The friendly folk over on the Nintendo Treehouse live stream have shown us the first live gameplay footage from the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. The Monster Hunter sequel to the original spinoff Monster Hunter Stories 3DS game that launched back in 2016, is due to launch on the 9th of July with a demo coming to the Switch eShop later this month on the 25th of June. We caught a decent glimpse at how the game looks running on Nintendo’s hybrid console, a small collection of Monsters (or Monsties, in this case) you’ll run into and befriend and took a trip to some of the locations that will be available to traverse in the main game.
The team started off their adventure controlling the title’s protagonist which just so happens to be the grandson of the main character in the original Monster Hunter Stories game. We’re told the story will build on the legacy of the previous cast and fans of the original will find a lot of value in the narrative, while newcomers will be able to quickly come up to speed if they’ve not experienced the 2016 3DS title.
After showing us the lively Mahana Village – the first main location in the demo – the game expanded into a gloriously bight and cheerful Pona Grasslands which is home to some familiar Monsters from the series; roaming around the rolling hills and basking in the sun cast across the ocean and fields. It’s certainly a glow-up compared to the 3DS outing, and there seemed to be a ton of locales to discover and admire. Nestled within the Grasslands, the first battle ensued and we got a closer look into the battle mechanics.
Breaking away from the traditional way of fighting and beating Monsters in the mainline games, Monster Hunter Stories 2 has turn-based battles and it’s got the usual staple features you’d expect. Being able to only control the main character, you’re given a constant insight into what your teammates are up to on every turn with handy indicators and stat meters. Collaborating and strategising by using your team’s move-set is key to beating your foes, and it all looks very pretty while you do so.
Having the option to head out into the main areas of the game in either the afternoon or evening will yield different results when it comes to finding materials to craft weapons and armour. The Treehouse team also eluded to other changes that will occur depending on the time of day, but we’ll have to see for ourselves what those changes consist of as they remained fairly tight-lipped. Either way, dodging Monsters you don’t want to fight and scoping out Monster Dens – especially the golden ones! – looked to be a smooth process and one that can be played with a friend in a co-op mode, which unfortunately they didn’t show but confirmed in the stream.
In addition to the HD lick of paint, the changes from the original include new types of weapons (bows and guns lances) and armour, folk who have Monster Hunter amiibo will have the option to scan them to earn in-game stickers. And if you have save data from this new title and talk to the mailman in Monster Hunter Rise, he will gift you with a special a Talisman that has two skills.
Source: Nintendo Treehouse Live
