I’ve journeyed through the vibrant world of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection and embraced my role as mother of dragons.

Aside from heroic quests and tear-jerking character arcs, grinding is an integral part of any RPG experience. Whether it’s prancing around fields in search of herbs or scouring caves for high-level beasts, this inevitable practice is an important part of any save file.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflectionthe latest addition to Capcom’s beloved creature-catching dynasty, doesn’t shy away from this reality, offering more demanding mechanical loops and plenty of side stories as you explore its glorious fantasy adventure.

Set in the pastoral kingdom of Azuria, you play as the prince or, in my case, princess of the land, who, in addition to his royal duties, acts as leader of the Rangers, a group of environmentally conscious warriors who maintain the land.

One day, during a routine operation to protect the kingdom, a group of troops from the unsuccessful neighboring kingdom of Vermeil are spotted, leading to a tense standoff between the two nations. What follows is a complex, action-packed role-playing game (RPG) that leads the royal heir to the throne down a concise rabbit hole, opening up questions about his past as he ventures beyond the confines of his home in search of answers.

Another troubling issue here is that in addition to the bureaucratic chaos, rogue monsters are becoming infected with a strange crystal disease that turns them into rabid psychopathic beasts – very unfortunate timing. Over time, these dual investigations begin to intertwine, with Twisted thinking culminating in a moving finale that I really enjoyed working on.

A large amount of exposition and a multitude of time-consuming tutorials mean that this expedition starts out slow and seasoned. Monster Hunter Stories players will likely have to crush a lot of this to get to the juicy meat in a turn-based manner. Still, if you’re new to the IP or this turn-based iteration, you’ll be well taken care of here.

The Wild Hunt

Unlike the main line Monster Hunter series, Stories changes combat, cleverly adapting the high-octane experience into a much friendlier turn-based experience.

You’ll still need to target specific parts of the monsters’ bodies and use the right weapon to shatter foot bones, pierce bouncy necks, and smash health bars until the monster stops moving. Notably, you’ll have plenty of time to decide how to deconstruct your prey without worrying that they’ll run away or slaughter you mercilessly. Important caveat, though: even with the extra time on your side, they still can.

In combat, you control yourself and your monster, sharing your heart, although you will often also fight with compatriots from the Ranger team. Each member specializes in a support type, with the adorable pink-haired Thea offering a higher critical hit rate with the caveat of lower defense, while the Chiseled Gaul tends to heal your party with his utility item belt.

Choosing a strong ally is extremely important to success, especially as you face wilder opponents down the line. Although you’ll inevitably stumble along the way to finding your perfect match, the process is nonetheless rewarding, with failure never feeling too punishing.

As you can see, I really enjoyed it Twisted thoughts combat and, beyond the expected elemental attacks, buffs, debuffs, and stamina bar, there’s a standout feature here: the attack type system.

A carryover from the previous one Monster Hunter Story games, this system is a lot like rock, paper, scissors, but instead of losing to a friend, your life is on the line. During a battle, you and your prey have the opportunity to target each other, leading to a nerve-wracking face-off.

If you correctly guess the type of the beast – between Power, Technique and Speed ​​– and inflict the opponent’s damage type, you have a chance to increase your destructive power. However, if you lose, you will take more damage. The more you fend off enemies, the more you’ll know how to counter attacks, leading to a satisfying cycle that encourages you to take risks and bet on yourself.

However, combat is more than just a way to get XP, and you’ll also earn handy monster parts that can be turned into gear to boost your stats. From a technical perspective, I found great joy in recycling guts and scales into bows and armor, with beloved monsters like the Chatacabra and Nerscylla reimagined into stylish defensive outfits and weapons.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this process is that what you craft also carries the visual markers of the monster’s parts. Ergo, if you prepare the remains of a fight with a running Kut Kut, your adjustment will have a distinctive orange scale appearance. There’s a lot to love about these fast-paced designs, especially since the outfit you choose will appear in cutscenes, leading to some unintentionally hilarious interactions.

What’s more important, though, is that it gives you a reason to go out and hunt specific creatures beyond story progression and XP, which is important as you head into a difficult endgame.

Dragon Quest

During this expansive journey, you’ll venture into new biomes like jungles and deserts, peeking around and battling a wider variety of creatures. If you are not familiar with Monster Hunterthe series has always made an effort to make the eponymous monsters feel at home wherever you find them, and I’m happy to see that Twisted thinking is no different.

Where the lakes and rivers of each biome are home to aquatic creatures like the salamander-like Ludthroth or the bulldog-faced Somnacanth, the plains are home to packs of scrappy scavengers like the Velocidrome. These touches ensure that the world has a living feel, as if it existed long before you decided to come there and start swinging your sword.

It’s clever that the creatures in your party are held to the same standard, and to reach the peaks and valleys of each area you’ll need to alternate between rides – your winged steed isn’t going to take a dip just because you want to harvest herbs. So it’s a shame that the platform can be extremely random.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve fallen off a solid edge, falling off a tree stump, or sliding off a vertical cliff, only to have to climb entire mountains again. Invisible walls also appear out of nowhere, quickly pulling you out of the fantasy. Given all the intentionally immersive features, it’s a shame that a game so geared toward exploration struggles to make the process fun in the long run.

Side quests appear periodically throughout the saga, reinforcing the story by reminding you that in addition to the looming threat of crystallized super monsters, you also have a duty to tidy up. The missions are mostly pretty simple fetch quests, sending you on a hunt for specific monster eggs or herbs with a few cute moments sprinkled in.

Fortunately, there are also more focused friendship quests to complete, which seem much more thoughtfully written and allow you to integrate into Twisted thinking world and build richer relationships with the other rangers on your team. Here, you’ll meet Kora, the tough warrior with a heartbreaking story, and Ogden, a warm if not eccentric father figure within the group.

If you don’t complete them as they appear, the pacing of the story will throw off a bit and you’ll find yourself drawn back to maps that you definitely shouldn’t visit in the context of the story as a whole. Still, if you can suspend your disbelief, the stories are silly and heartwarming, enhanced by the spirited vocal performances of the game’s actors.

Should you play Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection?

Play it if…