'Monster Hunter Stories' News Latest: Spinoff Will Have Players Riding Instead of Hunting Monsters

A spinoff is reportedly being developed in the Monster Hunter series called "Monster Hunter Stories" which would be released on the Nintendo 3DS. Monster Hunter is an extremely popular gaming franchise that was first launched in Japan and later made it way to the U.S.

News of the spinoff surfaced in the "Monster Hunter Fest 15 Finals" event which was held by Capcom.

The event hosted by Capcom showcased a theatrical trailer for "Monster Hunter Stories" where Palico was shown with a rounder head mounting and riding a monster. The monster, a miniature Rathalos, was much smaller than the beasts that are normally featured in the game.

This meant that the spinoff will not have players hunt monsters like the main series but instead focus on riding the beasts.

Ryozo Tsujimoto, a game producer, said "Monster Hunter Stories" is being developed as an RPG and will take the series into a completely new era. He said the new game would be a challenge, adding that Capcom started designing it five years ago.

He said in spite of the game moving in a new direction, he said they wanted it to "stay true to the world of Monster Hunter" and bring out a "story that can only be told through an RPG."

Currently "Monster Hunter Stories" is scheduled for release in Japan sometime in 2016. As for a release elsewhere in the world, no plans have yet been announced.

The Monster Hunter game series has a long history of releasing games for a number of platforms. "Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate" was the last game released on the 3DS last February. It has proven to be extremely popular since then. Its Japanese version "Monster Hunter 4G" has sold over 3 million units.