That premise might sound a little familiar to some. It’s definitely not too far off of Pokemon in a certain sense. Although the Pokemon franchise isn’t nearly as violent as Monster Hunter is, it’s all about the same kind of monster friendship saga that Monster Hunter Stories 2 is all about. Interestingly, one of the latest Monster Hunter Stories 2 trailers begs a question that Pokemon doesn’t really explore: how exactly do humans forge the kinds of trusting relationships that make it possible for humans and monsters to work together? The trailers suggest that that question, found rarely in the Pokemon world, is central to the plot of Monster Hunter Stories 2.
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Comparing Pokemon and Monster Hunter’s Philosophies
In the Pokemon series, both the games and the shows, the willingness of Pokemon to work with trainers is never really questioned. The closest that the games come is questioning how different trainers treat their Pokemon, comparing warm-hearted and loving trainers like Ash Ketchum to callous people who manipulate Pokemon like Team Rocket. That’s about the end of it, though. Across the Pokemon world, it’s generally accepted that Pokemon and humans live and work together. Human life is dependent on Pokemon’s help to function, but it’s never thoroughly explored exactly why Pokemon like to live and work with humans.
Monster Hunter Stories 2 seems interested in treating that question differently. In fact, the trailer that Capcom showed at E3 involved a character directly questioning how the protagonist controls their monsters. Although another character responds with a speech about teamwork over control, it doesn’t seem likely that that’ll be the end of the question. In fact, Monster Hunter Stories 2 will probably talk a lot about the different perspectives humans have on their relationship with monsters. It’s still heavily set in Monster Hunter traditions of battling monsters rather than taming them, and there’s also a looming antagonistic force that seems interested in catching and controlling monsters. Monster Hunter Stories 2 will probably be all about what it means for humans and monsters to work together.
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Monster Hunter Stories 2 Has Plot Potential
On the whole, Pokemon games aren’t known for their plots. Although some of them have told strong stories, the plot generally isn’t very complicated or asks any heavy questions, save for characters like N from Pokemon Black and White. Even though Monster Hunter Stories 2 has a premise pretty similar to Pokemon, Capcom’s willingness to tell an intricate story is a big reason that it stands out from Pokemon. Even though Pokemon is supposed to be all about friendship and developing bonds with a trainer’s team, the more emotionally impactful narrative at the heart of Monster Hunter Stories 2 might mean that Capcom tells the same kind of story, but better.
At the end of the day, this question isn’t what Pokemon is supposed to be about. The relationship that Pokemon and humans have is vastly different from the relationship between Monster Hunter monsters and humans in the grand scheme of things. Even so, it’s the kind of question that Pokemon fans can’t help ask themselves. The longer fans spend in one universe, the more questions they’ll have about how that world works. Monster Hunter Stories 2 has a chance at a solid plot thanks to asking this question of itself. Fans can look forward to working together with their Monsties while simultaneously learning what that kind of monster training means.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin releases July 9 for Nintendo Switch.
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