To Caesar what is Caesar’s: Capcom has a great streak . And although Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, its great summer release, derails from the traditional and successful Monster Hunter formula, the truth is that as an adventure it dazzles, as JRPG works wonderfully and, most importantly, retains all the essence of the original saga.
Because the sequel to Monster Hunter Stories has everything you could ask for from a good JRPG, including protagonists who radiate their own personality, epic turn-based combat, beasts of all shapes and sizes, and exotic landscapes that beg to be discovered and explored in more of an occasion. And, in the process, it gives us a perfect adventure to enjoy in the summer.
At first glance, it might seem that Capcom borrows both aesthetic and playable elements from hit sagas like Dragon Quest, the Mario & Luigi series, Breath of Fire or the most recent Pokémon installments. And it is unquestionable that there is much of the three. But the truth is that Monster Hunter Stories 2 always sweeps home to offer the player an adventure that is 100% Monster Hunter with a great peculiarity: in this story the monsters will fight by our side.
The central theme of Monster Hunter Stories 2 is, in essence, the bond we establish with the wyverns and other creatures closely associated with the saga that, for the occasion, we will refer to as Monsties . Said like that, it might seem that it is a spin-off that seeks to go along the lines of Pokémon, but the reality is that Pikachu and company should take good note of Capcom’s game in many aspects.
First of all because, despite the title of the game, in Monster Hunter Stories 2 we are not hunters, but Riders . And that will not prevent us from facing huge creatures – it would be more – but it will allow us to fight alongside an intimidating Rathian, go out to steal eggs with a Kulu-Ya-Ku or ride on the back of a majestic Anjanath. And in all the previous examples, the show is more than assured.
The legend of Ratha Kalapteron, the monster with the wings of ruin
The island of Hakolo shares many of its creatures with those of the Kamura village or those found in the New World, but its landscapes are very different and its customs quite different: in the village of Mahana there are no hunters, but riders, and their ties with monsters it turns them into a civilization of an open and peaceful nature. At least, until the color of the water changed.
A mysterious event has led to the disappearance of the rathalos from the island. At the same time, the great wyverns and other powerful creatures have begun to manifest an unusually violent nature. In another time, the intervention of the brave Red and his mount would have been enough to contain this threat. Luckily, his grandson, the protagonist of Monster Hunter Stories 2 , has inherited his will.
Together with Ena , a Wyverian who met Red during his glory days, the hero of Mahana will set out on an adventure in which he will further strengthen his ties with the fascinating creatures that populate the world of Monster Hunter World . And, in the process, her fate will intersect with that of Ratha Kalapteron , a creature whose wings will one day be capable of awakening both hope and terror.
Although the setting of the first village in Monster Hunter Stories 2 is very much inspired by the Pacific archipelagos (in the same way that Kamura is in Japan), one of the first advantages of the genre jump from the saga to the JRPG is that Little by little, we will see how the known world of Monster Hunter expands with new and increasingly exotic areas that we can travel on the back of our Monstis.
In fact, and as was the case in the original Monster Hunter Stories , there will be specific areas that we can only access with the appropriate mount. Some have the ability to jump, others to swim, others to climb, and some of them will prevent us from fighting unwanted by shouting deterrents. And that makes obtaining and raising new Monsties an essential part of the adventure.
Of course, we will not depend solely on the claws and fangs of our Monstis when facing the different dangers and events of the plot and the world: as in any JRPG worth its salt, in Monster Hunter Stories 2 we will have to arm, dress and constantly improve our equipment and inventory. The huge weapons of the saga could not be missing from the equation. Only, this time, we will use it in a different way.
A combat system as fun as it is deep
In Monster Hunter Stories 2 the epic and real-time battles of the saga are parked and offer turn-based battles and teams in the purest Dragon Quest style. That said, we will not limit ourselves to slashing and hammering at the monsters that come our way: we will fight together with our Montis, both by distributing turns and through combined techniques.
In this aspect, the combat system is somewhat reminiscent of the Mario and Luigi or Paper Mario series. There are three types of attack technique (powerful, agile and technical) that determine the success of our initiative. And, at the same time, the type of weapon and the place where we hit if it is a large enemy will also influence in our favor or against us.
In other words: as in the other Monster Hunter games, we must know and have a record of the creatures to be really effective in combat. However, the masterful layout of the menus and a very successful use of the direct shortcuts make the combats as simple to carry out as they are interesting.
What’s more, if we want to farm experience or resources we can always speed up the pace of battles. Something directly inherited from the most recent Dragon Quests.
With the above in mind, one of the most interesting aspects of Monster Hunter Stories 2 is its way of approaching multiplayer: we can share games with up to three other riders, both cooperatively when exploring and competitively when facing each other. . Which, by the way, makes Capcom’s game score whole points like JRPG against the benchmarks it draws on.
For its part, the tone and aesthetics of youth anime started in the Monster Hunter Stories of 3DS and mobile devices are present again in this sequel, cementing more and better its JRPG roots. And not only that, this works very in their favor through secondary characters that exude personality, humor and a certain mysterious air in different cases.
Because if Link has his fairy Navi, our hero will be guided and advised by Navirou, a rather cheeky Felyne who serves as humorous relief in every match and fight. A troupe that, by the way, will help us choose which monster eggs to hatch and which ones are better to leave in the nest.
As we mentioned, in Monster Hunter Stories 2 we will share the limelight with the wyverns and monsters of the saga, both when exploring the world and in turn-based combat. Some of them we will know as the story evolves, while others we will obtain based on hatching eggs. And, logically, they all level up as if they were just another character.
Thus, Monster Hunter Stories 2 is strictly neither a Pokémon nor a Dragon Quest Monsters , but it is impossible not to find some initial parallels that gradually become diluted as the essence of the Monster Hunter saga manifests itself more and more. Achieving, in the process, a JRPG with its own personality.
Monster Hunter Stories 2 Capcom’s Next Big Game
Don’t be fooled by the aesthetics or the title: Monster Hunter Stories 2 is not a secondary spin-off of the Capcom saga or a minor release, this is one of the most promising titles of 2021 , and it has everything you need to position yourself Privileged among the best JRPGs in the already generous Switch catalog and Steam’s overwhelming Made in Japan RPG offering.
A new step forward for the definitive settlement of Monster Hunter on a global level, and a key launch so that the weight of the initials of the saga is balanced both in the West and in Japan. But, above all, it has all the ballots to be that JRPG to which to dedicate your free summer hours.
Its laid-back tone, exotic locations, and super addictive turn-based combat and constant crafting formula from the JRPGs and Monster Hunter series make improvising games easy. And the way we design the levels so that we return to them with the right mount means that there is always something interesting to do and a piece of the map to discover.
We will have to wait for our final impressions to see if we are facing one of the essentials of this 2021, but everything it already offers is assembled with love and very well channeled. Because if the epic hunts of Monster Hunter have fascinated us, being able to live adventures with the fiercest and funniest monsters in the saga is not far behind.
Monster Hunter Stories 2 will be available on July 9 on Nintendo Switch and PC and you can now download a trial version from the eShop with the first bars of the adventure. A great way to get ahead of launch, by the way: whatever you advance and win you will keep in the final version of the game.
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch and PC
- Multiplayer: Yes, up to 4 players
- Developer: Capcom
- Company: Capcom
- Released: July 9, 2021
