Having lived in Japan for a couple of decades now, I’ve had a somewhat different experience with Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise than I might have had I continued to live back home in the Canadian wilderness. The series hit the level of a genuine cultural phenomenon here during the days of the PSP, with McDonald’s restaurants filled with little groups of players hunting together while they scarfed down increasingly limp French fries. At the school sports festivals, the seemingly obligatory band performances of the Dragon Quest theme were joined by a hot new number: the theme from Monster Hunter. Merch started popping up, and even food tie-ups like Monster Hunter instant curry could be found in shops.
All of this was pretty good news for Capcom, of course. Looking at how well the company has been doing in recent times, it’s sometimes hard to remember that it went through a pretty rough stretch during the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era. Wins were not easy to come by for a while there, so Monster Hunter’s breakthrough success was very welcome indeed. It wasn’t a perfect situation, though. For as much as it was a hit within a certain demographic, there were tons of potential customers who paid Monster Hunter little mind. Thus, Capcom started trying to expand the brand with spin-offs aimed at those outside of the usual hardcore hunting crowd.
One particularly lucrative audience that Capcom wanted to woo was elementary school kids. You know, the Pokémon prize. Following the smash cross-media success of Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch franchise a few years prior, Capcom decided to make its own bid at a cross-media endeavor aimed at a similar crowd. When Monster Hunter Stories released on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in 2016, there was certainly an air of cynicism around it. With a kid-friendly art style, easy-to-understand RPG gameplay, amiibo toys, and toyetic animated series tie-in, it was pretty clear what Monster Hunter Stories was trying to do. While it avoided being a disaster like Level-5’s Snack World, none of it really seemed to catch on the way Capcom may have hoped.
At that point, I assumed that was the end of it. But Capcom wasn’t finished with Monster Hunter Stories, even if it had given up on its cross-media ambitions for it. In 2021, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin debuted on the Nintendo Switch before making its way to other platforms in subsequent years. While it used much of the framework of the original game, it featured a new art style and tone, feeling far less interested in selling toys and toons.
Another five years has passed, and now it’s time for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. At this point, it feels like we’ve almost completely gotten away from those original aspirations. There are some elements shared with its predecessors, but Monster Hunter Stories 3 feels like a fully earnest attempt at making a high-quality RPG in the world of Monster Hunter. Indeed, it’s a game that could easily stand on its own merits if it had to. Yet as a means of fleshing out the world of Monster Hunter even more, it’s extremely welcome. It also benefits greatly from being able to live in a setting that is already well-established. I’d handily recommend it to any fan of RPGs or Monster Hunter, with extra bonus points if you happen to be both.
In contrast to the mainline series, where you’re hunting down monsters to make cool hats from their hides, Monster Hunter Stories 3 is more about conservation. You play as a child of the royal family who also doubles as captain of a group called the Rangers. The Rangers are more or less a group that researches a mysterious phenomenon called egg quartz while doing their best to maintain and cultivate ecosystems for Monsties. Our main character has a Rathalos by their side, a species believed to be extinct until the protagonist’s mother finds an egg that hatched two of them. Double the fun? Well, no. It turns out that twin Monsties are a bad omen, so mom runs off with one of the pair before it gets killed. Well, I’m sure that plot point won’t be important later.
It’s all well and good until one day, some news comes from the neighboring nation. Something called Crystal Encroachment is happening, and it’s a threat to both nations and all of those who live within them. It’s up to the main character and their companions to investigate this situation and try to put a stop to it before it’s too late for everyone. The story and characters are a big step up in this one from previous entries, with a likable cast and plenty of engaging twists and turns. The world itself feels more cohesive and alive, and you’ll certainly see the sights as you make your way through the story. There are tons of different ecosystems to visit, and they don’t feel as disjointed as they sometimes did in the first two games.
You’ve got work to do in each of those places, should you choose to. Namely, restoring those ecosystems by bringing back Monsties on the verge of extinction. To do that, you’ll have to take care of hostile species, then hunt down invasive species, retrieve eggs, and release monsters into the ecosystem, all of which will eventually lead to the proliferation of more monsters, including some special ones. That not only helps fill out your party of Monsties, but also means you can hunt even more monsters to get materials for better equipment. Hey, it’s the circle of life. Save them and then make hats out of them. Anyway, this new system is the most satisfying means of Monstie acquisition the series has had yet. You don’t have to restore every location you find, but you might be surprised at how compelled you find yourself to do it.
The battle system has seen a few tweaks, but by and large it follows the pattern of previous games. It more or less boils down to playing rock-paper-scissors, trying to guess what kind of attack the opposing monster is going to use, and then countering appropriately. You now have to juggle stamina for your party members, which adds an extra layer of strategy that I’m not displeased to see. But it’s still a very simple system that at least initially involves a fair bit of guesswork, but rewards you for getting to know all the different monsters you’re going to face. It’s generally smooth sailing, though if you aren’t paying some degree of attention to your party build and taking on the side missions, you might find yourself hitting a few speed bumps here and there.
Exploring the world of the game is a lot of fun, especially since you get to make use of the various abilities of your Monstie buddies. It’s in that exploration, however, that you’ll likely start noticing some of the shortcomings of this Switch 2 version of Monster Hunter Stories 3. The framerate is uncapped, and it wanders all over the place depending on the complexity of the scene. Generally speaking, it hovers at or slightly above the 30 frames per second mark, but very inconsistently so. If you’re uncomfortable with variable framerates, you’re going to have a bit of a rough time here. The visuals really run the gamut, sometimes looking very beautiful and at other times looking kind of soft and muddy. None of this is game-breaking unless you have a strong sensitivity to framerate shenanigans, but I’m really hoping Capcom can patch in an option to lock the framerate at 30 frames per second.
Aside from the minor technical issues, I don’t have many complaints with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. It’s a big improvement over the already-enjoyable previous games, and while I can still see some room to grow, I think it’s worth appreciating the quality on display here. Capcom, as it turns out, hasn’t lost its knack for making great RPGs featuring dragons and/or dragon-like creatures. If you liked the previous games in the series, this is an easy recommendation. Those new to the franchise just looking for their next RPG fix might as well jump in here, as you don’t really need any prior experience to have a good time with this.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by Capcom
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