Started Monster Hunter Stories. Have been itching to play a JRPG, and got this. I have played a few hours, and have 2 “monsties” now, but it still seems like a prologue. Unlike other Monster Hunter games, we are not hunters, but riders. People who forge bond with monsters instead of fighting them (but then use their bonded monsties to kill other monsters). The village though small is exactly like other Monster Hunter games, and they also give us in-game reason why riders are not mentioned in other games.