From the moment Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection was revealed during the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase a while back, fans and critics have noted how different the game looks visually and in the gameplay show. While certain key elements, like collecting monsters and battling them, are the same, other parts feel more “realistic,” and a recent gameplay demo video highlighted certain advancements in the combat system.
In a special interview with 4Gamer, Capcom’s Monster Hunter series producer, Ryozo Tsujimoto, opened up about the changes between the first two entries and the upcoming one. He detailed how things changed from title to title:
“While the first game was well-received as an RPG, some players said things like, “The character proportions didn’t suit me and made it difficult to play.” So we took the plunge and reworked the character proportions and visuals, and released the second installment.
“With the second installment, we felt we had established a more authentic Monster Hunter as an RPG, and we began to feel like the title had truly become independent. That’s why the development team had numerous discussions about what to do with the third installment.
“After much deliberation, we decided to focus more on the RPG aspect. To achieve this, we aimed to create something that would make players feel like “this is an RPG” the moment they saw the proportions, graphics, world view, etc. We also focused on depicting the “world of Riders” in more depth than ever before in the scenario.”
In that same interview, Monster Hunter Stories 3 Director Kenji Oguro noted that the idea for the third game was truly to make it “more RPG” than anything they had done before with this spinoff line.
There were other changes noted as well, including how the protagonist is already a skilled Rider from the game’s jump, and that players will be able to fly around on their Rathalos steed early on.
We’ll see what other changes will help define the title when it arrives on March 13th, 2026.
Source: 4Gamer
