Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is one of Capcom's best JRPGs in years on Xbox, but certain omissions may disappoint long-time fans

We're a short while away from the release of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, the next big entry in the Monster Hunter's JRPG spin-off series. As a fan, I'm excited to see this underrated Xbox JRPG series finally get a next-gen makeover along with a darker and more mature story, innovations to its turn-based combat and monster-taming gameplay, and of course, a whole batch of new Monsties to ride on with.

Yet, I can't help but feel nervous that it could end up severely disappointing me as Monster Hunter Wilds did at launch, with toned-down difficulty and performance issues so bad that it incited a year of 'review bombs' on Steam.

Fortunately, my paranoia was mostly wiped clean after having an amazing time previewing Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection's opening chapters, so I was looking forward to what else it had to offer. After completing the full game, my love for the entire Monster Hunter franchise was renewed because I haven't played a Capcom JRPG this fun in ages, despite some controversial gameplay decisions that may anger long-time fans.

So, what are those decisions, you may ask? Read on to find out in my review of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Story, art, and performance

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection follows the story of the prince/princess of Azuria, a veteran monster Rider dedicated to saving their kingdom and monster-kind alike from a horrific phenomenon reducing all life to crystal called Encroachment.

To make matters worse, Arzuria is on the brink of war with its neighbouring kingdom, Vermeil, which is aggressively expanding its territory into forbidden ground to escape the Encroachment.

With the fate of two kingdoms and the ecosystem as a whole hanging in the balance, our hero sets forth on a journey along with their Skyscale Rathalos and specially-trained Riders called Rangers to uncover the truth behind the Encroachment and stop it before all is lost.

This game has, without a shadow of a doubt, the best storyline I've seen in a Monster Hunter by a country mile.

While it does feature the typical Monster Hunter affair of an unknown phenomenon causing havoc on the ecosystem, it's made more interesting by the fact that it's causing turf wars between mankind to the point where they're forced to use Monsties as tools of war to survive.

However, don't take this to mean that it's full of doom and gloom.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection hasn't forgotten its adventurous roots, as there are plenty of moments where it immerses the player in the wonders of nature, intriguing worldbuilding, and heartwarming levity to break up the morally grey war story between Arzuria and Vermeil.

Its cast of characters is just as entertaining as the story, as each member of your party has a charming personality and a riveting backstory worth completing their long Side Story quests to fully see.

Even the main Player Character is surprisingly compelling in their own right. They're a gentle soul that loves nature and will do anything to save Monsties and mankind alike, all the while displaying careful tact with regards to handling delicate situations as befitting of a future King/Queen.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say this game has the best batch of characters since the fan-favorite Caravan group from Monster Hunter 4, and I would love to go on more adventures with this bunch of Riders in future games or even DLC expansions.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection - Go Forth Trailer - YouTube

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For those who were afraid that this game was going to suffer the performance issues Monster Hunter Wilds did, I am happy to report that the Xbox Series X version of Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection's performance is A-Okay.

It runs at a rock-solid stable 60 FPS and 1080p resolution in Balanced mode and 30 FPS with 1440p resolution in Prioritize Resolution Mode (though the Kinship Skill cutscenes will go into 60 FPS).

Prioritize Framerate Mode has 60 FPS (or higher at around 70-90 FPS) and 1080p resolution, but the draw distance will be downgraded as monsters, trees, and other environmental assets in the sandbox exploration areas will look like unfinished textures from miles away until you get close to them, so they can load in properly.

But no matter what mode you choose on Xbox, you will be able to fully experience this game's beautiful, vibrant locales, gorgeously detailed anime character designs, and cinematically flashy super moves during combat without fear of framerate drops or gameplay-degrading stuttering.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Gameplay

Monster Hunter Stories' tried and true turn-based combat and monster-taming gameplay is alive and kicking in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. They feature plenty of refinements and innovative new mechanics to keep things fresh and fun.

Firstly, taming monsters has never been more exciting thanks to the brand new Habitat Restoration system. As you explore the world, you will work to restore the exosystem by finding monster eggs, hatching new Monsties, and releasing them back into the wild to restore their population.

It felt so satisfying seeing this game's vibrant biomes, once nearly devoid of life, get slowly repopulated with monsters you worked hard to save, and it really helps sell the immersive feeling that you are a monster Rider working to keep nature in balance.

It's also rewarding from a gameplay perspective. Repopulating monster populations can lead to unlocking new Monsties to add to your party and unlock insanely powerful and cool new passive and active abilities to use in battle.

