This is a megathread I'm creating to post any and all interesting information pertaining to the "Hunter's Encyclopedias," Which were Monster Hunter lorebooks released with many Monster Hunter games. In total, there are five Encyclopedias, including:
- Hunter's Encyclopedia
- Hunter's Encyclopedia 2
- Hunter's Encyclopedia G
- Hunter's Encyclopedia 3
- Hunter's Encyclopedia 4
The second covers information from MH2, with little bits of new information revealed in MHG and MHP as well. It has the same three sections as above but with completely different information.
Encyclopedia G is a compilation of the above two encyclopedias, with some extra information pertaining to the world of Portable 2nd G. However, it is not a full compilation - it does not include the "equipment" sections from Encyclopedia I & II.
Encyclopedia 3 covers information from MH3.
There is an "Encyclopedia Reprint" that is both Encyclopedia G & 3 compiled into one book as well, but this has no extra information, and is literally just two books bound into one spine.
Finally, there is Encyclopedia 4, which covers information from MH4 (maybe MH4G as well, I'm not sure when it released).
These books are all meant to be real, in-universe books in the Monster Hunter universe, written by an organization called the "Royal Paleontological Scriveners" that operates out of the West Schrade Kingdom, specifically in the Royal Academy of Sciences. Because the Schrade mainland is such a peculiar place, with no monsters at all, at as such little need for monster hunting, the books may seem odd when you first read them, because they view the world beyond the frontiers of their nation in a very peculiar way. Regardless, I think that they are a good read for anyone who is interested, but it requires knowledge of Japanese or extensive use of translation software (such as Jisho, Google Lens, or RomajiDesu).