Monster Hunter Stories PS4 review – Monster Hunter Stories broke out as a successful spin-off to the main line Monster Hunter series on the Nintendo 3DS. It’s a fun monster-collecting turn-based RPG that utilizes the franchise’s unique monsters and the world. It manages to set itself apart from its roots while providing a fun new take for everyone to enjoy.
Monster Hunter Stories PS4 Review
A Different And Fun Take On The Monster Hunter Franchise
The story follows your protagonist, a male or female creation, as they look to become the next Rider for their village of Hakum. A Rider lives harmoniously with the monsters and learns to ride and keep them as charged companions and friends.
The peaceful village of Hakum is attacked by a monster under the influence of the mysterious Black Blight, and many villagers are killed. After a bombastic start, the story takes a while, and you won’t see what it offers until you leave the starting area. There is a surprisingly good story here of friendship and family and learning to overcome your fears to save those you love.
You aren’t on this journey alone, and you’ll encounter plenty of supporting cast members throughout your journey, and they all have unique personalities that help shape the protagonist. Unfortunately, most of them don’t follow you or join your party.
Instead, they appear here and there. The protagonist’s two best friends, at least early in the game, are especially constantly absent from your ordeals and trials. It would have been nice to see them cheer you on as you try and become a Rider.
Crafting And Questing Fit For The Monster Hunter Fanatic
Hakum village serves as the hub of this world. This is where you will save your game, craft weapons and armor while hatching new monsters and deciding which ones to take on your adventure with you.
Stories keep the spirit of Monster Hunter alive regarding questioning and crafting. Though most mechanics are not needed in Stories, some make a return. Collecting materials from the overworld and battles is used to upgrade your weapons and armor. You can take dozens of quests ranging from collecting specific materials to defeating a certain number of monsters.
None of it is unique and inspiring, that’s for sure, especially when once you complete one request, you can take on the same request again.
Monsters aren’t affected by the weapon you’re utilizing, so your weapon becomes a preference for what you enjoy using the most. The good news is you can switch your weapons whenever you choose, so you don’t have to return to Hakum village to change your equipment.
Entertaining Combat Let Down By The Lack Of Control You Have Of Your Party
Combat in Stories is turn-based. You run into monsters in the field and initiate combat. You don’t get a party to play with. Combat consists of your protagonist and your Monstie, as the game calls the monsters you raise.
Your Monstie falls into three categories – Power, Technique, and Speed. This sets up a rock-paper-scissors scenario for combat. Each Monster is weak to a type, and countering that Monster with your type gives you an advantage in battle.
The problem is that your Monstie acts independently, and you have no real control over who they attack and what attack they use. You can give them orders regarding special skills, but it comes at the cost of your Kinship points.
You only truly have control of your protagonist, who can change the type of attack between the three at the start of their turn and even choose to switch out your Monstie to give you an advantage.
It’s a shame because even though you may have a Monstie that’s great against Power monsters, it may choose to attack with a Technique attack, putting them at a disadvantage in head-to-head attacks.
Utilizing Powerful Kinship Skills Can Change The Tides Of Battle
Head-to-head attacks happen with the Monster or the protagonist attacking an enemy attacking you; you go into a head-to-head. If the Monster is attacking with a Power attack and you’re attacking with a Speed attack, you gain an advantage and cancel out the enemy’s attack.
Every time you win a Head-to-Head encounter, you gain Kinship Points that allow you to use your skills and abilities. More importantly, when the Kinship Guage fills up, you can mount your Monstie in combat, increasing your stats and pulling off powerful attacks.
You can then unleash a powerful superattack. These are fun animated attacks featuring some hilarious scenes, and they are worth checking out.
A Large World To Explore And Harvest From
Finding and collecting monsters is one of the most important aspects of Stories. You can fight and capture a monster; instead, you must enter Monster Dens found on the field. Sometimes, when a monster runs away from battle, it will unlock a special Den that may provide a rare version of said Monster.
Monster Dens are like dungeons, but they aren’t anything special; in fact, most of them are repeated in design more often than anyone should be okay with. These Dens aim to reach the monster nest and collect a monster egg.
When selecting your monster egg, your feline companion will sniff the eggs and tell you if they’re good or rare. The heavier and smellier the egg, the better quality of the Monster you can acquire from it.
You can combine monsters and even use gene manipulation to make some fun and powerful monsters. Each Monster has gene slots, which you can customize by using specific items and combining monsters. This allows you to give multiple element attacks to one Monstie. You can have one Monster utilizing lighting and fire attacks if you choose.
The world itself is large and relatively open. It features plenty of materials to pick up and harvest, but some areas are blocked off, and you can only access them with a specific Monstie ability. Some Monsties can swim, while others can climb vines, so it’s a good idea to keep Monsties around that help in particular areas.
The game’s visuals suit consoles, especially considering it was developed for the Nintendo 3DS. The character models and Monsters look great, and the animations are surprisingly good. Unfortunately, the world and landscape feel barren, and the foliage has many pop-up issues.
The PS4 version of the game features full-fledged voice acting, and the soundtrack, though not especially grand, fits the world and keeps the spirit of Monster Hunter alive.
Monster Hunter Stories is a great departure from the standard Monster Hunter formula. It proves that the world of Monster Hunter is perfect for various genres. Monster Hunter Stories is a fun take on the franchise, and those looking for the next monster-collecting game will find something to enjoy here.
Monster Hunter Stories releases on PS4 and Nintendo Switch on June 14, 2024.
Review code kindly provided by PR