I never know fully how to begin one of these posts, and that’s probably a factor in why I’ve not done too many yet. A “review” sounds more official, making me believe I have to have a ton of facts and details to even begin to talk about the subject. When the fact of the matter is I’ve just experienced something I thoroughly enjoyed and simply want to share it with you all! So this is an opinion piece, “my thoughts” on the subject at hand; Capcom’s Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Demo.
Have you ever experienced a game where it’s “new” but it also feels like an old friend?
That is exactly what Wings of Ruin feels like for me.
I will quickly add that I have played the first Monster Hunter Stories on the Nintendo 3DS. So I may be slightly biased in my adoration but it’s not anything for which I’m going to apologize.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is in a word; comfy.
Monsties
What do you get when you have a monster that’s your best friend? A monstie of course!! I thought this term was so endearing when I was playing through the first game. As a girl who grew up loving dinosaurs and dragons, the idea of befriending monsters and working with them was right up my alley. I’m super excited to see all the monsters that will be revealed for Wings of Ruin. I know in the trailer we see several from Monster Hunter World, such as Tobi-Kadachi, Kulu-Ya-Ku, Legiana and Glavenous just to name a few.
My not-so-secret hope is that we see Odogaron in Wings of Ruin. I mean, who wouldn’t want to fight alongside the monster affectionately called the Blood Puppy who rips and tears and (in World) causes the bleed effect??
I’m pretty sure it’s my spirit animal.
Animation
From the very start I was greeted with bright, beautiful, and colorful animation. The art style is definitely more anime/cartoon than the typical Monster Hunter game, but that only adds to the comfort level to me. It also allows for greater comic relief and a level of cheesiness that can more readily be accepted and enjoyed by being delivered by animated characters. With so many games nowadays trying to blur the lines between reality and fiction with their hyperrealism, it’s honestly refreshing to have just some fun animation in a game.
Combat animation is well done too. It is very similar to the original game but with minor adjustments and flair added in. As it is a turn-based game it can get repetitive to see attacks over and over again, but if you’ve ever played any turn-based game ever before, you know this is just part of the charm.
Story
The art style doesn’t take away from the story though, this is an RPG after all.
I won’t give away any spoilers, but from what story we are allowed in the demo, I am very intrigued by where things are headed. We all know from the trailers (if you’ve not yet watched the game trailer I highly encourage you to do so here) that, like in first Monster Hunter Stories, your character hatches a baby Rathalos. But there is a lot introduced in this demo. Monster disappearances, monsters becoming outraged (a common theme), and on top of all of those Character vs X, we also have Hunters and Riders all clambering for the same objective for opposing reasons.
It may be drawn in a more animated/cartoon style, but Wings of Ruin promises for a very compelling, dramatic, and heartfelt story.
In Summary
It’s monsties, vibrant and well done art, and comfy turn-based combat. It’s Monster Hunter, what’s not to love?
I am super excited for Wings of Ruin, and will admit to having already pre-ordered the game and have started counting the days until it’s in my hands! If you’re mildly curious about what you’ve read I highly encourage you to check out the trailer I linked above. I’m pretty sure you’ll find yourself quite tempted to pre-order yourselves. And in the meantime you may even find yourselves scanning the shelves of your local game store for that original Monster Hunter Stories.
You can easily expect another post from me after we’ve all had Wings of Ruin in our hands for a few weeks. My family may not see me during that time!
Until next time.
