Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 01/Apr 03:13

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection – Review

Even though Monster Hunter fans were able to enjoy Monster Hunter Wilds last year, it has been since 2021 since there was a new entry in the Monster Hunter Stories subseries. The last game was still a Switch title that was very entertaining, but struggled to run properly on Nintendo’s hybrid console. Now, with the release of Monster Hunter Stories 3, we were curious to see how this next-gen version would turn out. Luckily, we were given a review copy to find that out and present you with our opinion. Story The story of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is kind of ‘a lot’ at the beginning. You’ll be playing as the heir to the throne of Azuria. As a child, you are witness to the birth of twin Rathalos, which is a bad omen. Only one is supposed to live, and you will be linked to it. After this, there is a time skip, where you have grown up and are investigating the so-called Crystal Encroachment as a Ranger. Entire habitats, including the monsters that roam them, have been encased in giant crystals, and there is no real cause as to why this is happening. On top of that, your father calls upon you and the rest of the Rangers to investigate troubles at the border of his kingdom, causing tensions with the kingdom of Vermeil. Things slowly start making more and more sense, but it does take a while before the story finds its footing. Even so, we did quite enjoy the narrative, and it was interesting enough to motivate us to keep pressing onwards. Graphics Graphically, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a very pretty game. The character designs look great, and the monsters look gorgeous. This is, of course, not unusual for a Monster Hunter game, as the designs are always spot-on. Even so, Monster Hunter Stories 3 does feel like a huge step up from the previous game, and even the environments feel a bit less empty than they used to. There were quite a few beautiful backdrops to be seen, and we could appreciate the cinematics that trigger when performing special moves in combat. Luckily, we could also skip these, as after a handful of times of seeing them, things do get way less impressive. We barely encountered any frame drops, and everything simply ran smoothly. Our remark from last time still stands: the menus aren’t always that intuitive or logical. We sometimes had to go to different menus to see specific stats, while these could have easily been combined into one menu or overview. While this wasn’t anything huge, it did annoy us a bit when we had to swap back and forth between different menus. Sound All in all, the sound design is quite good. The cinematic soundtrack immediately sets the tone for the grand adventure you’ll embark on, and it manages to remain entertaining from start to finish. The music often fits the mood and changes when the in-game situation changes as well. There is also quite a bit of voice acting present in the game, albeit mainly limited to cutscenes, as smaller dialogues tend to be text only. The SFX are great too, and they complement the onscreen action. Unexpectedly, Monster Hunter Stories 3 also uses a lot of iconic SFX from the mainline series. Gameplay Just like its predecessor, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a JRPG with monster-catching mechanics. You’ll have to manage your team of ‘Monsties’ while venturing out to find new creatures to add to your ever-growing roster. You’ll fight other monsters, gain experience, level up, complete (side-)quests, and progress the story. It’s very standard fare for the genre, but Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a very polished and focused experience. We say more focused, mainly because the side content is a bit less present here, focusing more on the main story and sidequests that don’t stray too far from the beaten path. As a whole, the offset of Twisted Reflection is clear, but it will take you some time to get used to some of the game’s mechanics. The combat in Monster Hunter Stories 3 follows the same format as the previous game. You’ll fight in a turn-based format, much like many other JRPG titles. You’ll have standard attacks, special moves, items to use, and so on. So far, that’s all standard fare, but Monster Hunter Stories 3 also makes use of a Rock-Paper-Scissors-like system (Speed, Power, or Technical) to win head-on battles, giving you the edge. You can also ride your Monstie if you fill up the corresponding meter, allowing for stronger attacks and an ultimate attack. It does take you a while to figure out what works best in battles, as in true Monster Hunter fashion, you can break monster parts. For this, you can swap weapons during combat, as some parts of a monster are more susceptible to breaking when using certain weapon types. Battles do tend to ‘drag on’ a bit at times, but defeating massive monsters is rather rewarding. After each battle, your party members are all healed. We did appreciate this system, as it allowed us to explore a lot longer compared to other similar titles. In true Pokémon-esque fashion, you’ll also be able to use your Monsties to overcome environmental obstacles. Some Monsties can swim while you ride their back, while others can fly or climb walls. It’s always interesting to check these options when thinking of new party compositions, as it will make traversing the overworld a lot easier. Even so, things never get overly complex or stressful, as for the most part, we still found Monster Hunter Stories 3 to be a fairly relaxing experience with the occasional tough battle spicing things up. Conclusion Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a great sequel for a series that was very much ready to be played on significantly better hardware than it used to. This third installment has an interesting story, beautiful visuals, great sound design, and, of course, a very entertaining gameplay loop. Even though this new title in the series may be somewhat shorter than the previous one, we did enjoy the more focused experience, trimming down less important side content in favor of the main quest. If you’re a fan of the series or a fan of the mainline Monster Hunter games who is looking for a more relaxed experience, then we suggest picking this one up.