Following its success on Nintendo Switch and PC a few years ago, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is at last making itself known on PlayStation platforms. Releasing for PlayStation 4 on June 14 alongside a remastered version of the original Monster Hunter Stories, Capcom is ready to bring the JRPG series to a whole new audience with both games in the series hitting at once.
As we did with the remastered Monster Hunter Stories, we had some time to sit down with the PlayStation release of Monster Hunter Stories 2 and see just how it ended up working out on Sony’s machine. As this was also my chance to experience the game for the first time, having missed it before its original release, I wanted to take my time and dig into this fairly recent sequel.
From the outset, Monster Hunter Stories 2 provides a massive jump across the board from its predecessor. From the opening cutscene, it’s obvious that unshackled from the constraints of a handheld platform, the game is being allowed to flourish.
The visuals are a huge step up – offering high-quality models, environments, and effects that showcase the anime Monster Hunter style taken to modern heights. The cel-shaded style is clean, and the overall direction gave me the impression that this RPG was going to be something big.
As with Monster Hunter Stories, Stories 2 opens its narrative with the disappearance of the Rathalos, but this time on a much bigger scale. Right away, several characters come into view as you’re tasked with creating one of your own who happens to be descended from a legendary Rider known as Red.
Without diving too much into spoiler territory (and because we reviewed the original release a few years ago), the story seems to be a lot more mature – focusing on characters that are more mature, and the grand adventures framed by the opening hours keep at an exciting pace.
Character creation goes further in-depth compared to the previous game, with added options for each feature of whichever body type you choose. One thing in particular I liked was the ability to add two different hair tones depending on the style I picked. It’s a small detail, but it goes a long way towards adding some personal customizations.
From there, Monster Hunter Stories 2 eases you into its systems. Your character, who is basically the protagonist and a newly minted Rider, then gets shown the ropes by a girl named Kayna who acts as a teacher of sorts. Said ropes include showing off the Velocidrome monsties, as well as basic tutorials to ease you into the game.
After playing through a bit of Stories, I was glad to see Stories 2 puts you into the action a lot quicker. There’s far less exposition and more – here’s the world, get on your mount and get going attitude going on.
Outside of the village, the world opens up with larger zones, and plenty of enemies on the field and it’s there you can gather items or fight your way through to more experience.
The turn-based battle system from Stories is largely back in play here as well, although it adds a few mix-ups of its own to keep things fresh in its Rock Paper Scissors-inspired encounters whilst using Power, Strength, and Technical type attacks selected through the command menu.
This time you can attack different parts of the monsters, and battles are more engaging with the ability to swap out weapons mid-battle using the Skill change option. Monster Hunter Stories 2 also adds a Kinship Gauge that fills up so you can perform fancy attacks with your companions.
It’s definitely a more fleshed-out experience, and on PlayStation, runs plenty smooth throughout even when there’s a lot going on on-screen in battles or exploring the colorful world.
I played the preview on PlayStation 5 since it’s compatible and didn’t run into any overt issues. The framerate seems solid, the colors are vibrant, and the upscaling to 4K works fine enough given this isn’t a native PS5 release. My only complaint is there is some aliasing present on the edges of the characters – mostly noticeable in hair and things like that, but it’s not a deal breaker.
Similar to the other platforms, Monster Hunter Stories 2 on PS4 has maintained its multiplayer elements. That means you can play co-op or multiplayer versus battle with other people on the PlayStation Network.
Co-op quests are of note because there are areas only accessible via multiplayer, and it’s here you’ll be able to encounter exclusive monsters and collect monster eggs – which is a key component of the gameplay loop and monstie customization.
Overall, Monster Hunter Stories 2 on PlayStation feels like a solid effort. It’s a clean port with everything present in the original releases and does well to run smoothly on the current generation platform. Having come from playing the original Monster Hunter Stories back-to-back, the upgrade here is immense, and the effort in direction and crafting a bigger world can’t be understated.
What’s more, you could probably pick up Stories 2 and get into it just fine on its own, so it does have strength as a standalone title despite its sequel status. Either way, it wouldn’t exactly be a bad jumping-in point if you’re new to the series like me, or if you just want to check out a traditional JRPG you can do just that when it launches on June 14.
TechRaptor was invited to preview Monster Hunter Stories 2 by the publisher.
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