Monster Hunter Stories 2 is a Shining Gem in the Monster-Collecting Genre
In a genre dominated by Pokémon and mobile gacha games, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a bit of a miracle in more ways than one. Being a monster-collecting spin-off in what was once a rather underground franchise (internationally. In Japan it’s an absolute juggernaut), the original Monster Hunter Stories for 3DS undersold significantly at around 300,000 copies by the end of its lifespan.
With all of Capcom’s marketing going towards their major gamble Monster Hunter World, it’s no surprise that the game was drastically overshadowed. However, with said bet significantly paying off and making the series tower over Capcom’s other biggest franchises such as Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Mega Man, and Street Fighter, mainstream attention and insane financial gains helped push the brand to new heights. Thus, the Stories sub-franchise had another chance at life.
…in the form of a Japanese-exclusive mobile gacha title that came across as being overwhelmingly pay-to-win. Oops.
I’m being a bit mean, but the fan outcry was far less than positive upon release. The game has improved over the past 1.5 years (and is actually still being supported!) with the same heart of the original, but people wanted a true successor to satiate their famine.
Out of nowhere in an innocuous Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, came two heavenly announcements. The first was the next mainline game in the form of Monster Hunter Rise. Definitely a wild card given that previous Partner Showcases were usually low-key, though it made sense that a new entry would be coming out soon. But then: it happened.
Boasting the same gorgeous cell-shaded art style as the original, great compositions that complemented the trailer, and of course teasing monsters from World, it looked like Stories 2 would be stellar.
And. IT. WAS.
While not without its flaws, the development team made several leaps forward that improved from the original in nearly every aspect. An expanded monsters list, more things to do in the world, and most importantly, a larger fan base paired with constant updates to help keep the game alive.
Stories has you play as a Rider in an alternate universe of Monster Hunter where people have the power to form bonds with monsters instead of just fighting them, dubbed monsties (monster+bestie). You get them by raiding monster nests and stealing eggs from their mama, which has questionable implications but let’s just ignore those.
Every monster in the game has three attacks by default — Power, Technical, and Speed — with a preference to one of them. Power beats Technical, Technical triumphs over Speed, and Speed trumps Power. In addition, each monster has their own custom attacks based on genetics that fall into one of three categories (or neutral). It’s a very simple rock-paper-scissors format that’s deceptively easy at first, but grows in complexity as you play through the game.
On top of this, monsters in the game have a built-in element and elemental weakness to expand the player’s options. There are only five in the game + elementalless, so it’s very easy to deduce what will and won’t work from a glance. Unlike Pokémon, weaknesses aren’t based on their built-in element and instead vary from creature to creature. Knowing a monster’s ailment isn’t essential, but it does help do a bit of extra damage to turn the tide.
Genes have come up twice now, so what the heck even are they? Every monstie you get comes with a 3x3 grid of slots, with some locked by a level/item requirement and others available by default.
As your companion Navirou tells you, each egg has its own weight and smell that determines how good the monster’s gene pool will be, with heavier eggs having more open slots and stinkier ones possessing rarer genes. These genes can range from minor attack boosts to new moves, hidden abilities, elemental resistances to cover weaknesses, etc. to form your ultimate one-of-a-kind monstie. And it’s this system that helped create the cult following begging for a sequel back in 2016.
And what solidifies the system is the Rite of Channeling, which allows you to transfer genes from one monstie to another (though at the cost of also losing the monstie). Most importantly, unlike Stories 1, you can place the gene anywhere you want on the whole grid instead of a 1:1 placement! To a newcomer this may sound minor, but as someone who loved the original game, this is quite possibly the biggest improvement made. You used to have to farm the same gene over and over again until it’s in the exact slot you want. Now? All you need is the gene and you’re ready to go. It’s less tedious, and allows for greater experimentation without frustration.
That said, while the core gameplay loop is solid, there are a few quirks with the game that are worth addressing. While the roster has expanded since Stories 1, it unfortunately isn’t by much. The first game had a base of 112 monsties, with six more being added via free updates (and three of which are Japan-exclusive). Wings of Ruin has a base roster of 125, which…yeah that’s not a great jump. Especially considering that before Iceborne was released there were over 150 large monsters from the mainline games that could have worked as monsties. Not even counting spin-offs such as the Frontier series, Explore, Online, etc.
This stings even more when large monsters that could have been rideable make an appearance, but exclusively as an enemy. Especially since the game is already lacking in water-element monsties while four of them aren’t obtainable. Nothing’s stopping you from making your own, but it is a glaring flaw due to the overabundance of fire.
Thankfully the development team seems determined to turn what was once a one-off title into its own dedicated subseries if the free DLC is anything to go off of, so hopefully a sequel can rectify this problem. And even still, there are a plethora of genes to collect as-is, so it’s likely that the lackluster increase in monsties stems from balancing rather than cutting corners. As of now there are ~15 extra monsties planned total, so there’ll be plenty of stuff for returning players to sink their teeth into.
Another light gripe is that the story in Wings of Ruin is almost an exact copy from Stories 1 with minimal deviation and arguably less memorable characters. This isn’t the end of the world since the main draw is its gameplay, but given that there were an abundance of advertisements specifically showing off the plot to fans, it felt a bit strange. At its worst, the story shows off characters from the last game with minimal context. But, when the writers are given leg room to work with, the mystery of the pits and its conclusion are shockingly satisfying to see through.
Is it Worth it?
Absolutely.
The game has flaws, but they’re relatively minor thanks to how engaging the gene system and combat are. There’s no shortage of things to do, and the free DLC updates adding in even more post-game content will hopefully help in keeping the playerbase alive (and with over 1 million sales in less than two weeks, things are looking bright!). If you’re a fan of the monster-collecting genre, Pokémon, or even mildly strategic games, then I highly recommend trying out Wings of Ruin for yourself.