We can finally play 2006's flip phone-exclusive Monster Hunter port thanks to the tireless work of game preservationists and fan translators

Despite being a devoted Monster Hunter sicko for well over a decade now, even I didn't know about Monster Hunter i. And for good reason: The 2006 port of Monster Hunter G wasn't just a Japan-only release—it was a keitai game, released exclusively for early 2000s Japanese cell phones. It was Monster Hunter's first game for mobile phones, and until last month, it was believed to be lost to history.

As you might expect for games whose natural habitat was an early 2000s flip phone, preserving...