LTTP: Monster Hunter Stories (How to train your Rathalos)

[jdstorm]

After seeing the trailer for monster Hunter stories 2 and being blown away by how good it looked



So with a bit of free time up my sleeve I downloaded the IOS version of the first Monster Hunter stories.

Im only a few hours in but here are my first impressions

1. it's nice having voice acting and the ability to choose the gender of the player character.

2. Not having auto save is incredibly annoying and having to run back to town to save after doing anything is a frustration that probably shouldn't exist in this game since it's not that old

3. the large open environments look good on a phone screen

4. The gameplay feels very similar to the Yakuza bug battle mini game. I wonder if it was inspired by it. Seems fairly simple but there should be a good amount of depth later in the game

5. I'm still stuck in tutorials so hopefully that finishes soon.

I made this a spoiler thread but don't particularly want to be spoiled on plot so I think a good general rule is if people could only post spoilers up to or before what I'm up to.

I will try and regularly update this thread and hopefully make it to the end

 

[Ravelle]

Glad to see people trying the first game!

I have about 200 hours clocked in to that game, it has so much content and post game content. Quest completion, Armor collecting, collecting all the monsters and Elder Dragons, A battle tower and a fun story mode to boot. And it looks phenomal for a 3DS Game.

I hope you stick with it and have fun with it, you're in for a fun ride.

 

[King Dodongo]

An amazing game, bought it last year on 3ds. Incredible from start to finish. colorful, nice artstyle, good battle system, amazing sountrack, etc.
Definitely hyped for what is shown in march for Stories 2! Even the most basic monsters you get at the beginning like velocidrome feel good to ride around with. Will give this thread a watch.

 

[Redcrayon]

I really enjoyed Monster Hunter Stories, it's rare for me to stick with a JRPG for the post game but I did so with this. Flying around on my seregios never got old, and the battle system kept on developing. I feel like it was overlooked at launch for multiple reasons. A late release and a battle system that seems simplistic at the start with its rock-paper-scissors mechanic being two of them. It really does develop into a spin-off with a lot of fresh ideas and a faithful translation of MonHun into a turn-based rpg though. For example, the prediction and spotting patterns that becomes second nature in combat. For a game like this to take a risk on coming up with a whole new turn-based system for what's effectively a party of two that combine into monster cavalry makes it really interesting.

The sequel is one of my most-anticipated games this year because of that, it's a game with real heart.

 

[ArcaneStar_]

Monster Hunter Stories 2 is probably my most anticipated game this year because I loved the first one so much. Played it recently on the 3DS and had a blast, great game that a lot more people should play

 

[Snormy]

The first one was great and a lot of fun. I hope they step away from the RPS style and have something a bit more robust and varied to the turn based combat.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Not playing the game, but have been actually watching Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On with my son. Will probably do a thread about in the future. It's an adorable series.

 

[jdstorm]

Another few hours including some grinding and messing around and I'm finally out of the tutorial area. I've finally been allowed outside of the village, I've seen the aerial view cutscene and I'm ready to go.

Ive tweaked a few things with my setup and now have my phone plugged into my TV via an adapter. This is a much better way to play. The game even with its simple art style looks good on my full size TV. It's a pity about the lack of controller support as this game is definitely deserving of it and at about as close to full price as IOS games get its disappointing that this is lacking. Without controller support it feels like playing a akward low res cabled Wii U.

Then again Monster Hunter Stories is shaping up to be a game that is worth the hassle. Just a really cool adventure so far.

 

[i-Jest]

Solid monster grooming turn-based JRPG. It's a 3DS hidden gem, or rather it's been that way uptill the reveal of Monster Hunter Stories 2, and pandemic raising prices of physical 3DS games.

 

[Mario_Bones]

Enjoy, this game is so good! I feel like people wrote off the combat as simpler than it is, I had a lot of fun with it. It's a shame that the localised release came right at the end of the 3DS' lifespan because it deserved way more attention than it got.

