This was my first experience with Monster Hunter Stories, and even with the Monster Hunter franchise as a whole! I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into, but I was surprised to find the story to be actually quite decent. The cast of characters was also really likeable, and it helped a lot that the cutscenes had good voice acting. I always find it much more enjoyable to listen to the characters instead of just reading walls of text.
The art style is another thing I enjoyed very much. It has beautiful graphics, and I was actually surprised by how good the game looked on my Switch 2, even without a specific enhancement patch for the newer hardware. The vibrant world and expressive creature designs really pop.
The combat was also a pleasant surprise. It is based on a simple rock-paper-scissors system that worked very well for me, keeping things easy to grasp but highly addictive. Plus, the number of creatures you can collect and raise to use in battles is astounding! I found my personal favorites and mostly stuck to them, but the sheer variety available is really wide.
My only real complaint about the game is something I find myself complaining about in most JRPGs I play: it felt way too long. While the gameplay loop is a ton of fun, the experience dragged out a bit more than it needed to and could have used a tighter runtime.
Overall, though, it was a fantastic introduction to this universe. Playing this has made me quite excited about Monster Hunter Stories 3, and I will absolutely be playing it in the future!
