Monster Hunter Stories

Monster Hunter Stories is a remastered version of the RPG game of the same title, released in 2017 for the Nintendo 3DS console and a year later for mobile devices. The game was developed by Capcom, the company overseeing the brand.

Plot

Monster Hunter Stories takes us to a fantasy universe created for the series. Unlike the previous installments of the series, and contrary to what the title suggests, we do not play the role of a Hunter and instead we control a monster Rider. Thanks to the so-called kinship stones we can tame various creatures and travel the world with them, facing dangers.

Our primary goal is to find a way to deal with the mysterious Black Blight, which has plagued our village, and now threatens the rest of the world.

Mechanics

In Monster Hunter Stories we watch the action from a third-person perspective (TPP). After choosing the gender of our character, all that's left for us is to plunge into the whirl of adventures. During the game, we get to know the world and its inhabitants, we carry out quests assigned to us by them, and we also establish and nurture bonds with monsters. Tamed creatures, affectionately called "Monsties", can serve us as mounts and fight by our side.

During our journeys, we often come face to face with opponents with whom we fight in turn-based battles. On the battlefield, we can launch three types of attacks, based on power, speed, and technique. The system brings to mind the rules of the rock-paper-scissors game - strong attacks defeat technical ones, technical ones win against fast ones, and fast ones win against strong ones.

Monsters possess various powers, while our character makes use of melee weapons and combat skills. As we progress, we tame increasingly powerful monsters and develop those we already own, as well as modify their appearance. Additionally, over time we obtain weapons and useful equipment and unlock new skills.

Technical aspects

Monster Hunter Stories stands out from the original thanks to thoroughly refreshed graphics in a manga style. The authors took into consideration, among other things, textures and lighting, and also adapted the whole thing to support much higher resolutions.

In addition, all dialogue options have voice-overs (both English and Japanese dubbing have been implemented in the game). The remaster also features a special "museum", where we can familiarize with the game's music and various concept arts.