Wikipedia

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin[a] is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom and Marvelous and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Switch and Windows. It is a spinoff title in the Monster Hunter series and a sequel to Monster Hunter Stories (2016). The game was released worldwide on July 9, 2021.[2][3]

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)
  • Kenji Oguro
  • Katsuhisa Higuchi
Producer(s)
  • Ryozo Tsujimoto
  • Hiroshi Ito
  • Kenichiro Tsukuda
Designer(s)
  • Hiromi Sakamoto
  • Kenji Oguro
  • Saina Aoki
  • Nao Hashimoto
Programmer(s)
  • Toshihiko Honda
  • Kenji Yatagai
Artist(s)
  • Takahiro Kawano
  • Ryuichi Noguchi
  • Tokiko Nakashima
  • Shiori Udaka
  • Yusuke Saiwai
  • Tomohiro Ishino
Writer(s)
  • Megumi Shimizu
  • Dai Sato
  • Tomoyuki Hosokawa
  • Saina Aoki
Composer(s)
  • Marika Suzuki
  • Masahiro Ohki
  • Yuko Miyata
SeriesMonster Hunter
EngineMT Framework
Platform(s)
ReleaseNintendo Switch, Windows
  • WW: July 9, 2021
PS4
  • WW: June 14, 2024
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

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Similarly to Monster Hunter Stories, the player assumes the role of a Rider who befriends monsters by stealing eggs and hatching them. The player character joins their companion monster, or "Monstie", in turn-based battles against wild monsters.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 adds additional gameplay mechanics, such as the "Buddies" system,[4] in which the player character and their Monstie is joined by an additional character and Monstie.[5]

Battle

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During the player's turn, both the Rider and their Monstie will get to attack the enemy. Attacks for both the player and the enemy come in three types: Power, Speed, and Technical. Each category is stronger against one in particular in a rock-paper-scissors fashion: Power will win against Technical, Technical will win against Speed, and Speed will win against Power. When an enemy monster is targeting someone and that character attempts to attack it, a Head-to-Head will occur which pits their two attack types against each other, with the dominant attack type prevailing in the exchange. If the player character and their Monstie both use the same attack type while the enemy is targeting someone and have the type advantage, they will unleash a Double Attack and prevent the enemy from retaliating altogether. Winning battles will award the player with experience points and items. Beyond the main story, the player can engage in sidequests, called subquests.

Plot

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The story begins with the mass disappearance of Rathalos around the world seen at a festival on Hakolo island, as well as large pits emitting a strange, pinkish light appearing everywhere. As the descendant of the legendary Rider named Red, the player character has a fateful encounter with a white-haired Wyverian girl, Ena, who has been entrusted with a Rathalos egg by Guardian Ratha. A Rathalos with small black wings bursts out of the egg, which is said to bring ruin to the world in time. As the story progresses, the player character faces many monsters that have pink, glowing eyes. These "rage-rayed" monsters attack and destroy everything they see, and the source seems to come from the pits. The Hunters believe that the birth of "Razewing Ratha" (the player's Rathalos) is the source and capture it. Eventually it is discovered that the Hunters are working with a mysterious group that wants Ratha for themselves. The player, however, is able to get Ratha back and escape with Ena, with Ratha spreading his wings in the process. Later, the player sees an enormous worm-like creature emerge from one of the pits and devour a Rathalos. This monster is later discovered to be a powerful Elder Dragon called Oltura, which has been creating the pits and luring Rathalos in to consume them and gain power. The pits' light starts to turn blue as the player and Ena tries to track down Oltura. Eventually, they go to Hakolo Island, Oltura's birthplace. The player and Ena then confront Zellard, who is revealed to be the leader of the mysterious group and intends to awaken Oltura in order to destroy the world and create a brand new one, having grown disillusioned with humanity after Red's death. Zellard nearly sacrifices Ratha to Oltura, but Oltura instead consumes Guardian Ratha, awakening fully. Kyle discovers during the issuing fight that the wings of Oltura are its weak points, and uses two relics that Ena wore around her neck as a pendant to destroy them. The player and Ratha then kill the weakened Oltura, saving the world.

