basic formula: more weapons, more armour sets, more item combinations, more monsters to hunt, more quests.

That basic formula however is just what makes this series of games so great. You’re literally a monster hunter, an ordinary human who makes a living by hunting monsters. This you do by accepting quests from the village that serves as a hub and setting out to complete them. Successfully achieving the objectives nets you not only the cash reward but also monster parts and materials that you need to upgrade your weapons and armour. In between missions, you’ll also have access to a farm in town where you can basically harvest even more raw resources and materials for free.

When out in the field, Monster Hunter plays basically like most third person view action games. The first surprise a newbie player is going to get is that you suck. Sure, you can draw your big ass sword, waddle up to one of those giant mammoth-like herbivores and kill them in a couple of whacks. But try doing to that to something that actually fights back, like a pack of raptors. You’ll swear the damn things are snickering at you as they sidestep and duck away from your blows while pecking you to death.

This is because unlike most other action games, you’re not an invincible one-man army in Monster Hunter. It takes practice to learn the intricacies of properly wielding your chosen weapon and to master the user interface and camera system. You do eventually get good at killing the fodder monsters, but then you get to the boss monsters, and that’s when you learn what real monster hunting is all about.

First of all, the real bosses are huge. They’re also stronger, tougher and often faster than you. As a human, the only advantages you have are your intelligence and your gear. A key part of learning to play this game is being patient. Wait and watch each monster’s unique attack patterns while dodging or blocking them. Spot openings in their movements and practise ways of exploiting these openings without getting punished in return.

Second, hunting monsters isn’t simply a matter of attacking one until either you or it dies. Monsters are smart enough to run away when they get injured. This means that you’ll need to throw a paintball on them that will let you track their movements on your map. You’ll inevitably get injured and tired while fighting. Due to how the item usage system works, this means that you’ll usually need to temporarily retreat from the battle to find a safe place to drink a potion or eat some food to replenish yourself. Even your weapons can get dull and you’ll have to sharpen them. To even the odds, you can also throw sonic or flash bombs to confuse them, or lay a trap for them.

All of this means that defeating every new boss is an exhilarating experience. It’s not just a brutally hard boss fight. It’s really an extended hunt that rewards being patient and skillful. Make no mistake. This is a demanding and time-consuming game that will not appeal to everyone. Of course, in my case at least, it helps that while there are still some cutesy anime elements (cat-like cooks who can give you bonuses from the food they make in the kitchen, please!) they’re very toned down. Apart from some silly quest text, there’s also no story to speak of. It’s just the hunter and the hunted. Just the way I like it.