Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Review (Switch, also on PC) | Backlog Battle 

Really great review, Alex. As a fan of the first Stories game, I’ve been trying to convince some people from another game community to give this game a go. They to do not understand that Stories is a much different game experience than the traditional Monster Hunter games. And since they did not enjoy the original Monster Hunter games, they are hesitant to give this a go, despite being fans of JRPG’s. I’ll point them to this video and hopefully they will get a better impression of what the game is about.

Awesome review! Monster Hunter is my favorite series since Zelda because of the consistent releases and I've found community in the multiplayer. The Stories series itself I love because it's everything I wished Pokemon could be, fighting alongside your monsters rather than on the back lines.

Stories is likely to become my favorite branch of the Monster Hunter series. I love what I've played of the 3DS original, and this one looks like it'll be a complete joy. Also, that Breath of Fire shout-out warmed my heart. I hope Sega's recent success with reviving their dormant classic series shows Capcom that people still want them

Thank you again, as always, Master Alex! Your reviews never fail to deliver with respect to knowledgeable, informative breakdowns on the key tenets of a game, and do a fantastic job of making plain what works, what doesn't, and why we should care. You're the best!

Since I got a switch last Christmas, I had to wait for a sale, but I finally got it. Loved the original on the 3DS so I am looking forward to playing this after work. Great review as usual, take care

Dude! Although I have Monster Hunter World, i haven't really played much of it because the design of the game wasn't for me. I had absolutely no intentions of buying this game at first but when I played the demo out of curiosity, I was blown away. I love this game so much as a fan of jrpgs. Especially turn-based. Everything about this game is just so well crafted with a charming story to keep my attention! Great review!

i already have the game but i really enjoy watching your reviews and hearing how you analyze games! keep it up boss!

Thanks for the review. I'm interested in this series and see part 1 is being released on the Switch soon so I can start with either.

Thank you Alex for this amazing review. It's only because of you I started to love JRPG games and I always feel cozy while watching your reviews. I saw countless reviews of this game, yet yours are final one that made my mind if to get this game or not. Best review ever. Thanks again and keep it up 👍👍👍

This was very informative! Thank you! It sounds like I would enjoy this game much more than the mainline Monster Hunters.

Great review, hopefully this gets more people to play it, and support doesn’t slow up. I hope this game get a pretty good amount.

I might be getting this! I played the demo on the 3DS some years ago & I really like it's concept! I never played any of the Monster Hunter games, but this right here might be my introduction in to the MH Universe! 😁

Terrific review as usual! I must have been asleep under a rock or something, as I didn't know much about this game (or its predecessor) before this video. So kudos to you for schooling me! I've never played Monster Hunter, but this one definitely seems like my type of game. Problem is, my jrpg backlog is so huge, it's hard for me to pick up yet one more!

I love your reviews. I was unsure about this one but now I'm definitely gonna pick it up

This game has been a huge, pleasant surprise for me. I did not expect to fall in love with it as much as I have. Great reviews as always and I hope more people give this game a try.

wonderful take on this amazing game. truthfully i played the demo but it is really amazing (spend around 10 hours), i will get a copy of this game sometime this or next month. like many before me, it is the better monster catch/raise/fight game than pokemon.

I feel like the biggest misconception people have is that the combat is too simple because of the base rock, paper, scissors formula. But really it's several rock, paper, scissors games layered on top of one another which makes it easy to understand, but offers a lot of strategic depth as well.

This sounds like it’s right up my alley! Thanks for the review!

Great Review as always Alex. Loved the first game and this one looks and sounds just bigger and better. Really looking forward to it.

Great review! I'm currently in love with this game. It has the right amount of freshness in the combat to keep me engaged. Plus seeing the monsties in this art style is fun and refreshing.

More interested in the series now; thanks Alex.

Your review is right on time, I finished the story mode yesterday, so I can watch with no fear of being spoiled, haha! Definitely in my top 5 games of this year.

