I have long been interested in this franchise. I know it lacks popularity in the western culture and it doesn't sound like anything I too would be interested in, but it's popularity and consistency in Japan has forever fascinated me. I want to give this franchise a try, since I haven't truly ever played one. That I can remember, that is. So which one should I try?

Definitely start off with Tri for the Wii. It's by far the most accessible, or at least as accessible as these games can be without just jumping in headfirst. The difficulty curve is pretty good for a MH game, but the pacing is SLOW in the beginning.

If you could stand playing a game in Japanese I would look into starting with MHP3rd for the PSP or PS3. The pacing is overall much better and the difficulty curve is even better than Tri. There is a translation patch for the PSP but that involves hacking your PSP.

@derskusmacher said:

Definitely start off with Tri for the Wii. It's by far the most accessible, or at least as accessible as these games can be without just jumping in headfirst. The difficulty curve is pretty good for a MH game, but the pacing is SLOW in the beginning.

If you could stand playing a game in Japanese I would look into starting with MHP3rd for the PSP or PS3. The pacing is overall much better and the difficulty curve is even better than Tri. There is a translation patch for the PSP but that involves hacking your PSP.

As someone who started with Tri as my first Monster Hunter game and then spent somewhere near 100 hours on it, without completeing it (I must complete it), then I agree with this. Then I moved onto the PSP games. They are awesome and I can't wait for Monster Hunter 4 on the 3DS, plus a good port of Tri on the 3DS as well.

If you have a Wii, Tri is your best bet as others have said. The biggest thing though is make sure you get a Classic Controller Pro for the Wii to play it. It is by far the best experience to play the game. If you don't have a Wii, pick up Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on the PSP or PSVita, it is probably the Monster Hunter game with the most content.

If you do pick one up, there is no shame in looking online on where to find certain materials to make weapons / armor. Over time you will learn where everything is located and it is no big deal, but at first it can be a bit daunting.

Tri for the Wii. Also USE A CLASSIC CONTROLER! Don't even bother going back to the old PS2 ones. If you must get a PSP version just go for Unite.

Learn Japanese and play Portable 3rd HD.

hmm, what to do!  i'd like to check this series out as well, but not sure where to jump on.   i have neither a Wii or a PSP...i do have a 3DS though.  so maybe i should just cross my fingers for it to appear in the States this year sometime?