Capcom is one of the giants of the gaming industry and is one of its most successful and powerful franchises Monster hunter. Still, it’s easy to forget that for many years the series was exclusive to one platform holder – first Sony systems and then Nintendo for a while, starting with Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii. Aside from the repeated exclusivity, it took a while for the game to become established outside of Japan, and even then it was still impenetrable and inaccessible to many players. Too difficult, demanding, time-consuming, or completely unintuitive – outside of a dedicated fan base (this writer included), it has been largely ignored.
Little by little, very gradually, Capcom decided to make the series more accessible. The mainline games started adding more mobility and gameplay styles in the Nintendo era, but weren’t nearly as open to a wide audience as Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise on the way to reach more players. The 3DS entries in particular sparked this push, but ultimately crushed the hunters who dared to reach the endgame; Then Monster Hunter Stories came along on Nintendo’s small system, offering an alternative, a gentle embrace as an introduction to the series.
An RPG spin-off also made sense – the series has always had downright silly elements and the 3DS was home to many of the genre’s greats. A colorful, accessible and intelligently developed game that we really liked in our original review.
However, many didn’t experience it on the 3DS, although the sequel later appeared on Nintendo Switch and was also excellent, albeit marred by performance issues. It’s a little surprising that it took so long for this port of the original to make its way to Nintendo’s small system. it will also be released for PS4 and PC. We looked at it and yes, it is definitely Monster Hunter Stories.
While our full breakdown will come in a review, at this point we’re happy to say that the gameplay works well. Anyone who has played the sequel but perhaps passed the original back on the 3DS will still feel at home here. The process of getting eggs and hatching them for “Monstie” friends is largely the same, as is the rock-paper-scissors approach to turn-based combat. Even compared to the main series, everything is very gentle and friendly, as you are allies to the monsters and only calm those affected by the “plague” of the story.
There’s even a whole lot of items to collect, along with some Monster Hunter-like depth to items, forging/upgrading gear, and more. Ultimately, though, the game is simple enough that it doesn’t punish you for taking a superficial approach to building your hero. If you just want to have fun and experience the history, you can do that.
As for the upgrade on offer, the improvements for more powerful hardware are generally positive. The advertised feature is voice acting; It is fine, but it’s worth remembering that this game is intended primarily to appeal to young gamers. So expect performances that are almost overly bubbly and enthusiastic – not to mention we love the ever-rhyming village chief. There’s a museum mode where you can look at artwork and listen to music, and there’s online battles again (we haven’t quite tested that yet). What’s even more notable is that the interface has been sensibly reworked for single-screen gaming, and the graphics are now beautifully clear and in HD glory.
Graphically it’s clean, but the 3DS origins are clearly visible. This is not a remaster in the sense of a significant graphics overhaul for stronger technology, but rather a polish and upgrade. This can make it seem a bit simplistic on a large TV screen, as the art style isn’t distinct enough to hide primitive lighting, geometry and character designs. However, playing on the portable device is far more forgiving and it works very well for this style of play. It’s all very old school, yes, but the charm of the storytelling and fun RPG-lite approach to exploration and combat lends itself well to convenient handheld gaming; after all, this was originally made for the 3DS.
These basic visual elements ensure everything runs smoothly here too. There are occasional issues with performance, but overall it feels satisfactory. We should honestly expect that given the source material, but it’s still enjoyable nonetheless. The running around in large spaces, the simple effects of some crazy combat moves – it’s all a significant improvement over the framerate drops in the sequel. Everyone has their own taste, but we feel Stories 2 would have benefited from a similar look and level of performance; However, this pared-down aesthetic was probably not considered desirable due to the simultaneous PC release.
Our first few hours with Monster Hunter Stories on Switch were positive overall. It looks and feels old at times, so don’t let the “remastered” label influence expectations too much, but the core gameplay is still extremely charming and entertaining. Although the mechanics are balanced by a low level of difficulty, they also offer enough variety and ingenuity to make the journey interesting. It’s still fun to assemble a team of Monsties, master battles, and try out crazy “kinship” moves, and we’re excited to see how the rest of the game develops.
Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a family friendly hunt ahead of us.
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