Monster Hunter Stories Collection review for PS4, Switch, PC

Monster Hunter Stories Collection, which contains both the original 3DS only Monster Hunter Stories, and the more recently released Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, launched last week for PS4, Switch, and PC. This marks the first time both games are available on a PlayStation platform, and the first time that the original Monster Hunter Stories is available on modern consoles and PC. 

With this being the first modern release for the original Monster Hunter Stories, it has had the most enhancement done between the two games. The visuals, including character models and textures, have been overhauled really well, and while it’s clearly not something that is built for PS4, PC, or Switch from the onset, it does still shine pretty well in HD. Capcom has also added full voiceover work to the game, a museum mode for concept art and the like, and it includes a few updates that were previously only available in Japan. All in all it’s a nice update to a game that’s roughly 8 years old at this point.

That said, Monster Hunter Stories is certainly the weaker of the two titles for this collection. The second game, Wings of Ruin, is just far more fleshed out, but I think the original Stories is still worth playing. It’s a fun RPG adventure which a great cast of characters, cool (and cute!) monster designs, and the core idea of collecting these monsters in a Pokémon-like manner works exceptionally well as a way to hook you in. If you’ve only played the second game, then I do think it’s worth checking out the first Monster Hunter Stories too, especially with the visual overhaul and other additions. 

For Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, I’d recommend checking out my full review of the original Switch release here. I really do love this game, it’s a great RPG, and it’s a fantastic example of a sequel utilizing the baseline of the original game and transforming that into something that’s even bigger and better than before. While the release of the game for PS4 and PC doesn’t have any notable additions made, there’s definitely plenty of content here to keep new players busy for hours on end. I played through this on PS5 via the PS4 copy provided, and I thought it looked and ran great overall. Certainly better than the Switch version did originally, so even if you’ve played that, it might be worth checking it out again on either of the newly available platforms. 

Overall I would highly recommend checking out both games in this collection, whether you’re picking it up as a bundle or as separate releases. Both games are great, and even if Monster Hunter Stories is a little dated compared to the sequel, it’s still a lot of fun. Even if you’ve never played a traditional Monster Hunter title before, Monster Hunter Stories Collection offers up such a different take on the series that you’ll have no trouble starting here. It is very much its own thing, and something that I hope we continue to see more of in the years to come. 

Note: Capcom provided us with a Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin PS4 code for review purposes.