If you have already played any of the previous games Monster hunter stories titles, you largely already know what to expect from Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. Locate lairs, raid them for monster eggs, hatch those eggs, and tame new monsters for various purposes. Different eggs come with different genetic modifiers that carry both active and passive abilities that a particular monster can have. As in previous games, battles revolve around choosing the right attack style to counter whatever your enemy is doing, and things change every time a monster enters a rage state.
You can read in detail about the battle system and monster taming mechanics. in my preview. In that preview, I briefly mentioned the new Habitat Restoration mechanic and how it affected my time in the first two chapters of the game. After spending a lot more time with the game, this turned out to be one of my favorite aspects. Take down wild monsters in a region and make it safe to release newborn monsters, track and repel invasive species, and then try to bring back endangered species.
Habitat Restoration’s gameplay loop is easily one of the most satisfying gameplay loops I’ve experienced in an RPG in some time, and feels like a perfectly cohesive meeting point for gameplay and story, as well as an effective gamification of the protagonist’s wildlife conservation work.
That protagonist, as mentioned in the trailer, is the Princess or Prince of the kingdom of Azuria, which is currently at war with the neighboring kingdom of Vermeil. While this still isn’t going to compare to some of the best-written RPGs of our time, Capcom has made a special effort to create a story worth following here. On the one hand, the political conflict at the center of all this is surprisingly nuanced. Vermeil isn’t just an evil kingdom full of bad guys that wants to destroy our heroes. Theirs is a land devastated by ‘The Invasion’ (essentially the monster-related catastrophe du jour) and they desperately need new lands to go to.
At the beginning of the story, Vermeil ambassador Princess Eleanor offers herself into Azuria’s custody as a sign of good faith, subsequently becoming your new best friend, but when diplomatic deliberations fail (literally), you and your party embark on an adventure across the world to discover the origins of the Invasion and hopefully find a way to stop it while there is still time.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection It effectively avoids many JRPG pitfalls by placing its central political conflict at the forefront of the story, so you never miss what’s at stake. It also offers more than a good degree of depth and nuance to both sides of this conflict to ensure that it never becomes a simple fight between good and evil.
While the narrative of the main quest is more than excellent, I found the implementation of side stories a little lacking. Throughout Monster hunter stories 3You will find side stories involving your party members. But instead of implementing them over time or in places where it would seem appropriate for them to occur, the game simply shows them all to you at once halfway through each main story chapter. These side stories are great in and of themselves and go a long way toward fleshing out the motivations of each of your party members, but the way they play out can really throw off the pacing of the main quest. However, it’s a small detail in what is an excellent and expansive RPG.
All of this is reinforced by the game’s approach to world design and exploration. As mentioned in the trailers, Capcom has definitely taken some cues from Breath of the wild and yours Dragon Dogmain the way the maps guide the player, always offering visible and recognizable landmarks to orient themselves rather than guiding them by the nose via objective markers (although they are still present for those who want them).
There are no encounters, as you can always see monsters roaming the lands and choose to confront them (or avoid them) as you see fit. Once you get into battle, it’s that familiar rock-paper-scissors system with a few added wrinkles. We already covered monster corruptions in the preview, but the most compelling new addition is the stamina system. Similar to Person In the games, hitting a monster’s weakness lowers its stamina which, when completely depleted, stuns the monster and opens it up to a free, all-out attack that the entire party wails on for a turn. This comes in particularly handy during the game’s many boss fights, which are long, grueling affairs that require near-total mastery of battle mechanics to win, not unlike battles in a normal game. monster hunter game, some would say.
All of this is enhanced by a stunning visual presentation. Capcom’s RE Engine has delivered some stunning photorealistic visuals in games like resident Evil and Dragon Dogma 2but here it’s been used in the service of an enhanced 3D anime style that looks absolutely gorgeous. The characters’ unique personalities shine through in their designs, the environments come to life with small details both near and far, and the monsters are as meticulously animated here as they were last year. Wild monster hunter. As a side note: this bodes well for the current developing situation. Eyes continuation.
When all is said and done, this game goes above and beyond to deliver on its promise of a more character-focused entry. It’s slowed down a bit with some boring side quests and a slow pace in the middle, but once you get past all that, it all culminates in a truly mind-blowing ending that I’ll be thinking about for a long time. All of that, combined with the improved battle system and Habitat Restoration mechanic, finally brings the series’ long-running themes to life. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the first entry in this spin-off series that is a must-watch for everyone monster hunter fans.
