Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the crown jewel of a series that has always been somewhat underrated, despite having succeeded in the extremely difficult task of effectively translating the original series into a turn-based JRPG. Every refinement to the formula was carefully considered by studying the genre's modern landscape and what has worked in the most important games released in recent times, and the result is a balanced and satisfying Japanese RPG from every perspective, yet still deliberately aimed at a fairly specific audience. Ultimately, if you enjoyed the previous games and love Monster Hunter, prepare to spend countless hours hunting for eggs, combining genes, and battling monsters with spectacular abilities alongside memorable characters.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 goes all out to deliver a more polished, deeper, and narratively stronger single-player adventure. Some players might miss online modes or a wider variety of weapons, but what it offers in terms of story, gameplay progression, and technical polish more than compensates for those omissions. It's an RPG that takes itself seriously, featuring memorable characters and great protagonists and supporting characters, and understanding that a good narrative can be the true driving force of a spin-off series.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a phenomenal game, with a gripping story and combat systems that encourages you to constantly evolve your strategy. It's a game that treats you like an adult in all its aspects, but is never too punishing when you fail. For fans who have been asking for Pokémon to "grow up", this is your answer.

The best Stories game to date that easily stands shoulder to shoulder with its mainline brethren.

It is hard to shake the feeling that Monster Hunter Stories 3 is going to slip under the radar, and that would be a real shame. This is not merely a charming sidestep for Monster Hunter fans. It is a confident, ambitious JRPG in its own right, with strong storytelling, smart systems, and a clear identity. For the first time, the spinoff feels every bit as essential as the main series.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is best described as a refined and improved Monster Hunter Stories 2. It doesn't really change the core concept, but pretty much every change in the game is for the better. The new story is easier to engage with, the combat system is more fun than ever, and in general, it's a great leap forward without losing anything that made the previous games fun. Only some minor frame rate issues drag down the Switch 2 experience, and they're not enough to sour an otherwise fantastic game.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a confident spin-off thay crafted a great monster hunter experience with a twist! And an unforgettable JRPG game.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the best entry in the spin-off series yet, with gorgeous artwork, impeccable world-building, and an excellent Monster Hunter tale to tell. I can’t imagine a better gateway to the world of Monster Hunter than this.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection sets a high bar for future adventure RPGs, offering a beautiful, stylised design, incredible storytelling, and combat that is approachable and satisfying without sacrificing tactical depth and complexity. It’s a fantastic evolution of the Stories formula, delivering a richer narrative, deeper world interaction, and more reasons to explore the Monster Hunter universe from a different perspective.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 is the definitive leap forward for the subseries: a more mature story, memorable characters, and a beautiful world that place it among the best JRPGs on Nintendo Switch 2. Its rock paper scissors combat system still holds back gameplay with a lot of potential, but its ambition, art direction, and storytelling make it an essential experience.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection shows us that the spin-off series has truly come into its own, as the adventure proves remarkably solid, fully embracing the strategic identity of the spin-off series. Behind an initial approach that can be a little disorienting, its combat system and the management of Monsties reveal a thrilling depth, driven by an optimization logic faithful to the Monster Hunter DNA. It's not all perfect—some areas lack balance, the side quests remain quite conventional, and the plot sometimes struggles to maintain momentum—but the essential element lies elsewhere. With this third installment, the Stories formula matures and offers a dense, demanding, and surprisingly engaging adventure, provided you're willing to play by its rules.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection delivers a grand adventure while building upon its predecessors to create something that not only will appeal to fans of the genre, but one that stands out amongst its contemporaries. With a touching story, charming cast of characters, in-depth combat, and crunchy RPG mechanics, this is the best entry in the series so far.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the best the series has been so far, balancing a playfulness that is approachable for newcomers with a maturity that is perfect for longtime fans.

Capcom has achieved a strong evolution over its predecessors, which are light years ahead of what is done here. The combat is fun, the story and visuals win you over, while the design works very well to keep you focused on the adventure.

