Turn-based combat is a facet of gaming that has been around since the inception of the medium. From Final Fantasy to Pokemon to Persona, the simple concept of two opponents taking turns to attack and defend has been imagined and re-imagined countless times. As the years wear on, turn-based games have had to come up with a variety of ways to keep players engaged with their combat. A fair number of players will see a game with the tag ‘turn-based combat’ and be immediately turned off, as the genre does have a more deliberate pace than real-time combat systems. And to be fair, passively selecting menu options and watching one’s characters perform combat automatically does sound less engaging than directly controlling the combat yourself. In this regard, turn-based games typically require the use of interesting and complex systems to intellectually engage the player. With a more strategic focus, the longevity and entertainment value of turn-based combat depends on how deep these systems go, and how much the player can tinker with various builds and tactics. However, if the systems are too complex, they form a barrier to entry that can frustrate even seasoned turn-based veterans.

So, how does Monster Hunter Stories 2 stack up when compared to other turn-based combat systems? To put it simply, Monster Hunter Stories 2 is a game that masterfully straddles the line between being simple enough to learn quickly, and complex enough to theory-craft well into the late-game encounters. For that, it’s worth taking a closer look at what this title does well with its combat, and more importantly, why it works as well as it does.

To give a quick overview, Monster Hunter Stories 2’s combat revolves around capturing “Monsters,” or “Monsties” as they’re referred to once they join your party. Once a Monstie has been added to your party, they will fight with your player character in the battle against other Monsters. On a surface level, it bears a striking resemblance to Pokemon. However, there is a key difference between the two. In true Monster Hunter fashion, your player character directly fights in combat alongside your captured Monsties in battle, utilizing one of six weapon types. Each Monstie has its own attacks and abilities that players can utilize in combat, which are activated using a resource called a ‘Kinship Gauge’. This is essentially the player’s mana, as it allows them to use specific Monstie abilities as well as special moves depending on what weapon the player is using at the time. However, if the player forgoes using this resource and allows it to fill completely, they can ride their Monstie into battle. This refills your health, increases your attack and defense, and also allows you to spend the entirety of your Kinship in a single devastating attack. This constant decision-making of whether or not to save or expend your Kinship Gauge is one of the most engaging strategic elements of combat. You may decide to spend some of your Kinship to have your Monstie use a specific attack, or perhaps you might opt to play conservatively and save up power for a stronger, finishing blow.

In most turn-based combat games, the combat is typically centered around a specific mechanic or gimmick that informs the rest of the combat. For example, Octopath Traveler’s combat is based around using “Boost Points” to perform multiple actions per turn for increased damage. Monster Hunter Stories 2’s central mechanic is almost head-scratching in its simplicity; rock, paper, scissors. Many turn-based games incorporate this type of balancing mechanic for interactions between various attack types (e.g. Fire is weak to Water, etc). However, rarely is the concept boiled down to its lowest common denominator as in this game’s combat. Each Monstie specializes in one of three attack types: Power, Technical, and Speed. Power beats Technical but loses to Speed. Speed beats power but loses to Technical. During the player’s turn, they are also able to select which of these attacks they will use. If the player or their Monstie launches an attack against an opposing Monster at the same time the Monster is targeting them, a Head-to-Head will commence. When this happens, if the player has chosen an attack-type that counters the opposing Monster’s (e.g. Speed versus Power), the Monster’s attack will be canceled and only the player’s attack will connect for damage. If the player’s attack type is the same as the enemy Monster, both attacks will hit. Choose incorrectly, and the Monster will have a free attack on your character/Monstie.

This type of interaction also leaves open a way for players to outmaneuver Monsters that may be a higher level than their team should be able to handle. In terms of brute force, it’s difficult to deal with a Monster that is several levels stronger than you are. But by countering their attacks with the correct responding attack, you can essentially cancel out a Monster’s turn. This gives players a chance to make up for their lack of relative strength by shutting Monsters out of their attack phase. However, this can backfire if the player chooses the incorrect attack, meaning there will inherently be less room for error when relying on this strategy. This isn’t always a fool-proof strategy, but it does allow room for players to make up a bit of difference in raw power with tactical prowess, which is a telltale sign of a well-made strategy game.

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In addition, a Monster’s attack type can change multiple times throughout a fight when entering a Rage State, meaning that players will have to constantly re-evaluate what type of attack they use to avoid getting caught off-guard. Adding to the complexity, if the player uses the same type of attack as their Monstie in a Head-to-Head and wins, they will join their Monstie in a dual attack that dishes out considerably more damage. This leads to situations in which players may not know the attack type of the opposing Monster, and are immediately given a decision to make: Do they match their Monstie’s attack type for a potential increase in damage, gambling whether they will both be countered by the opposing Monster’s attack? Or, do they use a different attack type, in the hopes that one of them will be the correct counter?

