Monster Hunter Stories (3DS 2016)

[Glen-i]

So I just found all 100 Poogies, had to look up a guide or the last 10-ish. The game's too big.

Spoiler

                             

Yeah, it's hilarious, and surprisingly strong!

 

[Dcubed]

It's a bit late I admit, but my review of Monster Hunter Stories is now up on the main site!

 

http://www.n-europe.com/reviews/monster-hunter-stories

 

Yeah, it's my favourite RPG on the 3DS now, fight me!  

[Hero-of-Time]

Great review, @Dcubed. It's criminal that many are going to overlook this due to the arrival of the Switch. What's also criminal is the lack of time i've put into the game. I barely scratched the surface of the game before I got dragged away by something else. I really need to get back to it. Too many games, so little time.  

[Dcubed]

10 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Too many games, so little time.  

That's why it took me so long to get it out  

 

But yeah, it's brill!

[Glen-i]

Next batch of DLC is out. A 5 star quest and a Gold level Tournament based around MonHun Generations.

The Gold Tournament says you get an Armour set, but I ended up getting a Glavenus Great Sword instead... Guess not even this game is safe from Capcpom.

[Hero-of-Time]

New DLC out this week.

 

[Dcubed]

Funny.  Me and @Glen-i were literally chatting about the Zelda DLC just the other day.

 

They're still spying on us!

Edited September 25, 2017 by Dcubed

[Glen-i]

Die, Epona, Die!

Had a chance to play around with the new DLC. Here's a little rundown on what I've found.

Spoiler

Obviously the Zelda stuff. Including titles, background, stickers, etc.

There's a 5 star quest for the Majora's Mask outfit for Navirou and a 7 star quest for a Molten Tigrex egg (That's a new Monstie as well).

Two Gold level tournaments which each get you the Hero's Armour and an Epona Egg. (Because horses come from eggs apparently...)

A battle rule set that gets participants the item needed to get the Master Sword. (If anyone here wants it, I'm happy to let people win against me to get that stuff. You need to win 7 matches to get it maxed. So if anyone wants, I'll happily be people's whipping boy.)

 

[Glen-i]

This game has been steadily getting DLC quests since it came out. But the latest added a completely new monster for the MonHun Series!

It's called Kuranei Goukami

You need to beat a pretty difficult Platinum Tournament to get it. But I've already snapped mine up.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

 

Shame that Capcom have shoved this on mobile devices. What's baffling is that the first games was on the 3DS/Nintendo hardware and then they go and make this but don't put it on Switch, which would be more than capable of running the thing. Capcom has been killing it on the other consoles but their Switch support continues to disappoint. 

[Dcubed]

Monster Hunter Stories deserves better than this  

[Hero-of-Time]

Possible remaster on the way?

 

[Julius]

Well there you have it: coming to Switch, PS4 and PC this summer! 

 

[Dcubed]

Well that's unexpected! Nice to see the OG MHS get a new lease of life

TBH though there isn't much that this game does that its sequel doesn't do as well.  The second game was kind of more of the same, so there isn't a massive amount to separate the two games now.

Edit: Ahh.  Just realised that since it's a multiplatform release, it's probably not gonna have the cross-over Zelda DLC that the original game got.  That'd be a real shame...

... also, I wonder if it'll retain the original game's Amiibo functionality? (The original MHS Amiibo were only ever released in Japan)

Edited February 21 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

Another JRPG in the books for this year.

Amazing game. I know Glen-i raved on about it back in 2017 when it was released on the 3DS and now I can see why. I did start playing it back then but I dropped off it due to other games being released. With it now being on a home console, which is how I prefer to game, as well as a platinum trophy to nab, I was always going to get this.

Spoiler

 

Yeah, the game is essentially a version of Pokemon if Game Freak actually cared about what they released. I can't speak for the Switch version but the PS4 version ran flawlessly and looked great as well thanks to the colourful art style used.

Running around the different areas, exploring dens to nab some new eggs to raise for my team, taking on stupidly large bosses, doing side quests, grinding levels....all of this wrapped up in a Monster Hunter skin. It's my perfect game.

My team of Monsties didn't change much as I went through the story. The blue Kut-Ku I nabbed early on pretty much carried me through the entire story, with a little help from one or two of the others. Looking through this thread, it appears its the same Monstie that I caught early on in the 3DS version as well.

The post game stuff is where I needed to change things up a lot and actually start fiddling with the Genes of the Monstie. It's here where you can sacrifice one of the beasts that you have in storage in order for the one you are using to learn a trait or skill from it. My Stygian Zinogre was the one that carried my team throughout the post game stuff. I levelled it and others to 99 thanks to the games equivalent of Metal Slimes...