 

[Igor]

The saving system esp on iOS is a little grating but I'm hoping to get through it before Stories 2 comes out.
It look fantastic on my phone however and the system and the gameplay is very charming.

 

[jdstorm]

Played some more over the past few days and just unlocked the power of channeling.

This seems the real core of this game. Essentially each monster has 9 gene slots that represent various attacks/skills. This combined with Armour levelling is a tinkerer and completionists dream and nightmare.

in general I'm loving the world/levels and the asthetic. Time to see what level 2 (of 7) quests look like

 

[leder]

Glad you're enjoying it! The combat does really open up a lot with the armor and monster customization, and the world opens up a lot as well.

 

[TreIII]

Glad you're enjoying it!

If it weren't for Rise in a few weeks, I think I would go back to this game for another go-round. But I think I can save that for closer to Stories 2's release this Summer!

 

[jdstorm]

So I have been plugging away at this game for the past month on and off and I'm about halfway done.

I feel a bit burnt out on it to be honest. I like the combat system and customisation but the overly childish solo adventure so far is just JRPG 101 and I'm finding it hard to connect with the game because of that.

The scope and scale is impressive but I'm unfairly comparing The game to peers it has no hope competing with like DQXI and Xenoblade

That's not to say that Monster Hunter stories isn't a good game it's just meandering

 

[iamsirjoshua]

I was kicking myself for sleeping on this game a year or so ago when 3DS copies were abundant and being clearanced out. Although it looks like a very solid port, I'm always a bit wary of investing a lot in iOS games that may become unplayable with future firmware updates (this has happened to some of my older games and I still feel a bit burned). However, I managed to find a 3DS copy a bit under MSRP so I decided to bite - can't wait to dive in soon!

The trailer for 2 definitely got me excited for the series and hopefully it that will help get it some more exposure. To say it looks like they managed to actually up the quality a few notches feels like an understatement.

 

[King Dodongo]

So I have been plugging away at this game for the past month on and off and I'm about halfway done.

I feel a bit burnt out on it to be honest. I like the combat system and customisation but the overly childish solo adventure so far is just JRPG 101 and I'm finding it hard to connect with the game because of that.

The scope and scale is impressive but I'm unfairly comparing The game to peers it has no hope competing with like DQXI and Xenoblade

That's not to say that Monster Hunter stories isn't a good game it's just meandering

Click to shrink...

Yeah I was wondering if anything was ok with your playthrough. Been a while.
In my case after the first two areas the game improved tenfold. And heard stories 2 is supposedly less childish in tone.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

I thought MH was all about killing the monsters and wearing their skin

 

[Digital Savior]

I just spent the past week playing Stories. I loved it. I played on my 3DS though. Very excited for the next entry.

I have finished the main story. Might do some post game stuff while waiting for Rise.

 

[CaptainK]

I also felt burnt out after getting about 3/4 of the way through. I think the structure of the game, the maps, and the monsties are all great, but the battle system is a bit too shallow to support a 40 hour JRPG. I kind of like that the leveling mechanics push you to continually catch new (stronger) monsties and add them to your party. The downside is it feels like there's no point investing in your monsties until the endgame. I'm still excited for MH Stories 2, I'll just try to plow through the main story and not worry about the egg mechanics until then.

 

[Spine Crawler]

i just hope they port it to switch. no way i am going to go back to my 3ds at this point (i actually own it) but i want to play the prequel.

 

[jdstorm]

Yeah I was wondering if anything was ok with your playthrough. Been a while.
In my case after the first two areas the game improved tenfold. And heard stories 2 is supposedly less childish in tone.

Click to shrink...

It's not the tone that I mind so much as just the characters are really shallow. It feels like BotW in that way where the scope of the world is the draw but on a tiny phone it loses some of the effect. As does games coming after it doing that better.

I'm still ridiculously excited for stories 2 because it seems like more effort has gone into the narative part.

 

[Joltik]

I thought MH was all about killing the monsters and wearing their skin

Click to shrink...

Well yes, but you also befriend their children that will aid you in turn-based battles in this case!