Development

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On September 17, 2020, Nintendo revealed the game during a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.[6] This was then followed up with more information during the Monster Hunter-themed Nintendo Direct on the same day.[7] In the broadcast, some story details were mentioned, and it was announced that the game will have some sort of cross-compatibility with Monster Hunter Rise.[8] More information was revealed during the Tokyo Game Show.[9]

Release

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The game was released worldwide on the Nintendo Switch and Windows on July 9, 2021.[10][11] A set of three Amiibo figures (Ena, Razewing Ratha and Tsukino) launched on the same day. To commemorate the release, a collectable Spirit was added to the crossover game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

A PlayStation 4 port was announced on March 11, 2024 and released on June 14, 2024, the same day the game launch along with the remastered version of Monster Hunter Stories at the same time.[12][13]

Reception

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Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin received "generally favorable reviews" according to Metacritic.[14][15]

PCGamesN writes about the game "While the repetitiveness of its turn-based battle system can become frustrating, Monster Hunter Stories 2 is more than a novel twist on the main series' core components."[22]

Sales

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According to Famitsu, the Nintendo Switch version of the game sold 137,676 copies at retail to rank as the best-selling game in Japan in its week of release.[23] In the United Kingdom, Monster Hunter Stories 2 debuted in third place, reportedly selling more than twice what the original game had done in its first week.[24] In the United States, NPD Group reported that the game ranked as the third best selling release of the month, with sales tripling that of the previous entry's lifetime sales.[25][26] It topped the global Steam charts in its first week, setting a new peak player count for a Japanese role-playing game's launch on the platform, surpassing Persona 4 Golden.[27][28]

On July 20, 2021, Capcom announced that the game had shipped more than one million units worldwide.[29] In May 2022, Capcom confirmed that Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin had sold 1.5 million copies.[30]

Note

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  1. ^ Japanese: モンスターハンターストーリーズ2：破滅の翼, Hepburn: Monsutā Hantā Sutōrīzu 2: Hametsu no Tsubasa

References

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  1. ^ "MONSTER HUNTER STORIES 2 Ending". YouTube. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. ^ Damien McFerran (September 17, 2020). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin Hits Switch Summer 2021". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  3. ^ Liana Ruppert (September 17, 2020). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin Is Coming Summer 2021". Game Informer. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin - The Final Hands-on Preview".
  5. ^ "Monster Hunter Stories 2 is delightfully different – and ideal for series newcomers".
  6. ^ Garst, Aron; Gurwin, Gabe (September 17, 2020). "Nintendo Direct Mini: Biggest Game Announcements". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  7. ^ Tom Ivan (September 17, 2020). "Two Monster Hunter games are coming to Nintendo Switch in 2021". Video Games Chronicles. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  8. ^ Matt Purslow (September 17, 2020). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  9. ^ JeromeJoffard (September 17, 2020). "Monster Hunter Stories 2 : Wings of Ruin - La suite du spin-off s'officialise sur Nintendo Switch". Jeuxvideo.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  10. ^ Peppiatt, Dom (March 8, 2021). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin coming to Switch in July". VG247. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Dino, Oni (March 8, 2021). "Monster Hunter Stories 2 Coming to PC". Siliconera. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  12. ^ Romano, Sal (March 11, 2024). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin coming to PS4 on June 14". Gematsu. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  13. ^ Bailey, Kat (March 11, 2024). "Monster Hunter Stories 2 Announced for PlayStation 4, Fans Express Confusion". IGN. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  16. ^ Carter, Chris (July 11, 2021). "Review: Monster Hunter Stories 2". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  17. ^ Romano, Sal (July 7, 2021). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1701". Gematsu. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  18. ^ Carson, John (July 7, 2021). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin Review – My Monstie And Me". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  19. ^ Defreitas, Casey (July 7, 2021). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  20. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (July 7, 2021). "Review: Monster Hunter Stories". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  21. ^ Theriault, Donald (July 7, 2021). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Monster Hunter Stories 2 review – gateway drug". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  23. ^ Romano, Sal (July 15, 2021). "Famitsu Sales: 7/5/21 – 7/11/21". Gematsu. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  24. ^ Dring, Christopher (July 12, 2021). "Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart returns to No.1 after PS5 stock boost - UK Boxed Charts". Gameindustry.biz. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  25. ^ Minotti, Mike (August 13, 2021). "July 2021 NPD: PS5 and Switch lead the way to 10% year-over-year growth". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  26. ^ Piscatella, Mat [@MatPiscatella] (August 13, 2021). "US NPD SW - Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin debuted as the third best-selling game of July 2021. Launch month sales of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin more than tripled the lifetime sales of Monster Hunter Stories, originally released on Nintendo 3DS in 2017" (Tweet). Retrieved August 27, 2021 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Sinha, Ravi (July 12, 2021). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Sets New Record for JRPGs on Steam". GamingBolt. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  28. ^ Zirkler, Dennis (July 19, 2021). "Steam Charts: Die Bestseller stecken voller neuer Rollenspiele". GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  29. ^ Liam Doolan (July 20, 2021). "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin Has Shipped Over One Million Units Worldwide". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  30. ^ Romano, Sal (May 18, 2022). "Capcom sales update: Monster Hunter Rise at 9 million, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne at 9.2 million, more". Gematsu. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
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