Monster Hunter Stories Collection
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
When one thinks of the Monster Hunter franchise they usually think of choosing their target, gearing up with the proper equipment, and going out on the hunt to track it down and slay it in action-packed combat. That is because that is what the franchise consisted of for many years up until a spin-off called Monster Hunter Stories was released that saw “riders” with kinship stones raise “monsties” from eggs and ride them as allies in combat to suppress odd changes to the environment.
The problem was, not only was the original game a 3DS exclusive for a long period of time, its sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, was only released on the PC and Switch as well. It wasn’t until last year when the original game was given an HD release alongside the sequel making the jump to additional platforms in the West. But even then, there was one platform left out when it came to these games. Now, with Capcom looking to continue the adventure of the riders with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection next year they have finally brought the two games together in a collection on Xbox with the Monster Hunter Stories Collection. The question is, have these unique takes on the formula held up this long?
Story
Monster Hunter Stories begins with the player and their friends, who are part of a secluded island tribe of Riders that, unlike hunters, bond with monsters they call “monsties” using Kinship Stones and treat them like allies, venturing deep into a forest pretending they are already fully trained riders. While out and about, the three stumble across a monster nest containing a strange egg that hatches instantly, revealing a rathalos inside that instantly bonds with the player. Nicknaming this little rathalos Ratha, the three return home to a scolding. This is interrupted when a black shrouded Nargacuga rampages through town, sending Ratha to an unknown fate and killing many citizens including one of the friends’ last family members before retreating. Soon it is revealed that the Black Blight, a mysterious disease destroying the land and infecting monsters, was behind this and eventually it will come down to the player to purify the land using their skills as a rider and through their Kinship Stone.
The first game in this collection’s storyline is rather interesting as it serves as both a starting point to introduce players to who the Riders are as a people and what their philosophies are, and how far some people can be pushed when they have nothing left to lose. It is fairly simple overall, with only a few major revelations and twists here and there though these can be a bit on the predictable side, especially with how the latter half of the story develops, but it is rather entertaining nonetheless. It is also worth noting that Monster Hunter Stories very much feels like a “kid’s game” with its design and actions, be it the mascot felyne Navirou, the rhyming chieftain, and other oddities and kid-like features throughout the plot but it isn’t afraid to get dark at times despite this.
Onto the sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is designed to be a mostly standalone game despite being described as a sequel. Set a few years after the events of the original game, a Wyverian girl named Ena, being tracked by Hunters, is desperately running through the forest on Hakolo Island in an effort to track down the island’s Guardian Ratha. When she manages to finally find this massive monster, the girl is given a Rathalos egg by Ratha before it comes under attack by the Hunters, where it retaliates with a massive fireball before flying off towards mysterious pink lights and leaving the island alongside every other Rathalos.
Being the descendent of a legendary rider named Red, the player is fast-tracked into being a rider after this strange occurrence and it quickly becomes clear that, even with the aid of a Kayna as a trainer, the player will be able to handle themselves in investigating what happens. Upon doing so, the player and Kanna encounter Ena within Guardian Ratha’s woods who tackle’s the player, believing them to be Red. After realizing her mistake but sensing the strength within, Ena gives the player Red’s old Kinship Stone, capable of feats that allow it to grow stronger through bonding with others. This all comes to a head when a pink glowing Anjanath bursts onto the field far outside of its usual territory and must be put down, but not before attracting the attention of the Hunters still looking for Ena. Seeing no other recourse, Ena and the player flee the island with the Rathalos egg in toe, as well as the returning felyne Navirou, in an effort to track down what is causing the strange events to happen to monsters throughout the lands and the strange pink glow.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin tells a far more interesting and fulfilling tale that doesn’t necessarily require knowledge of the first game to get the most out of, since despite sharing a nickname of Ratha, the Guardian Ratha is Red’s monstie, not the one from the first game. Even so, not only does it see the return of the comedic relief felyne Navirou but also a sizable portion of returning characters that serve as both enemies and allies throughout the story. Some of these characters are enemies that players may need to contend with, seeing the personality shift wildly from how they reacted in the first game, to allies with similar personality shifts only this time for the better. So those who have played the original will definitely get to enjoy seeing the way these characters have changed between the two entries.
The unique thing with this second entry is that many characters are also “battle buddies” that will join the player in combat for large portions of the game. This includes some of the returning characters and others as well. As for the storyline itself, the plot is once again fairly straightforward but far more in-depth with how far it goes into the Monster Hunter world’s lore, including delving deeper into the Wyverians, introducing new “Monsties,” and even offering some surprising twists here and there. It is also worth noting that similar to the first game, there is plenty of light humor mixed in here and there but this mostly comes from Navirou and there is a solid balance between drama and dark events that occur throughout to help even things out throughout the lengthy storyline that runs about ten hours longer than the first entry in the collection with plenty to explore afterwards.
Gameplay
Being the older of the two games, Monster Hunter Stories helped lay the groundwork for many of the mechanics that then got expanded upon in the sequel. In the game, players are limited when it comes to armor types and weapon types, with only four weapon types being available, needing to purchase or simply upgrade equipment as they progress with the player’s best option being obtaining new “monstie” eggs from dens as they make their way through the game. When entering into a den, players will generally encounter monsters inside they will need to battle against but at the end will always be a nest. Within the nest will be various eggs with different patterns, weights, and “smells” to them that Navirou will comment on, with light smelling eggs having weaker monsties inside and stronger smelling ones having more stronger variations or even a different monstie entirely.
