u/Zalam-Native

Monster Hunter Stories is an extremely underrated, story rich, turn-based, creature collector, JRPG, with extremely unique and enjoyable battle mechanics. It’s a perfect mix of How to Train Your Dragon, Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda; with parts that are unique only to this series. From the very start, the game introduced rich lore, interesting story, loveable characters, very fun and engaging battle mechanics, and a beautiful self-sacrificing loyalty and friendship between the protagonist and their wyvern. Character bonded by soul to a dragon is literally one of the most popular tropes for a reason.

This turn-based, creature collector, game is one of the very few that isn’t just another Pokemon clone. Gene Channeling and Egg hunting is a fresh, unique and fun addition to the Creature Collector Genre. Various aspects of these features make the whole thing feel worthwhile and none of it seem pointless. The features are based more on what makes things actually enjoyable than eye-catching gimmicks or things designed around just creating hype.

The characters are well rounded and easy to love, with detailed character designs and personal goals. They could use a bit of diversity but what JRPG doesn’t? And they try to make characters that are not extremely typical but just a little to the left of what you’d expect. The dude using bro-speak is actually super wholesome and willing to stake his reputation to defend the little guy; but also just… weirdly scared of bugs (which is usually a girl character trait so that’s awesome.) Guy dressed all in black leather who tells you to get lost WILL go on autistic level rants about plants. I could literally go on forever about these characters.

THE STORY OH MY GOODNESS! You know how many Creature Collector fans would KILL for story and lore this good. The cut scenes are interesting and emotional and worth rewatching (I have so many screenshots; you have no idea). There’s tons of subtext and details to go over. Did you know there’s even a repeating prophecy? It’s easy to miss.

You can ride every single monster and every one of them also has their own personal cut scene. Literally no other series has that. And those kinship skill scenes are good in every game, but the new game WOW! And every game has LOTS to choose from.

The battle mechanics are never boring. You can’t just super effective, 1HKO every battle throughout the story. It’s challenging in a way that’s not overly frustrating (except for the challenges that are struggle on purpose but still doable and when you finish them IT FEELS SO GOOD.) There’s so many strategies to choose from and all of them are worth trying.

It’s a series with a lot of heart and soul and you can see it in character design, the story, how the battle mechanics are focused on the fun of it and not just making it strategic. A lot of other creature collector and turn based games are tedious and boring as heck to set everything up.

And all this just for some people bash it over petty as heck, tiny details that don’t take away from the game AT ALL; ARE YOU KIDDING. AND claim that Devs don’t know players. If Devs didn’t know players, it would be just as tedious and soulless as the others. But this is a gem among the genre (in the latest game, literally. That’s a pun.) People need to stop focussing on getting absolutely everything they think they want, and start comparing it to other games in the same genre because MAN, it is SO MUCH BETTER. I used to be a huge Pokemon fan but the newer games were feeling more tedious and soulless and just really boring.

At the heart of the recent over-criticism is the mismatched expectations based on one simple misunderstanding; People see Monster Hunter and expect it to be like the main series. But they’re completely different games. Some people who do like this genre, still avoid this series for the same expectatio.

This misunderstanding is, essentially, no one’s fault. People who like Monster Hunter make the logical leap to this series and are disappointed when the same things that are important to the main series are not important to this Stories. And that makes sense considering not everyone likes the same things and people tend to like different genres.

As someone who likes this game genre, and adores this series, I am literally the target audience. I am “fans.” And I loved the DLC, because it reintroduces a beloved character(I said what I said) to new fans so they can understand Rudy’s context, while making nostalgic references to old games. When I saw references to “Deadeye Ratha,” “Razewing Ratha” etc. I got emotional. This is the expected response and what should be expected. When Navirou started longing for his old buddies, my heart hurt (in a good way.) This is what should be expected because that’s what should have happened. It also was great to see Rudy learn things about himself through the guidance of his ancestor and Navirou telling him to just be Rudy and not try to be like Navirou. Navirou gave him some tips and let him stay in the spotlight.

Devs don’t misunderstand fans. Players misunderstand that they are not fans. And that’s fine. As long as you don’t make it everyone else’s problem

But here is my problem; many HAVE made it everyone else’s problem. And I know how brains work. I know how repetitive negativity can effect people. The best gem in the universe can look awful if you keep saying or hearing bad things about it. And more bad things will turn up because you’re literally changing your brain chemistry to notice what’s bad**.** And not only that, but players with mismatched expectations are affecting the other actual fans into thinking there’s something wrong when it’s literally just the repetition.

