Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering Monster Hunter Stories by developer Capcom:
Monster Hunter Stories:Â (The Explanation)
Monster Hunter Stories is a turn-based role-playing game developed by Capcom and Marvelous with Nintendo handling the publishing on the Nintendo 3DS. It first released in October 2016 in Japan and was released in the west almost a year later in September 2017. It is a spin-off series from the mainline Monster Hunter games and focuses more on turn-based strategy and using monsters to fight monsters, as opposed to the real-time combat with friends online to take down large and terrifying monsters.
The game later saw release on Mobile devices and a sequel was spawned on the Nintendo Switch titled Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. The first entry in the spin-off series has returned again, this time for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 with updated visuals, some QoL improvements and full Japanese and English voice acting. One of the reasons for its rerelease is due to the the network shutting down on the 3DS making the network battles of the original game unplayable.
Monster Hunter Stories takes place in a world where monsters roam the land and follows a young Rider, who upon partaking in the rider’s ceremony, embarks on a journey with a Felyne companion called Navirou to save the world from a terrible phenomenon called the Black Blight. Although riders are forbidden from leaving the safety of their village and neighbouring territory, the elder gives permission to the young rider to leave village and its lands as to stop the Black Blight once and for all.
As I have briefly mentioned before, Monster Hunter Stories doesn’t follow the same combat approach as the main series. In contrast to hunting and slaying monsters, it focuses more on collecting eggs and hatching them to raise Monsties to fight alongside you. Battling monsters has the player go head-to-head with enemies to use a combination of Rock, Paper, Scissors style combat with Power, Technique, Speed. Power attacks beat Technique, Technique is effective against Speed, and Speed trumps Power. Winning a head to head means you can deal a great deal of damage to your oppenent whilst only receiving a minor hit in return. Losing a head-to-head, however, means you will take the greater amount of damage. Should you and your Monstie attack the same monster during a head-to-head with an advantageous attack, you will be able to perfom a double attack and really pile on the pain.
There are also skill attacks that can also be used which can possess passive or active effects like buffs and debuffs, poison, paralysis, or ignore head-to-heads (enemies will still hit you with their own attacks if you don’t take part in the head-to-head). It is worth noting though, that in order to use skills, you will need to kinship points which you can gain by successfully winning head to heads and dealing damage to enemies.
Kinship points are accumulated in your Kinship Stone gauge and when it is full, you will be able to mount your Monstie in battle and do more damage against opponents. You can also use the Kinship Skill to do heavy damage to oppenents but once you do, you will dismount your Monstie and the Kinship Gauge will return to zero.
Upon successfully winning the battle, you will be able to earn experience to level up your character and your Monsties, as well as acquire materials and an in-game currency called Zenny. Zenny is used to purchase items, weapons,and armor. It can also be used, along with materials, to forge even stronger weapons and armor, and to upgrade them to make them stronger still.
Throughout the main story, you will travel the map fighting tough monsters with the possibility to chase them to their den. Inside Monster dens, you will navigate a series of rooms that will eventually lead to an Egg Nest where you can collect an egg that, upon hatching it at a stable, you will acquire a new Monstie to fight alongside you. The type of Monstie you get isn’t always guaranteed but the colors and markings are a good indicator though sometimes, you can get a totally different Monstie altogether, even if the colours do not coincide with the colors of that particular Monstie.
Aside from the main quest, you can also take on subquests that will earn you extra Experience, Zenny and other rewards. These types of quests can be accepted at the quest board or by talking to NPC’s with a blue speech bubble over their head with an exlamation mark inside it. The conditions for the subquests can vary but usually consist of delivering a certain type and quantity of a material, slay a particular monster(s) or show them a certain weapon. Once completed, you can accept subquests again and again, which is handy should you ever find yourself short of zenny.
You can have up to five Monsties on your team at any one time and you can alter your team by going to the stables in any of the game’s towns. The stables also allow you to transfer traits from Monsties to other Monsties so you can make them even stronger or give them skills they may not normally be able to learn. Any Monsties that you don’t want filling up your stable or on your team, you can always release them or better yet, send them out on Expeditions to collect materials for you while you focus on your main quest.
If you have not played this game before but have played Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, there are a few big differences that I should point out. While both games are primarily single player experiences, the latter allows up to two players to go on co-op quests together and even engage in 1v1 versus battles. You can also play with up to four players in 2v2 versus battles. Monster Hunter Stories on the other hand, only allows up to 2 players to play against each other in Network battles, and there is no co-op play to go Egg Hunting like in MHS2: WoR. You could also collect stickers in MHS2: WoR to use in order to communicate with other players. In this game however, you can still use stickers but you are limited to what you have available.
As for features, there are a few that I should touch upon. First of all, amiibo functionality returns and you can use any Monster Hunter series amiibo to receive rewards like materials, eggs, and outfits for Navirou. Other amiibo can be used but they will only gift you materials. Still, there is no limit to how many amiibo you can scan so if you have quite the collection, feel free to fill your in-game pockets full of loot.
Another feature is the Museum, which functions as the game’s art and sound gallery. This is accessed from the main menu and be viewed in its entirety from the get go. It must be said that it does contain some story sensitive content so only check it out if you don’t mind spoilers or if you have already beaten the game.
One feature that I do have to address, or rather lack of, is that all the additional content that was available for the 3DS version is not included with the Switch or PS4 versions of Monster Hunter Stories. Capcom have stated that they won’t be bringing the collab specific content back to latest version of the game but haven’t specified why. One can only surmise that it is probably down to licensing stipulations and that the specific content like The Legend of Zelda DLC wasn’t renewed for the Switch version. I will admit that, for me, it is a real kicker as it was something I was really hoping would have been included, seeing as the game is on Switch and Capcom has collaborated with Nintendo in the past (especially when it comes to Monster Hunter games). Here’s hoping Capcom changes their mind and add it to the Switch at a later date, free or paid.
On the flip side, all of the other game updates for the 3DS have been included like additional Monsters like Teostra, Kushala, and Rajan, abd themed parts that you can use to customize your character’s armor and weapons. The additional post-game content is also available but you will still need to beat the game in order to get access to it.
To sum up Monster Hunter Stories, it is a really fun title and is sure to be a hit with Pokémon / Monster Catcher game fans. Even if you aren’t a diehard monster hunter fan, you can still have an enjoyable experience with this with its charming characters, addictive gameplay, and engaging combat. It may feel like a step backwards for those who have played Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin in terms of gameplay and features but it has an endearing story and familiar characters that they will recognize from the second game like Avinia, Reverto, and Dan who make their debut in this game. I can’t recommend the MHS series enough, and I am having a really good time playing Monster Hunter Stories on Nintendo Switch.
Monster Hunter Stories: (The Gameplay)
Game Specifications:
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Role-Playing
No. of Players: 1 (Single System), Up to 2 players, (Local Wireless/ Online)
Release Date: June 24, 2024
Price: $29.99
File Size: 10.5 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