And you'll need to master them quickly because turn-based combat in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is no joke. Enemies hit hard, have lots of health, and rarely engage the player in the series' iconic Head-to-Head mechanic, so the player can't rock-paper-scissor their way to victory like in past games.

Once I got the hang of the enemies' new approach in battle and mastered the game's new combat mechanics like the new Longsword and Synchro Rush attack, turn-based battles became incredibly enjoyable to engage in.

The consistently tough enemies kept me engaged throughout my playtime, incentivising me to keep my gear up to date. Plus, it felt so satisfying to outfox enemies using out-of-the-box strategies and optimized Monstie party builds I created after investing so much time in the Habitat Restoration system.

That being said, it is rather annoying that Capcom didn't take my complaints about Battle Allies being uncontrollable in my Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin review to heart and instead doubled down on it.

Granted, the Battle Allies' AI is somewhat more competent than the previous game, as they'll often win in Head-to-Heads depending on which one you bring to fight certain monsters, and you can set their AI to prioritize different targets.

However, they'll still make stupid mistakes that will end up costing you dearly in battle, leading to unintentional frustration. I'd much rather take direct control of them so I can better synergize with their skills instead of praying the AI doesn't use a move that will get them killed.

Yet, this is a nitpick compared to some rather controversial decisions that may turn off not only Monster Hunter Stories fans, but Monster Hunter fans in general.

These decisions include a smaller roster of Monsties to collect in previous (this game has roughly around 80 or so Monsties to collect, whereas previous games had over 100), the lack of any multiplayer feature, and, shocking of all: NO HIGH-RANK POSTGAME.

Now, the first two issues I can forgive because the roster for this game is mostly made of original monsters that hadn't been in the series before (and most of them are really entertaining to use in battle).

As for the lack of multiplayer, I don't mind it being gone in favor of the developers focusing more on the single-player content and story, as it paid off in spades in this game. Though I'm a little sad to see we won't get any more of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin's Co-Op quests, as I enjoyed them way more than the PvP modes the previous games had.

What I can't forgive, however, is not having a High Rank post-game. High Rank difficulty and post-game content have been a core part of Monster Hunter's identity since the original PlayStation 2 game in 2004.

So seeing a Monster Hunter game at launch, spin-off or not, not have any post-game bosses, post-game areas, post-game Monsties, or even a High Rank difficulty to test our endgame builds to their limits is heartbreaking.

Plus, this will establish a dangerous precedent where we'll no longer get any High Rank content at launch for a Monster Hunter game, setting the whole franchise back if Capcom continues it and we don't speak up on it.

However, and this is a big however, that doesn't mean there's absolutely nothing to do once you complete the main story. If you focus on completing the main story quests with little side-questing, it will take you around 40 to 50 hours.

Yet, I was able to squeeze over 120 hours out of this game by completing every side quest, Battle Ally Side Story, collecting every Monstie, experimenting with the Habitat Restoration system, and hunting down all the Feral Monsters, Invasive Monsters, and Calamitous Elder Dragons because I loved this game's core gameplay and story so much.

So I can assure you that this game will not leave you starving for content. If you can put aside the reduced Monstie roster and lack of multiplayer and a High-Rank postgame (which I totally understand if you don't, as it's an extremely bitter pill to swallow), then you will be in for one heck of a JRPG adventure you won't soon forget.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Should you buy it?

Overall, I feel this game is the Monster Hunter Stories equivalent of Monster Hunter Tri — an ambitious entry that risks taking the series in a new direction with modern-day graphics, a mostly original roster of monsters, experimental gameplay ideas, and a much greater focus on cinematic storytelling.

While the lack of multiplayer and a High-Rank postgame will be extremely disappointing to long-time Monster Hunter fans (which I hope gets rectified with potential DLC expansions), that doesn't mean you should skip out on this game.

Its core gameplay loop of releasing monsters into the wild to restore ecosystems is addictive, and turn-based battles are gratifying while not being afraid of making the player work for their victories.

The graphical artstyle is a delightful feast for the eyes, and the story and character writing were epic, funny, and heartwarming from beginning to end. Not to mention, it has some of the best character writing Capcom has done since its classic Breath of Fire series.

If you're a fan of Pokémon-like alternatives that actually try to evolve the monster-taming genre or if you're a fan of turn-based JRPGs in general, then I highly recommend grabbing this near-perfect gem, as it's worth Riding On for.

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