Monster Hunter does not need any presentation. It’s not just a video game series, but a real brand that over the years has been able to conquer millions of players between Japan and the USA, putting a long time to colonize the Old World well too. And it was with the latest adventures on Nintendo 3DS that the creature Capcom has been able to carve out a beautiful platform of European gamers who have become a real community from a small niche and added to the international one.
Half between Pokémon and Final Fantasy
Colorful, lively, supported by a brand new and beautiful collection of Amiibo on which our avid hands are already fantasizing: if Monster Hunter Stories is meant to make us hype we can say we are doing it in full. The first element that filled our eyes from the first trailer was definitely the change of style with which the Marvelous guys wanted to impress this title.
Monsters stop being “monstrous” and acquire cartoons and colorful features, have magnified and expressive heads, and from now on it is clear that they will not only be able to hunt but real companions before capturing and then rearing during the adventure .
Adventure we know very little, except for the fact that it will lead us to explore vast and full of wildlife in which we will have to give us in our hunt. A graphic style that differs completely from the predecessors, almost wanting to twist philosophy. Now you are no longer hunting for killing, skinning and crafting, but to capture, train and evolve. And if any of you in the middle began to think of another saga, created for up to 20 years ago, which has sold millions of copies and continues to be a point of arrival for many software houses, I do not think have all the wrongs.
But if we try not to stop appearances and try to dig deeper, the reasons for this turn can be found in a wise and far-sighted commercial maneuver. Precisely because the “Monster Hunter Generation” market is in full swing, Capcom has been trying to make the most of its eggs from nowadays by stretching its hand to younger generations, taking full advantage of the release of the new 2DS.
The new console’s low price and the appetite for Monster Hunter Stories for the new levers could swell, and not least, the ranks of millions of hunters who from here to a few months will find themselves in the servers of the most powerful home consoles. Whether it’s a starter to what Monster Hunter World will be? Probably, and that’s why we’re free to play it.
It’s not just a game
Without too much pretense, Monster Hunter Stories completely disregards the narrative continuity (if ever there was one) of the previous Monster Hunter. This change of route has a twofold beneficial effect: it has allowed developers to work on new mechanics and, last but not least, will allow Capcom to step back, safe from incessant and malicious echoes, in case of a commercial flop. In practice, if the software house wanted to get involved in trying to get out of the bad water it has been doing for some time, it has done it intelligently, leaving the business risk to a minimum.
If we also think of the new Amiibo, beautiful among other things, that through the patronage of Nintendo, will be marketed along with this new title, we only have to agree with the care in details with which Capcom has defined this operation and that could bring us a fun title to play but perhaps innovative and synergistic for the series.
