“Demo Disk” – Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin – Trial Version (2021) [Switch]

Demo Disk is a series of first impressions posts for new releases and quick opinions.

Stories is the name of the turn-based RPG spin-off of the action-oriented Monster Hunter games—but calling it that does an injustice to how fun Monster Hunter Stories 2 and 1 are, and how much they veer away from their mother titles into something incredibly unique and more than good enough to be their own standalone series.

And thankfully, that’s now what it has become! The announcement of Monster Hunter Stories 2 came as a surprise to many fans of the first game, as that was a rather niche title that didn’t sell very well and very few people talked about it. It came during a pocket of time when the 3DS was a veritable factory for Pokémon-likes (which is what this is, by the way—well, it’s more like Dragon Quest Monsters, but nobody knows what that is).

Stories was great fun, but in my eyes, it was one of the weaker examples of the genre. It was the most rewarding to prior fans of Monster Hunter, but in comparison to Pokémon, which had decades to build its roster and deepen its mechanics and world, Stories felt elementary. An extremely promising foundation was laid—to those who persisted beyond its horribly slow start, players unearthed a rewarding JRPG with more than enough content to satisfy—but its execution left something to be desired.

But, this isn’t a Demo Disk of Stories, this is about Monster Hunter Stories 2! The game is out for both Switch and PC—and while I am playing the Switch version for this piece, I’ll be getting the PC version. Getting a PC port of a Monster Hunter game alongside the console release is a rarity, but I’m relishing in it and have my hopes up that it will be moddable… I can imagine fans adding in monsters not in the official game.

To start, this game looks gorgeous, eschewing the more realistic visual style of the mainline Monster Hunter games, and opting for a stylized painterly aesthetic, not unlike Breath of the Wild or Studio Ghibli films. My main complaints of the original Stories were its jagged, frankly ugly environments (thanks, 3DS), and its “monsties” (monster + bestie… ugh) being pint-sized and feeble in appearance compared to their fully-matured counterparts. Both of those matters have been rectified with aplomb. In fact, I may enjoy the visuals here more than the more grounded look of the mainline games—it just looks so good! Battles also look and sound spectacular.

The battle system and monstie progression is the selling point here, and it’s really great. Capcom truly crafted an RPG system that is deep and satisfying, yet accessible enough. Every battle has both you (the Rider) and your monstie on the field. The Rider has access to a few weapon types, each with varying functions, such as the hammer for breaking an enemy’s body parts, or a hunting horn to buff your party. However, the Rider’s main use is as a support, as your weapon won’t be dealing very significant damage. Your monstie, on the other hand, is the focal point of battles, and mostly operates on its own without instruction, unless you want it to use a specific skill, or if you choose to ride it upon your Kinship gauge maxing out (which raises naturally as you battle). Riding your monstie will heal the Rider and allow you to perform a powerful special attack.

There’s a flow to every battle that is engaging and intuitive, something a lot of turn-based RPGs don’t often nail. On the surface level, they’re visual and auditory treats, chock full of over-the-top explosions and crazy moves. Slaying even the weakest herbivores is not a dull endeavour.

Mechanically, every turn, you select between three rock-paper-scissors-esque attacks, and if your pick succeeds, you’re rewarded with additional damage and Kinship points. Every monster is prone to using certain moves, which may also change as they enter into different phases, so it’s satisfying to develop a bit of knowledge on how monsters behave. On top of that, there are the usual elemental advantages and disadvantages to take into account.

Taming monsties is the other half of the fun. Rather than “catching” them like you would in Pokémon, you find a nest (or follow a monster back to its nest after defeating it) and raid it for eggs. The potential of getting a rare monstie is enticing. I spent an ungodly amount of time in the original game entering in this monster lottery, and it never got old.

Training your monstie is a vastly rewarding experience, as there is a skill tree system in place that lets your monstie learn practically any attack, even of an element it isn’t prone to. If you teach it enough skills of a different element, it will even change the monstie’s coloration and its natural element. I loved customizing my guys to be unique—for example, having an Ice-type Rathalos, or a Fire-type Khezu.

The music in the demo is better than I could have hoped. The Monster Hunter games have always had spectacular music, full of rich orchestration, lush melodies, and driving percussion perfect for a game of this breed. Stories was no exception, and in fact, due to its newfound turn-based-ness, the composers injected a good amount of JRPG DNA into its soundtrack to great effect. Hearing the original Stories‘ melodic motif in the main theme of this game brought a tear to my eye. But the battle theme? Wow. It’s beautiful.

Ironically, there isn’t much to say of the actual story, as there isn’t enough time in the demo for it to properly unfold, but it does leave a bit of intrigue for the full tale. I predict that the narrative here will be much like in the first Stories, which is to say that it won’t be anything magnificent, but it will be good enough to give players an excuse to train up their monsties and fight harder and harder battles. I’m hoping for something more from this sequel’s narrative, but I’m not setting my expectations too high.

All in all, this was a great impression. Capcom has even laid out a roadmap of updates, and the future looks very promising for Monster Hunter Stories 2.

shhwonk, in his natural habitat, is commonly found brandishing his weapon of choice: his 8-string guitar. He is fascinated with studying video games through a critical and artistic lens, and aims to find the joy and positivity in everything he writes about. He is a video game music composer and producer with a love for progressive rock, metal, and chiptune.