Capcom revealed Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection during the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, with the series going in a new direction that’s a drastic improvement over its predecessors.
Unlike the mainline Monster Hunter games, which are action games, the Monster Hunter Stories series consists of turn-based RPGs. In Monster Hunter Stories, the player works in tandem with a monster, using it as a mount, and fighting together in combat.
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While the Monster Hunter Stories series has been aimed at kids in the past, with its own anime franchise design for a younger audience, the latest entry is going in a new direction. A trailer originally shown during the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, now available on the official Monster Hunter YouTube channel, has confirmed that Monster Hunter Stories 3 is aimed at a much older audience.
Monster Hunter Stories Is Finally Leaving Kids Behind
The trailer for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection was more akin to a Fire Emblem game than its predecessors, with talk of warring kingdoms and armies of armored knights clashing on the battlefield, with monsters used as weapons of war.
Frankly, this is an amazing direction for the series to go in. While the earlier Monster Hunter Stories games were aimed at kids, they were also really annoying, with some ear-gouging voice acting. The games were also very hand-holdy, with AI-controlled guest NPCs carrying the player in battle.
A shift in direction is just what the series needed. While no one is expecting it to match Fire Emblem in terms of world-building or story, there are still plenty of fascinating ideas that can be explored with a Monster Hunter game that isn’t afraid to be more than just a creature-slaying simulator.
The only sad part of the trailer is that Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection isn’t coming out until 2026. Capcom has revealed that the game is also coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, but the Switch 2 needs games now, and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection may well be the most exciting thing for the system so far.
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