Either way, when players obtain a monstie egg they will be able to hatch it back at the nearest town and potentially add it to their party if they wish. Monsties all come with different attack patterns, skills, and even “ride” abilities that make it useful to keep various kinds around even if they may not be a fan favorite. For example, being able to climb vines to reach unreachable treasures, swimming through deep water to reach islands, or even just using sonar to locate items on the map, each monstie is valuable in some way, though obviously some are far stronger than others especially when it comes to combat.
Unlike the traditional Monster Hunter games, Monster Hunter Stories involves turn-based combat and a “triangle” system of sorts where there are three attack types, each one strong and weak against another. Speed can beat out power, power will win against technical, while technical will win out against speed. These only really come into play with “head-to-head” clashes which are indicated on whether the enemy is targeting the player or not, but will greatly increase and reduce damage done if players can predict the enemy attacks properly. Using the same types of attack as the enemy will trigger a “draw” and give neither attacker priority.
It is worth noting that winning head-to-heads also gives players Kinship energy where, when filled, can allow them to mount their monster to not only heal themselves and their monster, but attack with increased damage and even pull off powerful finishing moves unique to each monstie type. It is also worth noting that, outside of using skills where players can spend kinship points to order their monstie to use a skill or one of their own, players cannot directly dictate what attack their monstie will use in a fight, meaning changing your “lead” monstie is vital to surviving some fights depending on their attack style.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is where things really take a jump in quality by improving on the original game in almost every single way, even if it kept many of the same basic elements the same. It still features the same triangle system with the same kinds of attacks, only the benefit this time is that winning a head-to-head can cancel out an enemy’s skill being used, often only receiving the minimal damage instead. Similarly players will be able to ride their monstie when they gain enough kinship points and trigger special rider attacks that can increase in strength the longer players fight on the back of their monstie. Eggs are similarly handled the same way as acquiring monsters requires entering dens scattered throughout a map or created by a monster running from a fight and Navirou will once again comment on their quality as players determine what egg they want depending on pattern and description. Players will also be able to ride their monstie around while exploring and use various abilities that are exclusive to certain types of monsties as before.
That is roughly where the similarities in gameplay end though as everything else has been enhanced, expanded, or completely brand new. First and foremost players will find that, more often than not, they will have a “Battle Buddy” with them that will fight alongside them in combat with a monstie of their own if they are a rider or solo if they are a hunter. Players cannot directly order their buddy what to do in a fight just like their monstie but it is possible to see what their actions will be, meaning players can determine how to properly choose their attacks, especially if they choose to ride their monstie as well, giving players a chance to do the same and trigger a dual kinship strike that not only hits every monster players are fighting against but deals massive damage as well. Similarly, combat has been expanded beyond just the triangle system as well by adding in weapon weaknesses to slashing, blunt, and piercing and the ability to target specific enemy parts depending on the monster.
Monster Hunter Stories 2 expands upon the weapon availability extensively, giving players the option to not only craft weapons from monster parts but even their armor as well and players can equip up to three weapons at a time and be able to swap between weapons once per turn. Monsters can take less damage from certain weapon types and be weak to others and if players happen to “break” a body part of a monster not only can it automatically drop an item, send the monster to the ground where all free hits are automatic crits, but also remove that monster’s ability to use certain attacks. This all allows for far more interesting fights and risks when it comes to combat, especially when larger monsters start to change up their tactics part-way through a fight, meaning players may need to swap their partnered monstie out with another to better fit the new attack style or take advantage of an enemy weakness. It is also worth noting that in both games players can accelerate the combat speed up to three times if they want to rush through simpler fights or are gathering items/hunting monsters for a sub-quest.
Audio & Visuals
Considering Monster Hunter Stories was originally a 3DS release, the game has seen a solid visual upgrade when it comes to characters and the monsters that players will be fighting against. The downside is that a lot of the environments players will be traveling through are as barren as they can be with minimal detail and very few having any lasting impact. It is also rather cartoonish in style but it is nice to note that, since this is something of an HD release, it also features all of the bonus costumes for Navirou and even custom armor and appearances for the player. Monster Hunter Stories 2 is a massive improvement over the original since it arrived as a Switch and PC exclusive at launch and has only seen a slight touch-up here with this release. Character models are far more detailed and expressive, cutscenes are impressive, and the monster variety is far greater to help fill out what players should expect from a Monster Hunter game. Even the combat flows better and features a wide-array of flashy special moves for every single monstie that range from humorous to downright destructive, especially paired with a battle buddy. One thing to keep in mind is that none of the cosmetic DLC has been included in the second game and is only available as a separate purchase.
It is interesting to note that the main character in both entries does not speak in any way but both games do feature English voice work with their voice actors fitting their roles well and returning characters in the sequel reprising their actors. The soundtrack throughout the first game is a bit on the simple side but fitting enough for an adventure game while the sequel is far more expansive when it comes to background music and even features some of the signature sound effects and tones that players familiar with the franchise will instantly recognize.
Overall
The Monster Hunter Stories Collection is a great way to experience a new side of the Monster Hunter franchise in one complete package with both entries featuring unique takes on combat that is engaging and fun to mess around with, especially when it comes to taking on more challenging opponents and picking out the best monsties to challenge a monster with. However, while the games are sold together in a collection it is worth noting that they can be purchased separately and if players had to choose between one, Monster Hunter 2: Wings of Ruin would be the one to select between the two as the first game merely lays the groundwork for the great RPG that Wings of Ruin becomes. It is true that players would miss out on worldbuilding and character development from the returning characters if they went this route though. That being said, Monster Hunter Stories Collection arriving on Xbox gives players access to a fairly solid first entry and great second game, though those who may only want to pick one will want to choose the sequel.
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