The little cats in the barrels were a hilarious take on JRPG enemies that dish out stupid amounts of exp. The ones pictured above were ones I found in the wild but the grinding method is one that has you go to a tower that always has one available to fight on the 5th floor. Pop a charm that increases your exp by 200% for 30 mins and you'll be flying up the levels.

Speaking of the tower, there are 50 floors to conquer, with each one getting harder than the last. Thankfully, you get checkpoints at every 10 floors, which is just as well as some of the fights are pretty rough. I hard heard horror stories about the double Kirin fight but I managed to steamroll them, even using my S. Zinogre which has a weakness to lightning. The one that I struggled with was Ivory Lagi and Rajang. This took a couple of attempts due to Rajang getting 2 turns and doing crazy damage when enraged. It was a question of timing my special moves perfectly so that I would wipe it out at just the right time. The final fight after that was surprisingly easy by comparison. There's probably only Glen who knows what I'm talking about here.

One trophy was an absolute pain to get as it was all down to RNG. I had to find a level 8 talisman. This took 5-6 hours of constantly popping a charm that would increase gathering spots and then running around the labyrinth and hoping I would get one from a chest or mining spot. One finally appeared last night/early this morning. What a grind!

I'm amazed at what Capcom pulled off with this. They managed to create a fantastic JRPG in the world of Monster Hunter but giving it a unique twist thanks to the battle system, while also keeping faithful to the source material. Glen mentioned this when he talked about it a few years back. Here's a pic I nabbed about the Jho reference he was talking about back then.

I've have the second game to start but I'll be taking a long break before starting it. Probably save it for the end of the year. Plus, there are other JRPGs that have released this year that I also need to play. The year of the JRPG continues....

[drahkon]

9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yeah, the game is essentially a version of Pokemon if Game Freak actually cared about what they released.

All I needed to know.

Going on my list. Maybe it'll be a nice Christmas present to myself

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Glen mentioned this when he talked about it a few years back. Here's a pic I nabbed about the Jho reference he was talking about back then.

Never did find a Seregios called Steve...

But yeah, Stories is a lovely little RPG, and it's remarkable how natural Monster Hunter translates to it. It doesn't lose that gameplay style. It may be turn-based, but it still revolves around learning the attack patterns of monsters, as well as the grind to improve equipment. It just works. I'm amazed the series is getting more of a second chance now after the 3DS version flopping flat on it's face, but it deserves it.

The sequel's great too, even if it is very much "more of the same" with a few minor new mechanics. Although 2 player co-op quests are a lot of fun!

Anyway, important question, please tell me you used "Brachy Blow", more people need to see that attack. Right up there in my "side-splitting laughter" moments alongside Phantom Uragaan.

Edited Sunday at 01:31 PM by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, drahkon said:

All I needed to know.

Going on my list. Maybe it'll be a nice Christmas present to myself

Capcom games always go on sale on PSN. Just stick it on your wishlist and keep an eye out. I imagine it will be £20 for the bundle by the time Christmas rolls around.

12 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

 

Anyway, important question, please tell me you used "Brachy Blow", more people need to see that attack. Right up there in my "side-splitting laughter" moments alongside Phantom Uragaan.

Sadly, he wasn't part of my team. 

[drahkon]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Capcom games always go on sale on PSN. Just stick it on your wishlist and keep an eye out. I imagine it will be £20 for the bundle by the time Christmas rolls around.

Sweet, will do

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Plus, there are other JRPGs that have released this year that I also need to play.

What's next on your schedule?

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, drahkon said:

What's next on your schedule?

Currently slogging my way through the Ace Attorney Trilogy (on final game). Awful games. Don't see the hype about them at all. 

In terms of JRPGs, I recently picked up Granblue Fantasy Relink and Unicorn Overlord. Probably one of those will be next.

[drahkon]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Currently slogging my way through the Ace Attorney Trilogy (on final game). Awful games. Don't see the hype about them at all. 

Good to know. I'll stay clear of them then

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Oh, keep us updated once you get to that one. Interested to hear your thoughts.

[Glen-i]

20 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Currently slogging my way through the Ace Attorney Trilogy (on final game). Awful games. Don't see the hype about them at all. 

There we go, balance is restored.

Ace Attorney's brilliant! Especially the third game.

[Hero-of-Time]

2 hours ago, Glen-i said:

There we go, balance is restored.

Ace Attorney's brilliant! Especially the third game.

Yeah, agreeing with you about games never sits right with me.