It’s not uncommon for a spinoff to find a life of its own outside of its source content. In fact, when it comes to JRPGs, it’s becoming more common. Persona is probably the example with the most notoriety, shedding its Shin Megami Tensei label with Persona 5. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter did it as well, as the majority of that series’ fans probably have never played a Legend of Heroes game prior to Trails.
After playing Monster Hunter Stories 3 for over 10 hours, the potential for this turn-based spinoff is definitely there. Monsties, anyone?
Mmmm… protein.
I should note that I’m a pretty casual Monster Hunter player. My first Monster Hunter was actually Monster Hunter World, and I’ve played every Monster Hunter since then, including Rise and Wilds, the latter of which is the only game in the series I’ve rolled credits in. As far as Monster Hunter Stories goes, I’ve only dabbled. I’ve played both games but never finished them because I wasn’t too fond of their oversimplification of everything while adhering too closely to younger audiences in my opinion. With the time I’ve spent on the game so far, Monster Hunter Stories 3 addresses all my issues, and I just might see it through.
This isn’t your dad’s Monster Hunter Stories
The biggest thing that sets Monster Hunter Stories 3 apart from the main series is in its name, Stories. Monster Hunter World, Rise, and Wilds are all amazing games, but it’s the monster hunting that takes front and center while the narratives, though they have them, take a back seat to the action. The MH Stories games are full-on JRPGs with realized stories that are about more than just taming the beasts. For the first time, while there are definitely some hints of whimsy in its exterior, this is a quest that just feels more grand and complex.
Rock-paper-scissors is back and more unpredictable than ever!
Even with how much I’ve played, I feel like there’s a lot I’m still learning, which admittedly is a double-edged sword. On one hand, learning about new features like Habitat Restoration is pretty cool. On the other hand after spending so much time with the game you hope the hand-holding would be over, but we also have to acknowledge that this is something Monster Hunter has struggled with in general. The main series has always been complicated, and Stories makes Monster Hunter more approachable. What’s interesting is seeing how the developers have chosen to make Monster Hunter Stories 3 more complex.
Multilayered turn-based combat
Let’s talk about combat for instance. The series has always utilized a turn-based system with a rock-paper-scissors mechanic. When you target an enemy head on, the types of power > technical > speed, will all be strong and weak against another, giving distinct advantages. This prevents the combat from being “chill.” In my experience, it became hard to tell whenever enemies switched their attack style, and even though this is a mechanic the series has always had, it’s probably the most difficult thing to grasp. There were a couple fights I spent more than half an hour with because I kept dying making the wrong decisions.
On top of that, there are other wrinkles that make fights feel overwhelming. It’s worth noting that your combat party will typically have four participants; you and your monstie (monster companions are still referred to as monsties in this world) as well as a CPU controlled duo of one of the other rangers in your brigade alongside their own monstie. There are things like double attacks, which are performed if both you and your monstie use the same attack type. There’s Kinship attacks that you can use when you mount your monstie, which can only happen when you fill up the Kinship gauge through battle. Lastly, there are Synchro Rushes that you can unleash when you stagger an enemy that should cause all sorts of damage if not defeat an enemy outright. Because you don’t have full control of every character on your side, it just feels random.
Don’t expect to tap X to blaze you way through a fight.
Things get even more complicated when you take on feral monsters, souped up versions of monsters adorned with crystals that made them go berserk. One fun (or cruel, in case PETA is reading) thing about Monster Hunter’s combat is targeting specific limbs, which adds yet another layer of strategy to these turn-based fights. The crystals are making the feral monsters go crazy, so naturally we should target the body parts that crystals are stuck too, right? Sure, but then you’ll suffer a lot of damage right after because attacking there leads to a backlash attack. Again, this is not one of those games where you can be satisfied tapping the A button in battle. After a lot of trial and error, you’ll get to a point where you can attack those crystalized limbs, and it makes victory that much sweeter.
The story and taking in the surroundings
I usually talk about the story first, but I figured we’ll do this at the end because it would probably feel too much like a review, and because of that, I won’t talk about this too much. I will reiterate that one of the reasons why I’ve abandoned both of the previous MH Stories games was because they felt like they were made for children. After you’ve played the game for like an hour, it feels like they’re catering to the fans who grew up. It may still look and sometimes feel like a cozy anime, but there’s real stakes here. You play the son (or daughter) of what appears to be a jerk of a king, and you’re also the captain of the Rangers, who seek to protect and preserve monsters and their role in nature. Oh, and you also have a Rathalos as your companion monstie, sort of making you one of one as they’re considered legendary beasts in this world.
You bet cooking and eating is still important.
When the game lets you venture off, it feels like a real Monster Hunter game, except for the fact that you can mount any of the monsties in your party. They all have distinct abilities outside of battle–for example, your Rathalos can soar through the air, you have a Tobi-Kadachi that can climb tough and seemingly vertical terrain, and it’s these abilities that make exploration enjoyable and the world you’re in a nice sandbox to play around in. The main castle town of Azuria is a colorful sight to behold, and once sidequests opened up, I went right to them because with the battles as complicated as they are, I figured I’d need to grind as much as possible.
