The announcement for Monster Hunter Stories 3 came from the official Twitter account of Monster Hunter along with a little video. The video featured a person riding a red Zinogre, one of the franchise’s most beloved monsters, and the caption “Just a Princess and her Lord of Lightning! #MHStories3”. This has proved to be a significant indicator regarding the next chapter in the Monster Hunter Stories franchise and the gamers community is alight with discussions. While some players are openly opposing the monster’s presence, others are merely guessing the ancient gaming mechanics that might resurface.
Monster Hunter’s social networking channels have just informed us about a small matter and the stories group is going crazy. I mean, in a good way. It is just a little clip, right? A rider – the ‘princess’ – is sitting back on a Zinogre. But hold on, it’s not the grandma’s Zinogre, this one is RED. I mean, fire, molten-lava-looking red type of color. And again people are just giving the same reactions like … what was I saying? Oh, right the color. Everyone seems to have the same issue because Zinogre has always been the “Lord of Lightning”. He was noted for charging up the electricity and then going super with blue sparks all around him. So, a red one? That’s a real twist.
The thread has brilliant chaos going on which is the best sort. The player ‘Luiz’ straight out asks, “Why are you red..” which is completely the vibe. ‘Hoka_Hunter21’ expresses the same confusion but is excited, and refers to it as “Absolute cinema!!!” and then repeats the question about the color. It’s the big mystery! Some of the people, like ‘Jackrex20’, have even begun to question its element. “So, it’s red and looks all fire like, but its finisher is still electric? So I’m confused IS it fire type or” – now that’s a good point! If it looks like fire, but is attacking with thunder…what even is reality in the Monster Hunter universe anymore?
But this is where the real detective work began. A couple of smart players came up with some old information. The first Monster Hunter Stories had this introduced mechanic whereby you could infuse your Monstie with a different element, thereby changing its color and attacks. User ‘Joeynator3000’ replied to the confusion of someone saying, “They are bringing back the elemental change thing from the first game, basically. So, probably a fire type Zinogre I’m guessing.” Another user, ‘Mordramon’, supported this by saying it’s “related to an in-game mechanic returning from the first game.” So that part of the puzzle is solved! This red Zinogre could be a Fire-element variant made through that system which is an enormous callback for longtime Stories fans and still a very exciting feature to see return.
The buzz is not only about the mechanics, however. People are just over the moon with the idea of the monster always having been there but just looking cooler and being their beloved electric wolf again. ‘VashimuXIV’ said, “I’m glad this kinship still continues to be an absolute show stealer,” while referring to the stunning Kinship attack animations the series is famous for. And ‘QuillElderwood’ pointed out the impressiveness of the adult monsters by saying, “God, the monsties, fully grown, look so much better than the smaller movies we had in the past.” The visual upgrade is surely not going unnoticed.
With the announcement of something new always comes some… other demands mixed in. Some players used the opportunity to ask for things other than having their wishes met. ‘HeizOllie’ couldn’t resist and said, “Please one more free TU” (which is certainly referring to Title Update for the mainline games). ‘LacyelR’ humorously remarked the mainline series, posting, “Zinogre in MH wilds when?” right after a comment lamenting the fact that the clip was for Stories and not Wilds. And ‘BlueFroggolotl’ made a very specific request about pre-order cards: “Is it too late to swap it from being on a Game Key Card to a regular one?” The priorities are all over the place and it is hilarious.
The classic fan wishlisting is also there. ‘ReasonableChoic’ posted the image of another monster, Great Girros, and said: “I swear if my boy is not in this game, I’m gonna lose it. He literally fits this spinoff better than the mainline games.” This prompted a mini-thread where ‘Rclisk324’ concurred, “darn. i want a Great Girros so bad!” It is nice to see which monsters players are most eagerly waiting to ride in the new game. And you have players on other platforms like Xbox and PlayStation joining the broader gaming conversation.
