Designing an RPG off an action game – an interview with Monster Hunter Stories 2 Producer, Ryozo Tsujimoto

After all the hours poured into Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, getting the chance to have an email interview with the game’s producer, Ryozo Tsujimoto, was an opportunity not to be missed! We should preface the interview by stating that we had submitted these questions prior to the early September update that saw the additions of Soulseer Mizutsune, Elderfrost Gammoth and Oroshi Kirin. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s see what Tsujimoto-san had to say.

Interview has been translated from Japanese and edited for clarity.

Is there a reason why we can’t have Monsties like Daimyo Hermitaur, Agnaktor and Duramboros?
We did originally want to have all the monsters appear in the game and be available as Monsties. However, after considering various circumstances during the development period, we had to make the choice to give up on it. We’re very disappointed in this as well.

The game now is lacking strong water Monsties, besides the Palamute and Soulseer Mizutsune DLC. Same goes for offensive Dragon moves, where we only have Deviljho, Stygian Zinogre and Dragon Palamute. What are your thoughts on this?
We wanted to have more monsters from the Monster Hunter series to appear in the game, giving priority to popular monsters. As such, there are bound to be elemental imbalances.

Unlike the main series where monsters might have multiple weaknesses or strengths, Monstie stats are designed to have one strength / weakness in both defense and offense. Why this design choice?
Action games and RPGs are inherently different, so this was the result of prioritizing a more “casual” RPG.

The Monstie stat screen feels oversimplified, missing out stats such as recovery, or other elemental stats for offense and defense. Why so?
Initially, the UI showed all six elemental parameters, but a player can find it difficult to read. The game is not one that’s focused on these parameters either. In testing, the focus is placed on improving the strongest stat anyway, so the UI was changed to this simple and concise view. I think that this is currently the best state.

What does the recovery stat do, besides affecting Immunizer effects? Ed. note: Recovery does not affect genes such as Self Heal or Critical Healing, for example.
It affects the amount recovered when using a skill with a recovery effect.

What does the team think of the current PVP climate? Would there be official PVP events with a Capcom-endorsed ruleset?
We don’t have any particular recommended rules. We simply believe that as long as players can happily enjoy the battles with their Monsties, that’s good enough for us.

Having more weapon types compared to the first game is amazing. What are the design decisions behind creating the skills for each weapon?
We had one design motto: to highlight the characteristics of turn-based RPG combat. From there, we picked out 6 weapons. The design came from considering the balance of Monster Hunter-esque weapon skills. Further, a monster’s breakable parts is based off different weapon types – Blunt, Slash, Pierce. From there, taking advantage of the characteristics of the weapons makes combat feel more in-depth and fun.

The lore of the main series says Black Diablos is actually a Diablos in heat, but for Monster Hunter Stories, they’re already coloured black when hatched from the egg. Any thoughts on this? Ed. note: In-game description from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – “These black-shelled Diablos are treated as a subspecies, but are actually just female Diablos in heat. The color change is a signal to other creatures, as they tend to become extremely aggressive during mating season.”
(laughs) Well, please make use of the Monster Hunter Stories 2 world overview to make sense of it!

What happened to the first Monster Hunter Stories’ protagonist?
I believe their adventure is still ongoing. I’ll leave it to your imagination. Incidentally, if you haven’t played it yet, you can get it on 3DS, iOS and Android. I hope everyone will try it out!

We know that Rathalos is an iconic monster in the Monster Hunter series. However, Rathalos is already the main monster of the first Monster Hunter Stories, so why is it the main monster for the second game again?
We did initially consider monsters besides Rathalos, but we eventually decided to go with the iconic Rathalos as the player character’s main Monstie. We hope that players who didn’t play the first game would play the second, so we wrote a new and different story involving the protagonist Rider and Rathalos for the final script.

Anything you wish to say to the fans?
Thanks to your support, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin was released successfully. We thank you very much for playing the game, and if you haven’t, be sure to try out the demo. Please continue to support the Monster Hunter series in the future as well.

That’s the end of our interview with Ryozo Tsujimoto. With his insight, it sure explains the lopsided distribution of genes in Monster Hunter Stories 2, as players would be well aware of the staggering amount of Non-Elemental genes to Water and Ice. With the game’s next title updates expected to bring in Dreadking Rathalos, Molten Tigrex, Silver Rathalos and Golden Rathian in late September to October, one wonders if the development team will consider more overshadowed monsters after then?

You can check out our other guides here:

• Finding Elder Dragon and Deviant Eggs
• Quick Gene Farming
• EXP and Nutriment Farming
• Farming Elder Dragon and Deviant Eggs
• Understanding Genes
• Understanding Game Mechanics
• Talismans Farm

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Release Date: 2021-07-09

Nintendo Switch, Steam

A new adventure awaits you in this second installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Become a Rider and form bonds with friendly monsters known as Monsties to fight alongside them as you take part in an epic story.

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