First look at Monster Hunter Stories for 3DS

A new direction for the Japanese hit series

In an announcement that apparently couldn’t wait for E3 or TGS, Capcom unveiled a teaser trailer for Monster Hunter Stories, a new game in their hit Monster Hunter series, set for release on the 3DS in 2016. While I highly doubt this it actual gameplay we’re looking at, there’s still a lot to be excited about here. The Monster Hunter games are darn well made, but their strange mix of “serious face” art direction with wacky, slapstick comedy, all layered over tough as nails, no-nonsense action gameplay have caused them to have limited appeal outside of Japan. From the looks of this trailer, Monster Hunter Stories may do away with at least two of those issues.

The game appears to have a bright, colorful, cel shaded look, with Ghibli-style character designs. That will likely be a little easier to swallow for fans of Pokemon and Yo-kai Watch, the only other two handheld franchises that are as big as Monster Hunter in Japan. As far as gameplay goes, all we have to go on is the acronym “RPG” that’s listed on . Sadly, that term can mean just about anything these days, but I’m guessing that in this case it means that Monster Hunter Stories wont be an real time combat semi-RPG like the main Monster Hunter titles. You’ll be hanging out with a cat-man while riding a dragon in this one too, which is nice. 

It will be interesting to see if the game gets the same kind of backlash that Wind Waker received when it was first announced. We’ll be bringing you more on Monster Hunter Stories as it comes in.