While I'm all for a more passive method of stoytelling (otherwise I wouldn't be such a huge Dark Souls fans), it's still important to me for there to be a story that you can finish and then feel some level of completion about. Without that, Monster Hunter just feels too much like Grinding: The Game.
If Monster Hunter had one, I'd be far more interested in the franchise. World is the only MH I've been interested in, and it's the only one with a story.