DEEPER STORY AND A COLORFUL CAST OF CHARACTERS
Monster Hunter has never focused on character development or having tons of dialogue outside of quest descriptions and whatnot. It has always been very formulaic: accept a quest, kill the monster, get reward, upgrade armor and weapons, do another quest, rinse and repeat. You’re closest friends are the shopkeeper and the guy in charge of the armory over by the food stand. Not only does Monster Hunter Stories feature plenty of beautifully animated cutscenes, but the colorful cast of characters provides witty banter yet deep conversations on the idea that they maybe shouldn’t be befriending volatile and dangerous monsters.
It’s all very different for the series but it makes you care about your two best friends and complete the next big quest so you can see the next cutscene. The animations are very anime-like as well, which is probably the reason for this spin-off to get a full-fledged anime of its own. In the 13 or so years that the Monster Hunter franchise has been around, it’s refreshing to see a different take that pushes the story and balances it with the gameplay in a way that feels very different yet familiar.
