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Monster Hunter Stories Review


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59ea15a5070f0_MonsterHunterStoriesboxart.png.034707dab7f86af1631aabd939a6d467.pngMonster Hunter's popularity has finally reached the point where a spin-off game has seen worldwide release. Monster Hunter Stories takes the familiar monsters of the series and basically turns them into Pokémon—companion creatures that you can train to fight alongside you. It may seem like a leap to take the hulking beasts of the main series and transform them into smaller, friendlier allies, but the turn-based RPG gameplay is just as addictive as the action gameplay. Even if this is an RPG with some odd combat quirks.
 
In Stories you don't play as a monster hunter, you play as a monster rider from a small village that befriends monsters by hatching their eggs and building a bond with the creature. In true JRPG fashion you are a young rider that builds unusually strong bonds with your monsters and must use that bond to defeat a dark force that threatens to upset the very balance of the world—the core theme of the game is essentially to make friends with everybody. In fact it's not surprising that this game was also used as the basis for an anime, since those storytelling tropes are clear here as well, even down to your friend/rival that thinks you're too nice to your monsters. It's a cute little story, even if it's not particularly deep, and it's certainly more narrative-rich than the main Monster Hunter games.
 
59ea15a572001_MonsterHunterStoriescombat.jpg.e7f0a00c3433e235b5bf45e614d71389.jpgStories retains several concepts, item names, and obviously monsters from the main series, but this game is a turn-based RPG. You and one monster participate in battles against wild monsters both big and small and even other riders in special tournaments or multiplayer modes. Battles are pretty unusual in Stories. One of the core mechanics is a rock-paper-scissors attack triangle. You can choose from power, technical, or speed attacks, and each has an advantage over the other in that order. For example, if you use a speed attack and an enemy monster uses a power attack during a head-to-head encounter, you'll have advantage and deal more damage (and take less). What's tricky is that you don't know what the enemy will choose, unlike strategy games where you can see the enemy's weapon options. Monsters habitually use one type of attack but not necessarily every time, so it really is a guessing game. That uncertainty can be kind of annoying early in the game, especially when you don't have many special attacks to rely upon to help give you more of an edge, but on the other hand it'll keep you on your toes throughout each battle.
 
The other odd battle aspect in Stories is that you don't directly control your monster. This is where the attack triangle really does get frustrating, when your monster keeps using attacks that are at a disadvantage. Again, early on this can be annoying but as monsters level up they gain access to special skills, and you can command your monster to use these special attacks (though you still can't select normal attacks for them). For a game that is essentially simplifying the Monster Hunter formula for new types of players this all seems a little needlessly complicated. At the very least it can be frustrating to have such loose control over your own party in battle.
 
Finally there's a unique attack that each monster has that can only be used when you, as a rider, mount the monster and combine your power. During battle you build up kinship points (things like succeeding in head-to-heads builds more points) and once the gauge is full you can mount your monster. Your attacks are a little stronger combined but more importantly you can use a kinship skill, which are super powerful attacks—they even have their own special little animations. There's something satisfying about unleashing an extra powerful joint attack in the midst of a particularly intense battle. Special attacks also require kinship points, so sometimes you have to choose whether to focus on building up for a powerful kinship attack or spend a few points on special attacks. Despite the initial oddity of only directly controlling one party member in battle you'll soon find that combat in Stories has enough nuances to keep you engaged from one hunt to the next.
 
59ea15a628081_MonsterHunterStoriesRathalos.jpg.e4c94f12bb8106f6512163fb548d733e.jpgI should also mention that your rider has a few weapon options in battle, just like in the main series. You can use a sword-and-shield, great sword, hammer, or a hunting horn, each with slightly different properties, the main one being that each weapon type has a different combo attack. For example, using speed, technical, then power attacks in a row will deal extra damage with the sword-and-shield. There really isn't any one weapon type that is overall more useful or even situationally useful, so you're free to use whichever one you prefer. And like the main series you have to forge new weapons and armor in Stories. Thankfully you don't have to hunt monsters over and over to get specific rare parts for upgrading, though you still have to farm basic monster parts. Mostly it's just nice to see that aspect carried over to this spin-off game. Just like leveling up it rewards you for taking the time to explore and battle every monster you encounter.
 