Rock, Paper, Scissors may be one of the most simplistic ways to design a battle system. However, the constant need to juggle which attack to use against which monster throughout a battle ensures that players who don’t pay attention will be summarily punished for rash attack selection. It allows the satisfaction of knowing how to counter a previously encountered Monster while maintaining the tension of having to gamble which attack to use against unfamiliar Monsters. A more simplistic base may at first glance appear to dumb down the overall depth of combat. However, an easy-to-pick-up system such as this allows the game more freedom to gradually introduce more and more layers of complexity with other facets of its combat.

While Monsties are an important part of battle, weapon selection is just as important a factor in combat success. Monster Hunter Stories 2 has six total weapons to choose from. Greatsword, Sword and Shield, Hunting Horn, Bow, Hammer, and Gunlance. Each of these weapons also inflicts a specific damage type on Monsters. Sword weapons inflict Slashing damage, Hunting Horn and Hammer inflict Bludgeoning damage, with the Bow and Gunlance rounding things out with Piercing damage. Most Monsters will have a resistance to at least one type of damage, depending on what part you’re attacking. Therefore, players must be able to identify which part of the monster they want to focus on, and what damage type is best suited for attacking that part. Many larger Monsters will also require players to break a certain part to crack their defenses and deal increased damage, with each part being weak to a specific damage type. This ends up challenging players to constantly be swapping weapon types and attacking weak points as often as possible.

To aid in this mechanic, Monster Hunter Stories 2 has a subtle design decision that at first seems inconsequential but allows the weapon system to function much more smoothly than if it were absent. Players can swap weapons once per turn without actually having to end their turn. From a hardcore strategy fan perspective, it could be argued that by not having weapon swapping consume a turn, it ends up lowering the skill ceiling by not punishing players for lacking the foresight to choose the correct weapon. The counterargument to this would be that in a system where Monsters can become resistant to different weapon types throughout a single battle, flexibility is undoubtedly the superior design choice. Does it make the game less difficult? On a purely semantic basis, yes. However, with turn-based games such as this, having the flexibility to make more on-the-fly decisions will always feel better than feeling like your options are restricted. Besides, every Monster also has its own set of elemental weaknesses and resistances that require a specific elemental weapon to exploit. Items must be purchased ahead of time to ensure you have a steady supply when the going gets tough. Constantly upgrading your gear is crucial to keeping pace with the increasingly ferocious Monsters. Pre-planning and strategic forethought is still very much a part of going into battle. But when it comes to being in the heat of a fight, allowing the player to make more decisions is always better than restricting them.

Image via Capcom

Above all, Monster Hunter Stories 2’s combat succeeds because it constantly forces players to be aware of their actions during battle. Every turn of every fight, the player is constantly making decisions. It begins with choosing what attack type to use, either hoping to get a lucky counter on an unfamiliar Monster or predicting a familiar foe. Then the decision becomes which weapon to use to break which part. Do you stick with a weapon resistant to a certain part to build charge and unleash its most devastating attack ability? Or, do you forgo the investment and focus on body weaknesses exclusively? Do you swap out your Monstie for one that is more suited to the enemy’s attack type? Or, do you keep them in so as not to waste the kinship gauge you’ve been carefully building throughout the fight? When a game decides to have a turn-based battle system, it inherently decides to take a degree of control away from the player. This means that the game needs to give players a greater degree of control in other areas. Monster Hunter Stories 2 does this in a way that ensures players are constantly able to make a variety of decisions both in and out of combat. That’s where the spirit of turn-based gaming truly lies. Many turn-based games have fallen into the trap of having combat that feels less like a fight, and more like a puzzle. Persona 5 is a game with a fantastic turn-based combat system. However, with such a reliance on sussing out elemental weaknesses and performing All-Out-Attacks, once you discover an enemy’s weakness, there’s not much more tactical thinking required on the part of the player. And having a battle system that you can play on auto-pilot isn’t a criticism per se, but it does mean that the player is actively engaging with the system less than developers would probably desire.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 may have a comparatively simple combat system in terms of overall depth. But given how much tactical input is required on the part of the player each battle, it ends up being a much more engaging and downright playable experience. The hunt is still on for the perfect turn-based battle system. But given how engaging this title’s gameplay is on a moment-to-moment basis, it’s a fairly safe bet that developers will take notice of what has been accomplished here. Simplification is often a dirty word when it comes to strategy games. But when it ends up in a battle system that’s as easy to pick up and engaging as this one, it’s hard to argue with the results.

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