A few thoughts on the Monster Hunter Stories 3DS demo after putting about five hours into it

Just over a month ago, Nintendo plopped a demo for Monster Hunter Stories onto the North American 3DS eShop.

I promptly downloaded it, of course. And I say "of course" here because I've been curious about this Pokémon-esque Monster Hunter spinoff since it was released in Japan last fall.

That's not to say I promptly played through its demo. Although I put maybe 30 minutes or an hour into it shortly after my download finished, I didn't really dig into it until a week or two later (mainly because I was obsessed with Mother at the time).



As of now, I've played it for nearly five hours. Based on what I've read on line, there's still a few hours of content left for me to explore. Rather than wait until I hit that wall to write up my thoughts on this Monster Hunter Stories teaser--which is what I'd normally do--I decided to jot down and share them now.

Why the rush? Well, for starters, I'm really enjoying the demo--even more than I expected to, if I'm to be honest. Plus, I'm pretty sure nothing's going to pop up in the next hour or two that will change my opinion of Monster Hunter Stories.

With that out of the way, here are some of my thoughts on this surprisingly generous demo:

It looks absolutely lovely--I've liked Monster Hunter Stories' art style since I first laid eyes on it way back when. OK, so I wasn't initially all that keen on the design of Navirou, your odd-looking Felyne sidekick, but I eventually came around to it. I've always found the game's human designs appealing, though. They're cute without being generic or anime-esque, if that makes sense. I also really dig how the designers at developer Marvelous used a lot of bold, saturated colors while crafting Monster Hunter Stories' vast environments.



Its battles are more enjoyable than I thought they'd be--No one is going to accuse Monster Hunter Stories' fights of being confusing or complicated. In fact, they're little more than rock-paper-scissors bouts. That's fine with me, though, as it keeps them moving along at a good clip--which can't be said of all modern RPGs, that's for sure. My only worry is they might become boring while playing the full game. Considering that's rarely been an issue for me before, though, I don't see it impacting my decision to pick up a physical copy or not.

It chugs a bit on an original 3DS system--I don't know how the Monster Hunter Stories demo runs on other 3DS hardware, but it slows down and stutters now and then on an original unit. It doesn't do so all the time, and it's hardly that annoying, but I thought I should bring it up anyway. The question is: does the full game chug a bit on early 3DS systems, too, or does it perform better than this demo? Thankfully, I can play the former on my New 3DS if need be, but I'd prefer to play it on my "flame red" unit.



It's convinced me to buy the full game--Don't take this to mean me picking up a boxed copy of Monster Hunter Stories is a sure thing. I'd certainly like to do that, and soon, but the fact is my recent Switch acquisition is going to force me to be pretty picky with my game purchases for the foreseeable future. I still want quite a few 3DS titles--many of which I wrote about in this post from April, although I highlighted two others here and here--after all, and then there are Switch and retro games to consider, too.

Oh, well, even if I don't buy the retail version of this Pokémon wannabe, it won't be because I disliked its demo. How about you? Have you played either the Monster Hunter Stories demo or full game? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it in the comments section that follows.

See also: 'I tried the Hey! Pikmin demo and I think I liked it'

The decision has been made: I'm getting a New 3DS (instead of a pink OG 3DS)

Actually, I already bought it. On Saturday. It won't be in my hands until late this week or early next, though, so I've got plenty of time to decide which of my six (yes, you read that correctly) cover plates I'll attach to this shiny new handheld first.

Don't take this to mean I'll never acquire the "pearl pink" OG 3DS I've pined for since that color was first announced, by the way. A part of me thinks I'll still buy one at some point--and possibly sooner rather than later.

Who knows, though? Maybe I'll fall head over heels in love with my New 3DS once it's in my hands and that will kill my interest in the OG variety once and for all.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm unsure if I'll love the New 3DS that's on its way to me.



After all, I bought a Japanese version of the system late last year. (Read about it in my post, "As I've always said, you can't have too many Animal Crossing-themed things or 3DS systems.")

The thing is, I've yet to actually use that system. Which, I realize, is completely ridiculous. Perhaps even insane. Rest assured I didn't purchase it to let it sit in a box. Truth be told, I'm terrified I'll screw up the process of transferring all of the games and saves from my gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL to my Japanese New 3DS, and that is what has kept me from playing the latter.

Thankfully, moving everything from my "flame red" OG 3DS to my North American New 3DS should go a long way toward helping me put those fears to rest. Assuming it does, I'll finally be able to put some of the Japanese 3DS games I've picked up over the last few months through their paces, as the saying goes.

In the meantime, do any of you own a New 3DS system? What do you think of it, if so?

Help me decide if I should buy (another) OG 3DS or New 3DS

Here's the thing: I've been itching to replace my "flame red" OG 3DS for ages now.

The main reason, of course, is that I never really wanted a red 3DS. I wanted a pink one. I won't bore you with the long-winded story about how and why I ended up with a red rather than a pink 3DS, but the gist is that I've never quite been able to quash my longing for the latter.

Another reason I want to replace my not-pink 3DS: its bottom screen features so many scratches and scuff marks--thanks to games like Maestro! Jump in Music--it's starting to drive me batty.

And then there's the fact that Nintendo just tossed the ROM for its cult-favorite SNES RPG, EarthBound onto the North American eShop--and made it only playable on New 3DS systems.

That last comment might prompt some of you to wonder why I'm asking for your advice as to whether I should buy another (this time pink) OG 3DS or one of the smaller New 3DS units. After all, if I choose the first option, I won't be able to enjoy on-the-go EarthBound in a fully legal manner.

This is true, of course, but I can't say it's done much to sway me one way or the other. I guess that's due to the "power of pink"? OK, so it's also probably due to the fact that I've grown pretty fond of the OG 3DS' design in the last few years. (I used to despise it, especially in comparison to the wonderfully sleek cases that house Nintendo's DS Lite and DSi handhelds.)

Whatever the case my be, I'm all sorts of confused about which model of 3DS I should buy in the next few days, so I'm asking for some input.

Which device would you pick up if you were in my shoes: a "pearl pink" OG 3DS or a non-XL New 3DS?

One import system I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now

OK, so I did tell you a bit about it--in this post. But I didn't tell you much about it, did I?

What more do I have to say about it, you ask? Well, how about this: I wasn't planning on picking up a "misty pink" Japanese 3DS until sometime later this year. Until I came across an auction for the one you see in the photos below.

As for what prompted me to place a bid on said auction: I can't remember what the starting bid was, but it was quite a bit less than what Japanese 3DSes tend to sell for in the States.

What I do remember is what I ended up paying for it--a smidge less than $150. Even after shipping was factored in I paid less than I would have for a North American version of the same system.



I know, I don't know what prompted the folks at PlayAsia to offer up such a deal either, but I gladly took advantage of it.

Sadly, all I've done with it so far is downloaded a bunch of Japanese demos. I'm planning to buy a few Japan-only eShop games in the coming weeks, though, so once I do that I'll write about them here.

I'm also hoping to purchase my first Japanese 3DS retail game sooner rather that later. I haven't yet done so because I'm still unsure as to which one I want.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigina Orb is the frontrunner right now, although Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku (a puzzler based on the characters of the Touch Detective series) and even Zoo Keeper 3D are distinct possibilities, too.

See also: '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now'