The Monster Hunter franchise has never been great with stories, but it doesn’t have to be. The series focuses on exciting battles against giant beasts, so it doesn’t need to be wrapped around Hamlet or Macbeth. We don’t need a soppy backstory to give us a reason to kill a Rathian.
This is one area where Monster Hunter Wilds failed. There, players had to endure those slow escort ride-a-longs from the Assassin’s Creed series, where NPCs slowly explain the plot to you. Turns out, that’s not what players want, especially Monster Hunter fans.
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We now know that the Monster Hunter games can be enhanced by a great story, or at least they can in the spin-offs. This is the most successful aspect ofMonster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, a turn-based RPG that single-handedly proves the franchise can deliver an engaging narrative that ties in well with the whole monster-hunting thing.
But a video game needs gameplay to work alongside the story for the best possible experience, and while Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a huge step up from its predecessor, it still has a few key issues that keep it from achieving true greatness.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection Has the Best Story in the Series
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is set in a world where humans and the franchise’s iconic monsters can work together. People known as Riders form a bond with monsters, known by the nauseating nickname, Monsties, and can use them as mounts, as well as command them in battle.
The story follows the Prince or Princess (player’s choice) of Azuria, a kingdom that mostly lives in peace with the monsters. All is not well, however, as the neighboring kingdom of Vermeil is gearing up for war. A phenomenon known as crystallization is making the land unsuitable for human life, driving monsters berserk, and bringing Vermeil to the brink of destruction.
A conflict is brewing between the two kingdoms, as Vermeil wishes to take over Azuria in order to flee the coming calamity. One possible solution arises as the protagonist ponders entering the Sacrosanctum, a land humans are forbidden to enter by a pact formed centuries earlier, yet which may hold the key to ending the conflict.
One possible solution arises as the protagonist ponders entering the Sacrosanctum, a land humans are forbidden to enter by a pact formed centuries earlier, yet which may hold the key to ending the conflict.
On top of all this, there are the Skyscale Rathalos, two unique Rathalos with blue horns, whose birth signaled disaster. The protagonist is bonded to one of them, and their power may hold the key to saving the world, or bringing about its destruction.
These are just the broad strokes of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection’s story, as political intrigue and environmental devastation plague the party at every turn. It has the best story in any Monster Hunter game, one that keeps players hooked throughout as they learn the truth behind the brewing conflict and the crimes committed long ago.
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My only major complaint with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is that the story of Azuria and Vermeil takes a back seat for a good chunk of the game. A huge portion of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection involves exploring its wilderness, with the core plot returning with a bang at the end of the game.
It’s fascinating to see a Monster Hunter game that shows humanity weaponizing monsters and how actions from the regular games can have devastating effects on their environments. It’s just a shame that it’s not a bigger part of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, but it’s still great to see it here.
Battles are the Highlight of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
The combat system in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is an evolved version of that in its predecessors. It uses a triangle strength/weakness system, similar to the Fire Emblem franchise, where Technical/Green attacks beat Speed/Blue, which beat Power/Red, which beat Technical.
Moves have their own additional qualities, such as adding debuffs, boosting stats, or restoring Stamina (the MP equivalent). Additionally, there’s a Kinship meter that builds up with each attack. Once Kinship is filled up, you can mount your Monstie in order to perform a super attack. You can switch out Monsties once per turn, but they have separate Kinship meters, meaning it’ll take a long time to use super moves.
The protagonist is also important, as they can equip up to three weapons per battle, each with their own unique selection of moves. Like the mainline games, it’s possible to upgrade weapons and armor, adding slots that can be used to equip gems, granting access to new moves and traits.
Humans can also use items, which are also vitally important, as these are your main way of healing in battle, as well as granting access to damaging bombs and traps. You don’t have access to your entire inventory during a fight, so there are limits to how much healing juice you’ll have on hand, preventing you from slowly grinding down an enemy.
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Team composition is vitally important in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, as you’ll need access to as wide a range of moves as possible. This is mostly needed for the tougher monsters, who will appear on the overworld with a yellow flag (if they’ll be challenging) or red (if they’ll probably kill you). The rest of the monsters can be OTK’d easily, and the game even gives you an insta-win option if the level divide is large enough.
Team composition is vitally important in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, as you’ll need access to as wide a range of moves as possible.
One of the most important mechanics is Hearts, as the player and their Monstie have a supply of three. If one dies, a Heart is depleted, and they’ll get right up. Losing all three causes a game over, though there are items that can restore Hearts mid-battle. The ally party member and their Monstie also have a supply of Hearts, but it’s not a game over if they lose theirs. If they die, they’ll just stay unconscious for a few turns before getting back up.
