{"id":54647,"date":"2025-12-06T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=54647"},"modified":"2025-12-05T18:03:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:03:37","slug":"monster-hunter-stories-3-team-considered-switching-from-turn-based-to-a-trendier-action-rpg-format-early-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/monster-hunter-stories-3-team-considered-switching-from-turn-based-to-a-trendier-action-rpg-format-early-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Monster Hunter Stories 3 team considered switching from turn-based to a \u201ctrendier\u201d action RPG format early on, but decided to stick to the series\u2019 identity\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection<\/strong> is the third mainline entry in Capcom\u2019s \u201cStories\u201d series of Monster Hunter JRPGs, set to launch in March 2026. Like its predecessors, Twisted Reflections will adopt a turn-based battle system, but the popularity of action-based RPGs did have the developers consider a change in genre.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection - Pre-order Trailer\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f1M_0t2Tayk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Talking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamespark.jp\/article\/2025\/12\/04\/160153.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Game*Spark<\/a> in a recent interview, Monster Hunter Stories 3 director Kenji Oguro comments, \u201cEarly in development, we were torn about whether to continue as is or change direction. These days action RPGs are popular, and we\u2019re aware that they\u2019re well received.\u201d But to begin with, he explains, the Stories series was launched to be a new pillar of the Monster Hunter franchise, distinct from the mainline, action-focused games. \u201cA major reason for adopting a turn-based command RPG format was that we wanted people who aren\u2019t good at action games or who simply prefer RPGs to be able to enjoy it.\u201d On the other hand, the strengths of the Stories series lie in narrative and collecting and raising monsters. This is something the developers doubled down on for the latest entry, according to the director.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1515\" height=\"851\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1515px) 100vw, 1515px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251205-54647-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251205-54647-001.jpg 1515w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251205-54647-001-380x213.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251205-54647-001-768x431.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, given how far the mainline Monster Hunter series has come with its action mechanics, Oguro thinks that attempting to add action to the Stories series would only make it pale in comparison. \u201cI think people would just go, <em>well in that case, aren\u2019t the mainline games better<\/em>?\u201d He adds that \u201cexpressing Monster Hunter-like battles without adding action mechanics might be what defines the core identity of Stories.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s not to say that Monster Hunter Stories 3 won\u2019t leverage Capcom\u2019s prowess in action gameplay. Oguro says he made use of this know-how to execute a pretty dramatic change to field gameplay. Specifically, this involves making the environments more interactive (\u201cinviting players to do stuff\u201d) and adding mechanics that make simply traversing the field fun.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsterhunter.com\/stories3\/en-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection<\/a> releases on March 13, 2026 for PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X\u2758S and Nintendo Switch 2.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection director Kenji Oguro talks about why the subseries has stuck to turn-based battles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":54649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-54647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Monster Hunter Stories 3 team considered switching from turn-based to a \u201ctrendier\u201d action RPG format early on, but decided to stick to the series\u2019 identity\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection director Kenji Oguro talks about why the subseries has stuck to turn-based battles.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/monster-hunter-stories-3-team-considered-switching-from-turn-based-to-a-trendier-action-rpg-format-early-on\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monster Hunter Stories 3 team considered switching from turn-based to a \u201ctrendier\u201d action RPG format early on, but decided to stick to the series\u2019 identity\u00a0 - 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