This series is beautiful and a gem among soulless, tedious, eye-catching games that are common in other franchises now. If you are disappointed, consider that this game series isn’t for you. And that’s fine; we all like different things. Stop trying to force this series to be something it isn’t.

But let’s make something clear. If you proudly hate on Ratha, who is 95% of this series, and if shamelessly criticize Navirou, who is 70% of this series, (and has nothing actually wrong with him except wildly inferred reasons with literally no real evidence), then you are NOT a fan of this series. If you keep harping on these petty reasons that don’t really take anything from the game, then consider that it’s simply not your preference. This series is already underrated as it is, if you don’t like it, go play something else. The negative criticism is an injustice.

And please have fun somewhere else because you deserve to have fun in the genre you enjoy! But if you don’t like it this game, please stay away lol

(I was going to do the Banish the Blight With Gratitude series to give people some positive repetition but I have to step back because it was literally and actually making me super sick because social anxiety and the suffocating negativity. If someone wants to take the torch, positive repetition really does help and a true fan would want to positively impact the community and their game reputation. I’m going back to writing my fanfiction but I do have lore stuff to post later. And I won’t be reading or replying to any responses because I’m literally sick.)

Banish the Blight with Gratitude; a (near) daily series dedicated to banishing the blighted myth of a content drought and Devs not understanding players by displaying how actually rich the third instalment is with content that is uncharacteristically robust and engaging compared to other series.

Part 03: Secondary Elements and New Monsties

No rider is complete without their Monstie and the third game has plenty to choose from. And not only that but element recolours are back! A feature that fans lamented over losing in the second game. And they brought it back! Hurray!

FUN FACT: In the first game, leader and rider, Dan, claims to have invented the term ‘Monstie’

1. REDESIGNS

Characteristic of Monster Hunter Stories is stylized monsters, unlike the more realistic main series. Even in the first game, many of these stylistic designs were very well rendered. These designs even migrated the second with surprisingly minor adjustments. But some of the designs could use a bit of polishing. And the third game did this.

My personal favourite redesigns are Gypceros and Rathian. Gypceros doesn’t look a turkey that was tousled around in a dryer vat with twigs anymore. Some of the added textures etc are also fantastic. On certain Monsties, Rathalos especially, you can see the glow of the sun and moon through their wings and it looks AMAZING.

My least favourite redesigns are probably [later game Monsties spoiler, as are the rest]Barioth and Nargacugaand I kind of prefer the old Rathalos design but it’s still good. (The first time I saw the Barioth redesign, I said “FroffFahng” to myself.) A reminder that you can express personal disappointments without it being the end of the world. The game is still amazing regardless.

1. NEW MONSTIES

 

There’s a lot of new “best friends” to meet and I had a lot of fun tracking them down and learning more about them. My favourites are probably Malzeno and Ebony Odogaronbut I kinda loved all of them

FUN FACT: Most monsters that are in the 1st game are also in the second, but there is one single Monstie that is shared exclusively by the 1st and 3rd game. I wonder which one that could be? You’ll have to find out for yourself!

Food for thought: While Nergigante was lamented for not being made a Monstie, I need you to consider that Devs probably wanted to. Adding new Monsties to this game is a lot more complex than the others, with every Monstie having unique active skills, more ride action animation, colours and so on. And a lot of other obstacles we might not even know abou.

Based on the second game, they would probably have added them if there weren’t some kind of obstacle. It’s very much a ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too’ situation. You can still enjoy Nergigante if you play the second game.

And we have elemental recolours back which is literally a feature fans asked for.

Speaking of…

3. SECONDARY ELEMENT

We got element colors back! And they are a LOT easier than before. Whether you want to change your element for the aesthetic or to fill a missing element on your team etc. you can do that!

The way element recolors worked in the first game is you had to edit genes in a way that made your desired element their strongest in attack power. Some Monsties had elements that were easier to do this than others but it could still be very difficult to impossible for some of them to change specific elements(at least at higher levels). In some cases, such as with neutral element Monsties, it was even difficult NOT to change their element. But this has it’s own merits that makes the game worth playing in itself.

