Monster Hunter Stories 2 Review

Monster Hunter is one of Capcom's most popular series. The series began on the PlayStation 2 in September 2004. It has since evolved to include new mechanics, weapons, and new ways to play. The series eventually became a rival console, with the Wii U, Xbox One, and Xbox One.

Monster Hunter has had many spin-offs, as well as other titles. One of these was Monster Hunter Stories, an RPG series. Today we will be reviewing Wings of Ruin 2, the sequel to Monster Hunter. We'll also examine how it functions and whether it is a worthwhile spin-off title. We are BagoGames and we have a review of Monster Hunter Stories 2 - Wings of Ruin.

Enter Hakolo Island

Similar to other games, the game begins in Mahana Village (shown below). It serves as the player’s hometown. Rathalos have been disappearing off the island all through the game. You and your Monsties Monster companions will need to discover why.

The game follows the same pattern throughout. The story mode's main quests involve you taking your Monsties on explorations of various areas of the island. Some quests require you to hunt specific monsters in order to obtain materials that will improve your armor and weapons. You can also retrieve items from NPCs. These sidequests can be combined with other tasks in a traditional RPG manner.

Another important part of the game's exploration is exploring dungeons. This is your main source for unlocking new Monsties. Monster Dens are a collection of eggs that can be found in certain areas of dungeons. Pick any egg you like and the egg will be sent home with you. Then you can return to your dungeon.

Other, dungeons operate in the same way as any other RPG: you enter, fight roaming enemies, gain EXP, and level up at the normal paces. Let's now talk more about combat.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Combat

Stories 2's combat is a turn-based interactive adventure, similar to classic games such as Final Fantasy I and II. The Kinship system is the game's most unique combat mechanic. Kinship functions in a similar way to Personas. Every Monstie is unique and can be swapped out in battle or at home.

Monster Hunter Stories 2's single attack has an attribute. It behaves as a weapon "triangle". There are three types of power: Speed, Technical, and Power. Technical beats Power, Speed beats Speed, Speed beats Power, Speed beats Power. Bonus damage is dealt to those who connect with attacks that are more powerful than the defender's.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 Review

These Mechanics Work Together

These traits are essential to completing battles without too much trouble. Double Attacks are another piece to the puzzle. They trigger when your Monstie and you pick the same attack type , and it wins the Weapon Triangle. If you use the above method successfully, you can deal more damage to the Monster and possibly knock it over. This will allow you to score crucial hits and make it easier for you break Monster Parts.

You can also use Kinship to ride your Monstie and perform additional attacks. You can attack while riding your Monstie to learn new skills. When your Kinship Gauge (to the right of your health) is fully charged, you can unleash a super-attack that causes massive damage.

Combat is also more merciful than other RPGs, since every unit has three hearts beneath their health bar. There are many healing items available here. If your health bar drops to zero, it will consume a heart and give you back your health. It can even increase the charge rate of the Kinship Gauge. After all three hearts have been exhausted and you are K.O.'ed, is when battle is considered lost. It's only happened once during our Monster Hunter Stories 2 review.

The Monsties and Their Abilities

Apart from the common tools Monsties have, such as attacking and access to the weapon Triangle, many of them are very unique. After hatching a Monstie you'll be given random Genes to enhance their abilities and then you can take them along on your adventures.

Genes come in many categories. They can boost attack, give new skills, or raise stats. Rainbow Genes grant hidden effects but are much rarer than other Genes. You can unlock the Rite of Channeling halfway through the game. This allows you to transfer Genes or skills from one Monstie.

It basically means that if you have a fire-based Monstie such as Glavenus, you can use Rite of Channeling for it to gain elements it otherwise wouldn't be able to access, such as Thunder element. This allows for a lot of creativity and set-building with your companions.

You can travel alone or with your partner.

Midway through the game you are granted access to multiplayer. You may be wondering how Multiplayer works in this game. After reaching the second village, completing some story missions, you will be able to go on Expeditions together with other online players.

There are also ways to battle other players. In this case, you and three Monsties will go up against another player under similar circumstances. You can also use level balancing, which means you won't be restricted unless you're not training your Monsties. To be honest, the multiplayer feels exactly like Pokemon Sword and Shield's multiplayer.

It's possible for Co-op Expeditions to be broken. But it's not like "the game stops working". It's not so simple as farming can be incredibly easy and borderline effortless when you and another player hunt a monster with a type advantage relative to your party for material grinding and XP.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 Review

Verdict

What can we call Monster Hunter Stories 2? It's my opinion that it's everything Pokemon Sword should be, and I can say this despite having spent countless hours on Sword. But I don't mean to insult Sword. It's more a reflection on what the game could have been if it had more time.

It's very well-integrated and solid. It can be a bit slow when level grinding is involved, but that's only a matter of how many JRPGs you have to grind. This aside, is this a good game to buy? It's an enjoyable way to kill some time.

Capcom or a Capcom team is constantly updating the game, which shows that they care about it. This is a great thing in the industry.