The gameplay loop is pretty much what you’d expect from an open air JRPG. The game is separated into long chapters, and whenever you want to continue with the story, you just head to wherever the orange markers are. As mentioned, I’ve played for over 10 hours and there’s lots of stuff to learn both about the world you’re in and what exactly rangers do, in addition the plot about the kingdom.
Midway through the time I spent playing, I came across a Rathian in the main story, and I was excited to add that it to my rolodex of monsties, but it was here where we learned about Habitat Restoration. A lot of the free time you’ll spend in the game will be finding and hatching eggs, and sometimes these eggs will hatch rare monsters. By releasing monsters into the wild instead of keeping them, you’ll be able to restore endangered species and even be able to merge abilities, adding to the meta. This honestly is stuff I don’t personally care for, but I already know this is going to inspire a bunch of “best way to farm X monster with Y abilities” guides and videos from Monster Hunter sickos. Good for them.
Performance and demo availability
For purposes of this preview, we had our pick of which version of the game to play. I went with the Switch 2 version because I’m a traditionalist. For the most part, it looks great, but it doesn’t appear to be at a locked 60 frames per second. Secondly, the game feels like it could be more vivid. I thought this was just a result of the Switch 2 in handheld mode not having an OLED screen, but when I had it docked, the game still sort of had a dim look.
Azuria is beautiful, but it looks like we’re looking at it with shades on.
I felt this was worth mentioning because I don’t care much about graphics, and the fact that I noticed it means something. It isn’t Pokémon Scarlet & Violet on Switch 1 bad, but as beautiful as the game looks, it’s a foregone conclusion that it’ll look better on the PS5 or Xbox Series X. Of course, none of those are portable, and the game has pretty snappy controls, so I don’t feel like I made the wrong choice, especially considering that the gameplay outside of the story lends itself well to short spurts in handheld mode.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection launches next month on March 13 for the Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A demo for the game is available to download now on all platforms, and progress made in the demo can be transferred to the final game, so there’s nothing to lose. The demo actually has enough meat on it for you to tell whether it’s a game you’ll want to stick with. With our head start, expect a full review from us around that time.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t say this here though. Just give us a new Breath of Fire already, Capcom. Especially if this game doesn’t end up being Monster Hunter‘s Persona. It’s time. We know you’ll make it a banger.
After playing Monster Hunter Stories 3 for over 10 hours, the potential for this turn-based spinoff to reach greater heights is definitely there. Monsties, anyone?
It’s not uncommon for a spinoff to find a life of its own outside of its source content. In fact, when it comes to JRPGs, it’s becoming more common. Persona is probably the example with the most notoriety, shedding its Shin Megami Tensei label with Persona 5. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter did it as well, as the majority of that series’ fans probably have never played a Legend of Heroes game prior to Trails.
After playing Monster Hunter Stories 3 for over 10 hours, the potential for this turn-based spinoff is definitely there. Monsties, anyone?
Mmmm… protein.
I should note that I’m a pretty casual Monster Hunter player. My first Monster Hunter was actually Monster Hunter World, and I’ve played every Monster Hunter since then, including Rise and Wilds, the latter of which is the only game in the series I’ve rolled credits in. As far as Monster Hunter Stories goes, I’ve only dabbled. I’ve played both games but never finished them because I wasn’t too fond of their oversimplification of everything while adhering too closely to younger audiences in my opinion. With the time I’ve spent on the game so far, Monster Hunter Stories 3 addresses all my issues, and I just might see it through.
This isn’t your dad’s Monster Hunter Stories
The biggest thing that sets Monster Hunter Stories 3 apart from the main series is in its name, Stories. Monster Hunter World, Rise, and Wilds are all amazing games, but it’s the monster hunting that takes front and center while the narratives, though they have them, take a back seat to the action. The MH Stories games are full-on JRPGs with realized stories that are about more than just taming the beasts. For the first time, while there are definitely some hints of whimsy in its exterior, this is a quest that just feels more grand and complex.
Rock-paper-scissors is back and more unpredictable than ever!
Even with how much I’ve played, I feel like there’s a lot I’m still learning, which admittedly is a double-edged sword. On one hand, learning about new features like Habitat Restoration is pretty cool. On the other hand after spending so much time with the game you hope the hand-holding would be over, but we also have to acknowledge that this is something Monster Hunter has struggled with in general. The main series has always been complicated, and Stories makes Monster Hunter more approachable. What’s interesting is seeing how the developers have chosen to make Monster Hunter Stories 3 more complex.
Multilayered turn-based combat
Let’s talk about combat for instance. The series has always utilized a turn-based system with a rock-paper-scissors mechanic. When you target an enemy head on, the types of power > technical > speed, will all be strong and weak against another, giving distinct advantages. This prevents the combat from being “chill.” In my experience, it became hard to tell whenever enemies switched their attack style, and even though this is a mechanic the series has always had, it’s probably the most difficult thing to grasp. There were a couple fights I spent more than half an hour with because I kept dying making the wrong decisions.
