Discussion YMMV / MonsterHunterStories2WingsOfRuin

Specifically, the disputed entries are:

• In addition to [three prior entries], the weapon selection in Stories 1 was often cited as being disappointing, in large part because there were only four weapon types (greatswords, sword & shield, hammer and hunting horn) and functionally there wasn't really that much difference between the weapons aside from certain special moves (with GS and hammer getting hit especially badly by "feels the same" syndrome). Stories 2 addresses this in two ways: first, there are two more weapon types, bows and gunlances (which, among other things, finally gives Riders a "ranged" option in a way that feels satisfying in the combat engine), and secondly & far more importantly, damage type now matters — GS and S&S now deal slash damage, bow and GLance now deal pierce, and hammer and horn now, logically, deal blunt. Different monsters, and even different parts on monsters, have different physical vulnerabilities, meaning it now makes sense to have multiple weapons and weapon types and gives broad weapon categories things they are good at.
  • Moreover, effort has been made to make sure the mechanics of the real-time MH games are now present in the turn-based system: bows can charge up for special shots, horns now have an easier time setting up their tunes, the large weapons now have their full movesets represented, et cetera. Gunlance even has all of its vial and discharge mechanics, in some form or another!
• Finally, while the monster selection in the original game was fairly decent (it ultimately featured nearly 70 Monsties to collect), a good deal of the monster selection felt... "last-generation", so to speak, with the only real representation the then-contemporary 4th gen had being Nerscylla, Kecha Wacha and Seregios, with Glavenus also technically present but only available at specific tournament events. While Stories 2 doesn't feature Monsties from its direct stablemate Rise outside of Palamutes (which, given the development timeframes, is a bit more reasonable), it very pointedly features Monsties and Monstie variants which go all the way up to Iceborne and Generations Ultimate, including a fair few iconics from those titles, and generally features more monster variety than 1 did and more monsters that recent international fans are likely to be familiar with. Several World-era monsters, like Nergigante, play significant story roles.

I pulled the entries from the page and moved them here until a decision is made.

When I originally cut them, I cited quality-of-life reasons, which admittedly applied to other parts cut but not these. These, I feel, are things that don't qualify since they were not actively criticized in the first game. Upping counts like this is just normal Sequel Escalation.

I agree, sure people wanted more monsters and weapons in the first game, but at the same time the number was not generally seen as a real flaw since the first game still had the majority of existing monsters and people recognized the focus was not on the weapons.