The combat system is one of the highlights of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, minus one major issue with the AI (discussed further down). The pace of battles is fast, and the tougher ones really force you to think about your moves and how to use your options effectively. The limitations really make the combat exciting, though the harder battles later on can be extremely annoying, especially since they need to be defeated in a very specific way, which might not be apparent on a first run.
Exploration is Mandatory if You Don’t Want to Get Obliterated Later On
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection features gorgeous visuals, blending the colorful world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with the fantasy aesthetic of the Fire Emblem series. The monsters look amazing, and while they’re not as crisp as the ones from Monster Hunter Wilds, they still pop when they’re on the screen.
A big part of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection involves exploring massive multisection maps, filled with side quests, Monster Dens, and resources to collect. Like the HM system in Pokémon, you’ll need to acquire Monsties with certain traversal abilities. These include gliding, fireballs, swimming, climbing, and digging. It’s a shame that these traits can’t all be given to your Rathalos, as the need to cover these movement skills will shape your squad choice.
The world is grand and full of stuff to do. However, it’s not as optional as it seems. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection has a massive difficulty spike towards the end of the story, where the game will literally tell you to go and do side quests if you can’t beat one of the bosses.
Fortunately, the side quests are fun, and crafting new gear for the protagonist has several interlocking systems that make you stronger, such as adding new abilities and traits through equipping gems. Thankfully, transmog is unlocked from the start, allowing you to pick your armor’s appearance, so your character isn’t stuck wearing dopey blocks of metal the entire game.
Thankfully, transmog is unlocked from the start, allowing you to pick your armor’s appearance, so your character isn’t stuck wearing dopey blocks of metal the entire game.
Breeding a Better Monstie is Vital for Saving the World
One of the best upgrades to Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is how it treats Monster Dens. These are little caves that appear on the overworld, and if you enter them, there will be a little nest filled with massive eggs. You’ll have the chance to steal one of the eggs, but if you take too long, a monster could return and kill you.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection uses a skill tree system for its Monsties, with a 3×3 grid containing Genes that have skills and traits. You can move Genes from one Monstie to another, allowing you to freely pass skills around, giving you a reason to seek out new creatures.
The Monster Dens are tied to a brand-new mechanic called Habitat Restoration. Each of the maps has separate biomes, and if you defeat the Feral boss of each area, you’ll have the ability to let creatures loose back into the world. This allows you to shape the kind of creatures that appear on each map, which not only strengthens the Monsties (giving them better Genes) but can cause rare variants to appear.
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Habitat Restoration is a fantastic addition to Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and I spent many hours messing around with the ecology, trying to unlock new creatures. This made me engage with the eggs way more than I have in any other entry in the franchise’s history.
Habitat Restoration is a fantastic addition to Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and I spent many hours messing around with the ecology, trying to unlock new creatures.
Some Issues from Previous Entries are Still Present
By far the biggest issue with the previous Monster Hunter Stories games was the AI-controlled party members. In Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, the player only controls the protagonist, while their Monstie, and a human party member with another Monstie were controlled by the AI. This meant the player controlled only a quarter of the party’s actions per turn.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection improves things somewhat, as you can now control your Monstie. However, the allied party members and their Monstie remain AI-controlled. I completed every party member’s dedicated side story missions, all in the hope that I would eventually unlock full control, but alas, that isn’t on the table.
The AI-controlled party members are usually fine, with the game seemingly knowing how to balance things for the most part. The problems occur near the end of the game, when the difficulty ramps up fast, and enemies can OTK the party in a single attack. This is the point where the AI party members become a burden, as you have to spend turns babysitting them with healing items while they get to do the attacks.
It doesn’t help that the AI sometimes makes stupid choices, especially during the harder fights, such as wasting turns buffing when they can get free attacks, or using a healing item in the same turn that you’re going to be using a group-wide potion.
If we’re going to get more Monster Hunter Stories games, please let players control the entire party. The fact that the player isn’t in full control of their actions during combat, and has to burn actions while the AI makes suboptimal choices, is a huge detriment to the experience.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a huge step in the right direction for the franchise. The story is easily the best in the franchise, and while the gameplay still has problems (like the insistence on using AI-controlled party members), it’s much better than its predecessor, and made me far more engaged with the combat and Monstie growth mechanics. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is way better than Monster Hunter Wilds, and hopefully reflects a brighter future for the series.
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