Capcom delivers an aesthetically pleasing world that’s fun to explore in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. Whether riding your monster, scaling cliffs, swimming, or digging, the game offers variety that keeps you busily exploring. The plot and some gameplay systems can feel slower-paced at times. But a likable cast and entertaining side quests bring balance.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 isn’t exactly where I’d want the series to be just yet - but it’s very nearly there, and I think, for many, this will be one of the most satisfying monster collection RPGs on the market at the moment.

Aside from the minor technical issues, I don’t have many complaints with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. It’s a big improvement over the already-enjoyable previous games, and while I can still see some room to grow, I think it’s worth appreciating the quality on display here. Capcom, as it turns out, hasn’t lost its knack for making great RPGs featuring dragons and/or dragon-like creatures. If you liked the previous games in the series, this is an easy recommendation. Those new to the franchise just looking for their next RPG fix might as well jump in here, as you don’t really need any prior experience to have a good time with this.

My experience with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is an odd one. I love the vast majority of the gameplay it offers, but having played a clearly inferior version on Nintendo Switch 2 really soured me on its otherwise incredible visual presentation. The story and its characters are better than you'd expect if you've played or even glanced at previous Stories games, but it's not the sort of tale you'll be reminiscing about once you put the game down.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection doesn’t aim to completely reinvent what’s been established in the previous two entries in the series. Instead, it smartly tweaks and iterates on what worked and what didn’t work to create a much more refined and enjoyable monster-catching experience. The story touches on more serious subjects, and keeps things moving along well, even if it lacks the depth it could have. Combat is plenty of fun, with individual battles having more impact and much of the tedium of the previous series entries cleaned up, but exploring and collecting monsters is a blast, and having available non-battle activities for monsters makes it all the more exciting to go out and find new ones. Fans of collecting monsters and min/maxing their team will have almost an endless supply of tweaking to play around with. Any fan of Monster Hunter or Pokémon-like games should not pass on this one.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection feels like it prioritizes story, characters, and combat in a way that makes the game feel even more like a JRPG. It’s another strong entry in a series of great Monster Hunter spin-offs for certain. I do wish there was a bit more diversity when it came to den design. And while combat is fun, it can drag on a bit. Still, it’s quite enjoyable and well worth your time.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the most engaging game in the series so far, with great battles, a riveting narrative, and a fantastic new feature in the form of habitat restoration. Handheld performance on Nintendo Switch 2 has its iffy moments, and some of the side missions can muddy the pacing as you wait for the main plot to progress, but outside of that, this is an absolute beast of a game just waiting for you to take it on.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is another strong entry in this series, and deserving of a place at the top table alongside a number of other excellent RPGs on Switch 2. A well-told story, an intriguing world and some excellent mechanics ultimately overshadow the usual (for this series) balancing issues and performance wobbles. If you want to collect ‘em all within a charming Monster Hunter setting, this game will keep you busy for a long time.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection may not supersede the thrills of an action-packed hunt, while other JRPGs have made more significant evolutions in comparison. Nonetheless, it's still an improvement for this sub-series with production values, mechanical depth, and challenge that makes it a worthy companion piece to its mainline apex.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 feels like a prematurely released game that could have been truly great. It’s got everything from the series’ signature monster collecting mechanics, the gritty turn-based combat, and much, much better audiovisuals than its predecessors. Unfortunately, beyond the bloat of grinding for stronger monsters and watching filler, there’s not much content to actually engage in.

My grievances with Monster Hunter Stories 3 are relatively minor. It's an RPG that plays it safe, and while that means it avoids massive missteps, it also fails to make much of an impression. Despite spending over 60 hours exploring its world, I don't expect to think much about Twisted Reflection now that I've rolled credits. Still, its good outweighs its bad, and I don't regret my time in office as the prince of Azuria. At the very least, it was a joy to look at.

Like the wings of your Rathalos in the opening, there's a majesty to this sequel, even if it doesn't really soar. [Issue#422, p.110]

Monster Hunter Stories 3 has a very strong combat system, a visually appealing world, and the huge amount of monsters you can find and command in battle make up for some of its more uninspired elements and a rather dull story. Hardcore Monster Hunter fans, displeased by the "casualification" of the series in Wilds, may find a good excuse to return to the Monster Hunter universe here, but that will depend on how much they enjoy the turn-based JRPG genre, with all of its quirks and clichés.