Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection [Review]

Matching a very specific game like Monster Hunter to a turn based RPG isn't really something that picked my interest in the past, even being a fan of the franchise. Still, the "Stories" sub-series kept going and now, on its third iteration, it finally made me curious enough to dive in.

It was shocking to realize how similar Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is in gameplay ideas when compared to the main game. The battle system is very much like playing Monster Hunter: analyzing enemies' patterns to predict their next action, so I can win a trade without suffering any damage.

This prediction is possible in a turn based setting because the attacks follow a "jo-ken-po" structure, with three different colors, interchangeable for almost every move, while showing the enemy next target without disclosing its attack type. Speed wins against Power, while the latter wins against Technical. This system may seem random at first, but it actually isn't: understanding and knowing each monster paves the way to successful fights.

The battle system is the best part of the game, and I wish I could directly control – or at least guide – the party members outside of my character and my main monster. But I get it, it is to feel like Monster Hunter, and I should trust my fellow partners in battle.

Beyond controlling the main character, that can have up to three weapons equipped at the same time, It is possible to swap between main monsters even inside battles, without suffering from any penalties whatsoever, to take advantage of each exchange. Still, I hardly used more than three of them, that easily matched the challenges that the game threw at me. Changing weapons and monsters is required to do more damage to specific monster parts, that are weaker to different types of damage. Just like Monster Hunter!

The environments are somewhat small open sections with some vertical structures and terrain. I actually liked the third and fourth environments the best, but none of them are that big or fully fledged as I wanted them to be. Some monsters have special abilities to get to specific areas of each map, but honestly, this just forced me to have slots filled with monsters that I otherwise wouldn't use.

From time to time, mostly in the main scenario, there will be dungeons to be explored, but none of them really were as interesting as the open sections of the game were for me, with dull corridors that lead to a series of boss fights in pretty arenas. There are some exceptions, but these are few and far between, and overall just serve to "raise the stakes" of the narrative, with a varying degree of success.

One of the better activities for me were the Invasive Species encounters. These are battles that require some information gathering about the enemy and its weaknesses beforehand, and the fights themselves were always interesting, with surprising twists that required specific attacks, companions or timed skills.

Although the main monster could be swapped during battle, I couldn't change my weapons (beyond the three previously equipped) or active party member, so while these Invasive Species encounters were fun, restarting the battle several times to be able to actually beat them wasn't.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection also shares some of the more... Questionable standards of the main series, with bad and confusing menus that are packed with tabs, screens and sub-categories for simple things. This UI problem is specially problematic on the more "granular" systems, like the "monsters genes" that can be customized to inherit better skills or passives for the monsters. The system itself isn't difficult to understand, but the cumbersome steps and excessive screens aren't helping anyone.

The cast of characters is surprisingly diverse and memorable, even if many of them are from the same region and have somewhat similar story conclusions. The best sidequests are the ones related to them, and some were better realized than others, with unexpected minigames here and there. Everything is dubbed, and the fights were almost always fun. Not all characters are treated equally, though, and some are sorely missing any questline whatsoever, like Rudy or Simon.

Story-wise, Twisted Reflection definitely was grandiose in its setting, but couldn't really live up to its initial premise. The political angle of the narrative is not that flashed out, so half of the world is underdeveloped and much is left to the imagination. The characters are, again, likable and memorable, but there were some missed opportunities to make everyone as relevant as the main character.

In the end, the whole thing is about an Elder Dragon that is messing up with the fauna and flora and it is up to me and my friends to save the region. It is the same overall shtick as every other Monster Hunter game I've ever played, and the good characters couldn't really save this beaten and samey narrative. Having the mechanics of the main game adapted to a turn-based RPG is enough, there's no need to also share the uninspired story as well.

On a more interesting note, another big activity in the game is the Habitat Restoration mechanic. There are lots of little caves around the map with monster nests inside of them, where eggs can be gathered and then hatched to get new and better monsters to be added to the party – or reintroduce them to the environment.

Returning monsters can create some elemental variations that change their colors and raise their statuses, so it is actually very important to have the monsters on S rank of their respective regions to unlock better conditions and scale correctly. This system is fun and wholesome, and it is rewarding to see the monsters I returned to the world and the new variations walking around the open sections of the game. It is plagued by confusing menus, though.

Some of Twisted Reflection's systems aren't quite there. The battles are great, there are fun side games and memorable characters, but the open section is lacking and the dungeons aren't that good, with a story that couldn't really live up to its initial set up. Undeniably, though, it has heart and it feels like Monster Hunter.

7/10