Speaking of exploring, it wouldn't be an RPG without thematic locales to wander through. Desert, forest, snowy mountainside—Stories has them all. In a lot of the big, open areas your movement speed is just a little too slow, to the point where it's noticeable, especially since landmarks are few and far between. But the real point of exploring is to find monster dens. Inside you'll find monster eggs, and this is your opportunity to collect new monsters. This is where the Pokémon aspect of the game comes into play: you may be the type that just wants a handful of monsters to train (you can have up to five in your party) or you may want to have one of every monster type—there are over one hundred. Or, if you really enjoy the nitty gritty of monster training, you may want to perfect your monsters with the best possible stats. Each monster has nine gene slots which can be filled with different abilities such as special attacks or passive buffs like poison immunity. You can sacrifice one monster to pass one of its genes to a different monster, and this is where you can get obsessively focused on building the perfect monster. It's not easy either so if you have a specific idea in mind for your monster it'll probably be quite time consuming. Just like Pokémon though you don't have to worry about any of this if your goal is simply to play through the game's story. If you want to get heavily into multiplayer battles it might be beneficial, but don't feel like you have to dive deep into genetic manipulation to enjoy Stories.
 
59ea15a5d088c_MonsterHunterStoriesegg.jpg.1ba6bcb1bf359e1f3916f793b2b889d2.jpgAnd if your goal is simply to enjoy the game's main story, you're in for quite a long haul. If you actively skip every side quest or opportunity to hatch new monsters you can probably finish the game in thirty hours or so, but more likely you'll spend over fifty to truly explore every aspect of Stories. Plus there's even more content to enjoy after the credits roll—more quests, more powerful monsters, and the aforementioned multiplayer modes if you feel like getting competitive. Stories may not last as ridiculously long as the main series games do, but it's still quite a lengthy adventure, even for an RPG.
 
The graphics in Stories are basically a chibi-fied take on Monster Hunter, but don't let that dissuade you. It may be more bright and cheery than the main series but the monsters and environments are still beautiful in this game. The monster designs look great in this colorful style—less imposing than the main series but with just as much personality—and the scenery is fantastic in towns and more heavily detailed locations like the rainforest. The downside is that the framerate can be a little choppy at times, especially on older 3DS models, and distant people or monsters pop into view in a somewhat stuttering fashion. And the music is as colorful and energetic as the visuals, perfect for both exploration and combat.
 
Monster Hunter Stories doesn't have the intense action of the main series, nor the camaraderie of teaming up with friends to take down ferocious beasts. What it does have is a lengthy, engaging RPG adventure, one that perfectly scratches the Pokémon itch of collecting and training various monsters. The battle system has somewhat of a slow start as you adjust to combat that has as much luck as strategy, especially in the early parts of the adventure, but once you spend a little time with the game it's hard not to be charmed by the colorful graphics and simple joy of hatching new monsters. RPG fans should love Monster Hunter Stories, and even veteran hunters should give this spin-off a try to see familiar monsters in a new light.
 

Rating: 8 out of 10 Monsters

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My biggest shock is how big the game is in terms of playtime.  As an RPG I figured it would be lengthy but not 30-50+ hours lengthy.  That's not a bad thing though considering what I've played of the demo is pretty solid and what more comes up down the line as you play only adds onto that.  I still have other games in progress I'm working through and enjoying so I'm gonna have to put this one on the backburner but I plan to give the full version of Stories a shot just on the back of the demo alone since I enjoyed it so much.  I don't know if the whole Monster gene passing mechanic was in the demo (I don't remember ever using it) but I know that alone is gonna have me making tough choices to build the perfect Monster.  It just makes me think back to playing SMTIV and how much I agonized over doing certain Demon Fusions to pass on skills to the new "creation" and trying to create the most versatile Demon I could with what I had, but it was a fun mechanic.

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Yeah the game really eats up time but it doesn't really feel too long while you're playing. I finished just about every subquest and collected almost all of the monsters so I spent a lot of time exploring, collecting eggs, and gathering materials for weapons and armor but the game never feels grindy.

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