NOT YOUR TRADITIONAL MONSTER HUNTER COMBAT
Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise is well-known for its brutal, grindy, and action oriented gameplay. You set out on quests to defeat certain boss monsters and it can take up to thirty minutes to attempt to capture and/or kill said monster. You obtain loot from the monsters and use those materials to create stronger weapons and armor so you can face even more formidable foes by taking higher-level quests. Monster Hunter Stories shakes things up a bit by putting you in the role of a monster rider instead of a hunter. Stories takes place in a village that believes monsters are to be fought alongside with, instead of being killed and hunted. The townspeople believe that hunters outside of the town are downright cruel.
Being a rider, you can form bonds with monsters and add them to your party, similar to Pokemon; they gain experience, level up, and learn new skills that can be used in and outside of battle. Monster Hunter Stories takes the action-focused combat from mainline Monster Hunter and turns it into a traditional turn-based RPG, which the serie has never done before.
GREAT ENTRY POINT FOR NEWCOMERS
Even though Stories shakes up the gameplay formula that veterans of the Monster Hunter series know and love, it does a great job at making an easy and accessible entry point into the hardcore franchise. If you’ve ever been intimidated by the grindy nature of Monster Hunter, now’s the chance to get your feet wet, because Stories is the perfect place to start for any newcomer to Capcom’s universe.
The game may take a totally different approach when it comes to battling monsters, but it still has all of the nuance of the franchise, from the items you find in the field, to monsters that you befriend. It’s all very Monster Hunter and will teach you how to upgrade armor and weapons without being overly complicated. It’s a small stepping stone but going into a core Monster Hunter game after this one won’t be as difficult since you’ll be familiar with the setting and accustomed to the lore. You’ll also get to ride on baby chibi versions of the big creatures that you face off with in the main games, so that’s something to be excited about.
NEAT CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS
Unlike games like Pokemon, Monster Hunter Stories contains some pretty neat options when it comes to customizing the monsters on your team. You can modify a monster’s stats, change their moves, and even recycle duplicate monsters to make another monster more powerful.
You can play around with moves to make the perfect monster to have by your side; and if you don’t like the look of a monster, you can even change that up too. From weapon customization and being able to change your own characters look and outfit, to making your monsters as powerful as useful as they can be, Monster Hunter Stories will keep you entertained for hours on end.
DEEPER STORY AND A COLORFUL CAST OF CHARACTERS
Monster Hunter has never focused on character development or having tons of dialogue outside of quest descriptions and whatnot. It has always been very formulaic: accept a quest, kill the monster, get reward, upgrade armor and weapons, do another quest, rinse and repeat. You’re closest friends are the shopkeeper and the guy in charge of the armory over by the food stand. Not only does Monster Hunter Stories feature plenty of beautifully animated cutscenes, but the colorful cast of characters provides witty banter yet deep conversations on the idea that they maybe shouldn’t be befriending volatile and dangerous monsters.
It’s all very different for the series but it makes you care about your two best friends and complete the next big quest so you can see the next cutscene. The animations are very anime-like as well, which is probably the reason for this spin-off to get a full-fledged anime of its own. In the 13 or so years that the Monster Hunter franchise has been around, it’s refreshing to see a different take that pushes the story and balances it with the gameplay in a way that feels very different yet familiar.
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