On top of that, there are other wrinkles that make fights feel overwhelming. It’s worth noting that your combat party will typically have four participants; you and your monstie (monster companions are still referred to as monsties in this world) as well as a CPU controlled duo of one of the other rangers in your brigade alongside their own monstie. There are things like double attacks, which are performed if both you and your monstie use the same attack type. There’s Kinship attacks that you can use when you mount your monstie, which can only happen when you fill up the Kinship gauge through battle. Lastly, there are Synchro Rushes that you can unleash when you stagger an enemy that should cause all sorts of damage if not defeat an enemy outright. Because you don’t have full control of every character on your side, it just feels random.
Don’t expect to tap X to blaze you way through a fight.
Things get even more complicated when you take on feral monsters, souped up versions of monsters adorned with crystals that made them go berserk. One fun (or cruel, in case PETA is reading) thing about Monster Hunter’s combat is targeting specific limbs, which adds yet another layer of strategy to these turn-based fights. The crystals are making the feral monsters go crazy, so naturally we should target the body parts that crystals are stuck too, right? Sure, but then you’ll suffer a lot of damage right after because attacking there leads to a backlash attack. Again, this is not one of those games where you can be satisfied tapping the A button in battle. After a lot of trial and error, you’ll get to a point where you can attack those crystalized limbs, and it makes victory that much sweeter.
The story and taking in the surroundings
I usually talk about the story first, but I figured we’ll do this at the end because it would probably feel too much like a review, and because of that, I won’t talk about this too much. I will reiterate that one of the reasons why I’ve abandoned both of the previous MH Stories games was because they felt like they were made for children. After you’ve played the game for like an hour, it feels like they’re catering to the fans who grew up. It may still look and sometimes feel like a cozy anime, but there’s real stakes here. You play the son (or daughter) of what appears to be a jerk of a king, and you’re also the captain of the Rangers, who seek to protect and preserve monsters and their role in nature. Oh, and you also have a Rathalos as your companion monstie, sort of making you one of one as they’re considered legendary beasts in this world.
You bet cooking and eating is still important.
When the game lets you venture off, it feels like a real Monster Hunter game, except for the fact that you can mount any of the monsties in your party. They all have distinct abilities outside of battle–for example, your Rathalos can soar through the air, you have a Tobi-Kadachi that can climb tough and seemingly vertical terrain, and it’s these abilities that make exploration enjoyable and the world you’re in a nice sandbox to play around in. The main castle town of Azuria is a colorful sight to behold, and once sidequests opened up, I went right to them because with the battles as complicated as they are, I figured I’d need to grind as much as possible.
The gameplay loop is pretty much what you’d expect from an open air JRPG. The game is separated into long chapters, and whenever you want to continue with the story, you just head to wherever the orange markers are. As mentioned, I’ve played for over 10 hours and there’s lots of stuff to learn both about the world you’re in and what exactly rangers do, in addition the plot about the kingdom.
Midway through the time I spent playing, I came across a Rathian in the main story, and I was excited to add that it to my rolodex of monsties, but it was here where we learned about Habitat Restoration. A lot of the free time you’ll spend in the game will be finding and hatching eggs, and sometimes these eggs will hatch rare monsters. By releasing monsters into the wild instead of keeping them, you’ll be able to restore endangered species and even be able to merge abilities, adding to the meta. This honestly is stuff I don’t personally care for, but I already know this is going to inspire a bunch of “best way to farm X monster with Y abilities” guides and videos from Monster Hunter sickos. Good for them.
Performance and demo availability
For purposes of this preview, we had our pick of which version of the game to play. I went with the Switch 2 version because I’m a traditionalist. For the most part, it looks great, but it doesn’t appear to be at a locked 60 frames per second. Secondly, the game feels like it could be more vivid. I thought this was just a result of the Switch 2 in handheld mode not having an OLED screen, but when I had it docked, the game still sort of had a dim look.
Azuria is beautiful, but it looks like we’re looking at it with shades on.
I felt this was worth mentioning because I don’t care much about graphics, and the fact that I noticed it means something. It isn’t Pokémon Scarlet & Violet on Switch 1 bad, but as beautiful as the game looks, it’s a foregone conclusion that it’ll look better on the PS5 or Xbox Series X. Of course, none of those are portable, and the game has pretty snappy controls, so I don’t feel like I made the wrong choice, especially considering that the gameplay outside of the story lends itself well to short spurts in handheld mode.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection launches next month on March 13 for the Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A demo for the game is available to download now on all platforms, and progress made in the demo can be transferred to the final game, so there’s nothing to lose. The demo actually has enough meat on it for you to tell whether it’s a game you’ll want to stick with. With our head start, expect a full review from us around that time.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t say this here though. Just give us a new Breath of Fire already, Capcom. Especially if this game doesn’t end up being Monster Hunter‘s Persona. It’s time. We know you’ll make it a banger.
by Danreb Victorio
