The Monster Hunter franchise is full of unique monsters for players to fight against. Each one brings a new challenge. The most interesting tend to be those with connections to others, as they may need to be fought together for a quest. Some examples include Diablos and Black Diablos or Teostra and Lunastra. Yet there is a quartet that is less known, especially to those new to the Monster Hunter community. Players may hear reference to "The Fated Four" from Monster Hunter Generations when talking about Mizutsune, Astalos, Glavenus, or Gammoth, but who are they, and what is their significance?
Monster Hunter Generations was released in 2015, for Nintendo 3DS. Its follow-up game with a G-Rank expansion, Monster Hunter Generation Ultimate, released in 2017 for 3DS and later for Nintendo Switch. These games, considered spinoffs by the developers, featured one of the highest monster counts in any Monster Hunter game, including the members of the so-called Fated Four.
The Fated Four are Astalos, Gammoth, Glavenus, and Mizutsune, the four flagship monsters of Monster Hunter Generations. Players learn their names from the quest aptly titled, "The Fated Four," wherein players must fight each one in turn. Besides being the flagships of Generations, they have no other connections to one another. Since Generations and Generations Ultimate, they have not all been included in a mainline Monster Hunter game. However, they were all present in Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin as Monsties the player could use.
Glavenus, a Brute Wyvern that resembles a T-rex or similar dinosaur, wields its tail like a greatsword. It is the most well-known of the four, as it appeared in the Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter: World. The next most prominent is the Leviathan monster Mizutsune from Monster Hunter Rise. This monster has a unique blight for mainline games in Bubbleblight, causing the hunter to slip and slide around with reduced control. It is also one of the only Leviathans with fur. Astalos is a Flying Wyvern recently confirmed to come alongside the Sunbreak expansion. It is a black pterodactyl-like creature with insectoid wings and the ability to generate green electricity. Finally is Gammoth, the Fanged Beast. Gammoth is by far the largest of its class and resembles a real-life woolly mammoth.
With the release of Sunbreak, two of The Fated Four will definitely appear in Monster Hunter Rise, but what is the likelihood of the other two tagging along? Many players hope for Glavenus to join the ranks. Not only is it an interesting monster with its swordtail, but its status as a Brute Wyvern makes it a desirable monster to fight. There are currently only two Brute Wyverns in the game, Anjanath and Barroth. Considering the relatively large number of these monsters, it is both needed and likely that more will come with Sunbreak, and Glavenus is a good contender.
The one least likely to arrive is Gammoth. It has a huge size and is unlike any other monster found in the game, so implementing it requires more work in creating a new digital skeleton to use for the monster. Despite this, Gammoth would make a great addition to the roster for Rise. Not only would it allow for a completely unique fight that can't be found elsewhere in the game, but Rise's use of Wirebugs would also allow for a truly epic-feeling encounter. Hunters could fly around Gammoth, gaining access to less protected areas of the monster, similar to the Aerial Style of Monster Hunter Generations.
The Fated Four are a fan-favorite group of monsters ever since their initial introduction, and Capcom can't show one of them without players hoping for the rest to appear as well. Despite this, the lack of a true connection between the four monsters often leaves players disappointed. Sunbreak's release brings hope though, with two of the Fated Four already being in the game. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, the other two will arrive, either through the initial release or through title updates.