 

[Robin64]

I thought MH was all about killing the monsters and wearing their skin

Click to shrink...

In this part of the world where the game is set, they call themselves Riders and choose to bond with the monsters instead. They do mention the more barbaric Hunters of other lands, too. It's a nice spin.

 

[Deleted member 69942]

I still want to play it. But not sure if I play it on 3DS or on Android.

 

[Robin64]

Reminder: The 3DS version has this:

 

[jdstorm]

So I've been spending some more time with the game and starting to go back to jut mainlining the critical path and it's growing on me again. That moment on the docks for the first time. Very cool.

The story has also picked up some. Even though it's simple it's a huge step up from your typical Pokemon and just a great comfort food JRPG. I wish it had more budget/time with

I still want to play it. But not sure if I play it on 3DS or on Android.

Click to shrink...

the mobile version is higher res but doesn't have controller support. So I'd say the best way to play is probably 3DS.

 

[Deleted member 69942]

Thanks for the tip! I guess I track down a cheap version on 3DS. Though I hope they will say in a few months it comes out on Switch lol

 

[TΛPIVVΛ]

Funny you posted this op was doing some spring cleaning the other week and found my new 3ds inbetween all the Rise and MH Direct hype decided to check Stories out before Rise drops started last week and just passed 30 hours so far just over half way in the campaign, and why didn't people tell me this would be so awesome?

Really enjoying the laidback nature and customization and battle systems and the endearing little story so far. Pretty much day one for Stories 2 its a shame this released so late in the 3ds lifecycle when the switch was all in our eyes I completely disregarded it thinking it was to cutesy and am pleasantly suprised! like the graphics even with the 3D on suprising how above its weight the new 3ds pushes itself.

 

[zim_ek]

Thanks for the tip! I guess I track down a cheap version on 3DS. Though I hope they will say in a few months it comes out on Switch lol

Click to shrink...

They said a while back that Stories 1 won't be coming to Switch, but who knows.

I need to get into this game before Stories 2 comes out...

 

[jdstorm]

So a few more hours into the game, and well. Monster Hunter Stories knows it's a comfort food JRPG. It's your standard best friends trio, it's your standard worlds/levels/zones and cutesy animal companion race. (I like Navirou and co more then Xenoblade's potato people but not quite moogle levels) yet the whole package is just completely charming and endearing that it grows on you.

Out of the volcano Level and the intensity that brings and I somehow wind up in Wind Waker. The open traversal and flight. Trying to predict monster behaviour at x3 speed because You are trying to go fast.

I'm on the home stretch and I'm going to be sad to see it go. I won't be staying for the challenge dungeons/grinding but I'll miss lute and friends when it's all done.

 

[Ravelle]

Yeah it's your standard three best friends on adventure but it's just a cozy game to chill out in, it's just a nice ride.

 

[King Dodongo]

Even just using your monster abilities is tons of fun (flying, swimming, roaring etc).

 

[jdstorm]

So its been a few weeks and i have finally made it to the end of the game. Not fully in the way i planned, but to the end nonetheless. About a week or so ago the charging port on my phone broke and so i have to charge it wireless now. With Monster Hunter Stories being a battery intensive game, i tried to play it a few times but the battery was draining too fast, and i couldn't really get into it.

So i ended up watching the remains of the game on Youtube. Overall I'm really happy with the experience and feeling ready for stories 2.

 

[King Dodongo]

So its been a few weeks and i have finally made it to the end of the game. Not fully in the way i planned, but to the end nonetheless. About a week or so ago the charging port on my phone broke and so i have to charge it wireless now. With Monster Hunter Stories being a battery intensive game, i tried to play it a few times but the battery was draining too fast, and i couldn't really get into it.

So i ended up watching the remains of the game on Youtube. Overall I'm really happy with the experience and feeling ready for stories 2.

Click to shrink...

Not exactly the kind of post I expected but glad to know that you enjoyed the experience regardless. Played that one to completion on my 3ds and some of the postgame, sad i could not get epona or glavenus.