In the third, you get a second element instead of changing it and you get it via Habitat Restoration (another GREAT feature) which far less painless. The one thing is that secondary elements do not effect kinship skills which adds a bit more strategizing. To kinship skill or not to kinship skill, that is the answer.

FUN FACT: 1st game alternative elements would also change the COLOR of the kinship skill, along with the element

Gratitude:

Entering each new section to find new and old monsties had me searching for hours, a lot of it trying to see which new genes they had. It was also lots of fun planning which recolors I wanted on each Monstie, for either color or strategy. I enjoyed it all. Often searching for colors on other games can get a bit tedious, and while eventually this one might, it has a perfect balance of features to make it seem like not a waste if time. Thanks Devs!

Which colors, redesigns or new Monsties are your favourite?

(Probably won’t reply because social anxiety.
So why am I doing this? Repetitive negativity is really bad for you and infects people’s perception much more easily than you think. The opposite is also true. I care a lot about this series and don’t want either the community nor the series that’s most important to me to be “blighted” into despair.)

Banish the Blight with Gratitude; a daily series dedicated to banishing the blighted myth of a content drought and Devs not understanding players by displaying how actually rich the third instalment is with content that you won’t find in any other series. And my way of showing gratitude for every enjoyable detail of every feature, while potentially introducing new players to the joy of these features, too.

There’s too much negativity here, let’s start trying to be more positive and less shortsighted.

Channeling has always been one of MHS most iconic features and extremely unique only to this series (as far as I know). Instead of the tedium of locked four move slots that you can only improve with compatible TMs or levelling, MHS fans are rich with an extremely customizable bingo grid that can literally be improved with absolutely every egg you find. This encourages the searching for Monstie eggs, a task that you can either invest little time, or more time invested depending on your play style. This is very inclusive to many different players who either want to move on quick or spend more time customizing, and strategizing. Or even both for to change up playstyles.

Personally I can spend countless ages searching for dens and better quality eggs, each with a wide variety of stat boosters. Each and every new monster discovered unlocks more variety in moves and stat boosts. But egg hunting is probably it’s own topic.

Let’s break down this grid.

1. BINGO

Bingos can be made in two different ways. By either arranging three in a row of an element or type. Arranging three in a row of blank tiles, does not make a bingo.

This gives players several methods of strategizing. Do I sacrifice the move I want to get a bingo boost? Or not? There are countless combinations to be made. In-gene-ious!

2. BINGO AMOUNT BOOST

New to the third game, is the Bingo Amount Bonus. If you reach five, you can unlock all three. This adds another element to consider. These can be different between each monstie so be sure to check them out when deciding who to add to your team!

FUN FACT: In the first game, genes could only be transferred to the exact same slot in the grid to another Monstie. While this made bingo matching more challenging, the game compensated by giving each gene a stat boost and making it so just getting three genes in a row also could give you a bingo boost. Both games are worth checking out for these different challenges.

3. RITE OF CHANNELING

Rite of channeling transfers or exchanges genes from the two chosen gene slots. In this game, the second Monstie is not released like previous instalments. While this added it’s own challenge in the other two games, being able to keep your Monstie means more versatility. Genes can also be changed between slots without channeling, also unique to Third.

FUN FACT:

As expressed by the Riddle Master aka Channeller in the first game, Monsties were simply released after taking a gene from them, likely out of respect. Would the Riddle Master be offended by this new generation of Riders? Proooobably. I wonder if that guy is still around.

Additionally, only trusted riders can be taught the Rite of Channeling because it could potentially be misused in the wrong hands. Battle Bound and Mecha monsters bypass channeling to augment their powers unnaturally.

Gratitude:

After being bored by creature collector movesets, this was a gamechanger to me personally. I’ve definitely enjoyed the time I’ve spent poring over what should go where and have even drawn out plans in my notebooks. Thanks Devs!

About this author: Monster Hunter Stories lore and mechanics historian, fanfiction author, fanartist, and proud owner of season 1 part 1 and 3 of the Monster Hunter Stories; Ride On anime. As for the missing ones… we’re working on it. This is my autistic hyper-fixation and that IS a threat. Top graphic is made and hand drawn by me.

In this series, I get to share my knowledge, and you can improve your mental health via positivity and gratitude. Sounds like a win/win to me!