Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin sees Capcom present a different take on the popular Monster Hunter series -- a traditional turn-based RPG ala classic Final Fantasy or Nintendo's own Pokémon. Available now for the Nintendo Switch we've been playing through its Stories and building up an stable of Monsties to bring you our full review.

A snippet.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 essentially takes the action, spectacle, scope, and grandiose world of Monster Hunter Rise and reimagines it as a traditional RPG. A turn-based experience along the lines of Final Fantasy VI or Nintendo’s own Pokémon. A game where story and a colourful cast of characters sits alongside being sucked into a battle arena to duke it out whilst a peppy theme plays in the background.

The Pokémon comparison is probably the easiest to make, and the laziest, on the account of the – as a Rider – taming and collecting of all manner of Monsties you do. Your very own Arzuros, Kulu-Ya-Ku, or Pukei-Pukei to call upon and ride into battle. Level them up, use their abilities, build up a relationship, and tackle opposing beasties using a simple rock-paper-scissor setup of Power, Technical, and Speed attacks. That whole thing where one is the Death Star-like exhaust port of another. The Achilles Pitt heel.

The addition of traditional Monster Hunter weapons from big swords to even bigger hammers add another dose of tic-tac-toe to the action, and it’s here where Monster Hunter Stories 2 excels and feels like a great take on what is - at its core - a very traditional Japanese RPG.

Our Full Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Review