Another great review Alex! This game has been a pleasant surprise for me. I really didn’t expect to like this game as much as I do. I too really enjoyed the music in this game. Just hearing it in this review brought a little smile to my face. The turn based combat is quite addictive & fun. My only real complaint is not having complete control over your party. The AI does some weird things sometimes. It’s not too often, but can be a little frustrating in some of the tougher battles. Overall, this has been one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve had with a game this year. A real surprise. If you are a Monster Hunter fan or just simply into turn based rpg’s, you should really give this a play.

Since they're planning to update the game over the coming year I am sure by Black Friday it will be discounted heavily and it will have so many more Monsties and updates I still haven't faced the latest monsters in Rise

This is the Pokemon game I always wanted on the switch also your review is so laid-back I like that

Egg collecting the game. Good to see you doing MH review again Alex!

I've been on the fence about this game. Still not sure if I want to pick it up but this has steered me a bit towards it. Honestly the biggest thing holding me back at the moment is the fact that I want to get it on switch but my joycons drift like crazy so if I do I'd have to buy new joycons or a pro controller as well. Also, have you heard of the game "Cris Tales"? It's an indie RPG that released today. Dunno if it's worry of a review but I think it's worth checking out at the very least.

only thing i didnt like is that you cant mix and match armor .. it will always be a set when you craft it

I'm excited to play this game on Switch. I liked the first game, though it was pretty easy. Still, I had a good time with it. I'm hoping this will get some free Nintendo cross over DLC just like MH Stories 1. Played the majority of the first game dressed as Link with Epona as my partner monstie and it was awesome!

I played the demo like 5 hours. On the surface I should love this game based on other things I like. However something about was either to slow or something and I just couldn't keep going. Maybe it gets less repetitive after getting farther into game?

Completed the game today but I'll still watch your review :) The big question is, who is the best waifu and why is it alwin.

Still haven't played it yet but should be good. Loved the first one.

Best game, better than current Pokémon

should one play the first game first before this one?

I agree with most of this video and do think this game has beautiful art direction, music and a very fun battle system, but you conveniently left out a few big negatives that could deter a lot of people from wanting to pick it up. 1) The monster dens and everdens are really starting to kill my buzz while playing the game. They're very very very copy and paste, not just some elements or some sections repeated but...literally the same areas over and over, right down to placement of art assets, bugs, bones, chests, and layout. Most egregious are the cave versions. Really is killing my fun in the game, because they are necessary to traverse for bottlecaps and monster nests. For anyone playing the game long enough, this becomes an issue. I find kind of insulting the game doesn't attempt to randomize even a LITTLE bit of this (in similar den types). Straight up is the same with maybe plus or minus a path or 2. 2) Too many long linear PS2 era pathways and "corridors." I actually don't mind some linearity between bigger areas, but I'm starting to find some of these sections that adjunct from the bigger areas to be a bit of bore and a chore, couple that with the den criticism and as I get used to the game I feel like I'm spending a lot of time bored and bathing in blandness in time intensive areas. 3) Started to feel this one last night, not finding myself well rewarded for a lot of exploration, and instead finding myself receiving the same crap out of chests and ground forageables over and over. Would be nice to be surprised with something from a chest, or a small optional area with a visual POP (YS8 did this well with small beautiful "landmarks" you'd find down a random out of the way path). 4) Framerate, while you casually mentioned this, it is a big issue in the Rutoh Village, much worse than the starting village (like about the same as BotW right by the Master Sword in the Lost Woods). So bad I hate when I have to go back there. Traversing the world in general is better, but the uncapped FPS fluctuations (25-30-40-60) can be a real headache while trying to admire some of the more open areas of the game, and that majesty definitely dives. If you're sensitive to frame rates (on the Switch version), it can definitely hurt your eyes. I really like the game, but while playing the last night (especially points 1 thru 3), I'm finding my interest waning and wondering if I should just ignore a lot of the den stuff (I usually only hit up everdens and rare dens, not the basic ones) and exploration and make more of a beeline thru the story.