Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is another notch in Capcom’s long-running creature-hunting and capturing series, but instead of the mainline Action-RPG style gameplay, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection takes the JRPG route. It’s a welcome change of pace for a usually intense gameplay experience, swapping chaotic combat for turn-based style encounters and a heartfelt, engrossing story.

As the third entry in the Monster Hunter Stories series, Capcom has had time to develop the gameplay, evolving the ideas of the first two games into a fully realised JRPG that focuses more on quality than quantity. One of my main obstacles to enjoying JRPG’s is the dialogue-heavy cutscenes, the reliance on more-is-more, too many fetch quests, and too many mechanics. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection takes all the strengths of JRPG’s and does away with most weaknesses of the genre by showing rather than telling and creating a world that doesn’t need endless fetch quests to create an experience that hits the sweet spot of delivering the JRPG feel without the unnecessary filler content, delivering a streamlined, immersive world like no other.

In this iteration of Monster Hunter, a world on the brink of ecological collapse, with two kingdoms, our homeland of Azuria and another called Vermeil, are embroiled in political conflict. The egg of a Rathalos, believed to be extinct, is uncovered, unbeknownst to the royal family of Azuria. The egg hatches twin Rathalos, each bearing “Skyscale” markings, a mark connected to a civil war 200 years previous, and a foreboding sign. As tensions rise, the ecosystems falter; it’s up to you, the prince/princess of Azuria, to become a Rider, alongside one of the Rathalos, to save the world from environmental and political collapse.

Your Rider is a character completely of your own making. As an absolute sucker for a good character creator, you’re already in for a good time with making your hero, with plenty of ways to alter your Rider’s appearance, including incredibly customisable eyes and hairstyles, and with the DLC’s, even monster-inspired hairstyles. The Deluxe Edition includes an exclusive side-story for your catlike companion, Rudy, and outfit sets, and the Premium Deluxe Kit adds even more outfits for companions and the side-story.

I was surprised with how invested I became in my hero and her companions including Rudy, an adorable, loyal Palik and a squad of specialist Rangers, each wielding iconic Monster Hunter weapons, bringing unique sets of skills and their own “Monsties” with them into battle, the party travel with your rider throughout and I felt like every single one of them was family during my time in Azuria and beyond.

Unlike the mainline series, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection opts more toward a JRPG, anime-style aesthetic, and it’s stunning. If you’ve played Ni No Kuni or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, expect a similar vibe – clean animations, bright colours and cute characters. Navigating each region is a joy, where there never feels like there’s any area not covered with a thought – the Monster Hunter games have always had biomes that feel lived-in, filled with wildlife, plantlife and settlements – and discovering these ecosystems, including forests with lush vegetation, crystalised caverns, volcanic zones, wastelands and more. Each has environmental mechanics and unique critters and monsters, all while using your own trusty “Monsties” to ride through, smash through terrains, fly or swim onwards.

A Monster Hunter game wouldn’t be one without combat, and rather than the usual chase, hack and slash gameplay, this game treats encounters with a turn-based system more akin to Atlus’ Persona series. The iconic Monster Hunter weapons can be wielded, with your playable character having access to three different weapons at a time – to my joy, gear and weapons can be forged and customised for strategic Monster-Hunting, just like the main series.

Each weapon comes with its own unique abilities, like the Charge Blade having the Sword/Shield charge mechanic, and building melodies while using abilities to buff and bash with the Hunting Horn. There’s plenty of room for hunting for materials to make the ultimate build for any situation, and companions each come with their own weapons and skill-sets as well – so building up a strong team with the right gear is essential.

Where combat really packs a punch is with the inclusion of “Monsties”, the mounts of the Riders, which happen to be iconic monsters of the series, including your very own Rathalos and a whole compendium’s worth of creatures which can be found as eggs in caves, hatched and raised to be part of your team.

All monsters have different strengths, weaknesses and abilities. To top it off, they can be genetically modified to further expand their skill sets. A Tobi-Kadachi can deliver smacks of thunder, or a Pukei-Pukei can douse a fiery foe, drenching it until its demise.

The Rock-Paper-Scissors system focuses on leveraging different strengths to win Head-to-Head attacks by countering a Power, Speed, or Technical attack with an opposing technique using Monsties, and using Kinship attacks involves satisfyingly cinematic ultimate attacks alongside their Riders. In some instances, combat can feel repetitive, but there are a number of ways to mix up your team or strategies, and with so many enemy types with different statuses.

Really the only issues I had was the slow-starting area in Azuria, which spent time setting up the mechanics with a few small side-missions scattered throughout the region and the egg-hunting mechanic, which essentially involves running into a clearing which has been overrun by an invasive monster who has comandeered a nest, had no real challenge to it and just felt underwhelming, but considering how overwhelmingly positive I feel about everything else Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection has to offer, I can’t be too mad that it starts a little slow before ramping up into a fully-fledged adventure.

I played on PlayStation 5 and had no performance issues. Graphics were gorgeous, and performance was smooth throughout at a stable 60fps, even in dense environments; the lighting and visual effects, in particular, popped stunningly. Cutscenes were cinematic to the point where it felt like I was watching a movie, the voice acting is top-tier, and the music throughout, with orchestral pieces that tug on the heartstrings but hit hard with epic battle beats when needed.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection delivers a strong story and captures my heart in the process. If you’re keen to get back into the Monster Hunter universe, but with a focus on a well-told tale, addictive gameplay and a fresh approach to combat, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is an expedition worth embarking on.

Written by: Yasmin Noble