Monster Hunter Stories has received a surprise release on mobile devices in the West. The title has language support for English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. It is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play for $19.99. There is also a free demo version of the app available to download as well.
Monster Hunter Stories is the franchise’s first ever RPG and was released originally on the 3DS. This new version of the game is a full port of the Monster Hunter spin-off, albeit with more touch-focused controls. Since this a full release, Capcom has promised that it will not have any microtransactions or free-to-play features. The free demo will be called Monster Hunter Stories The Adventure Begins and will allow players to transfer their data from it to the full title.
Two trailers have been released for this mobile version of the game. The first showcases the combat mechanics of the title and highlights the monster collecting aspect of it. The second trailer show more of the story off, focusing on the protagonist’s adventure, as well as more of the monsters available to tame. You can watch them both below.
Monster Hunter Stories was originally released in Japan in 2016, with its Western release a year later. This mobile port of the Monster Hunter spin-off has already been released in Japan, launching on December 4, 2017. The story of the game follows Lillia and Shuval as they discover a monster egg in the forest surrounding their village and the three’s ensuing adventure.
The game has received an overall positive reception, with its Metacritic score currently sitting at 79 out of 100. Our own review of Monster Hunter Stories gave the title a 3.5 out of 5. It cites its position as an entry point to the Monster Hunter franchise and its story as highlights. However, its aesthetics and some of the aspects of the turn-based combat detracted from the reviewer’s experience.