Taking inspiration from the addictive "collect 'em all" gameplay of Pokemon and mashing it into a traditonal Japanese role-playing game (JRPG), Monster Hunter Stories totally snuck up on me and completely caught my attention.
In this spin-off you play as a Monster Rider, instead of the usual Hunter of the main Monster Hunter action-RPG series. This means you're a friend of the beasts, hatching and raising monsters, assembling a team and then duking it out in turn-based battles as you play through its massive story.
Unlike Pokemon you can't control your Monsties (yes, it's a play on "bestie") directly in battle. They do what they want. But you can buff them, help them out and attack with them. The game's battles are great fun and surprisingly dramatic, filled with neat little surprises and big tough decisions. On a base level they're simple, using a paper-scissor-rock system, but because of all the craziness going on they regularly become intense.
The story's the standard JRPG hero's journey as you level up from village zero to world hero. But a lot of the genre's systems are streamlined making it much more accessible and, yes, fun. There's still complexity but you don't need to get bogged down in it.
If you're looking for a solid traditional JRPG, then snare Monster Hunter Stories. It really will have you hooked in no time.
