#there hasn't been a boss or quest fight i haven't come out of feeling like i accomplished something

[kariachi]

I have to say, a little thing I enjoy in Monster Hunter Stories 2, that I can't remember if it was in the first one, is the quick finish option for battles once you reach a certain power scale in comparison to what's in front of you.

Like, something I've been enjoying- and I don't know if it's just because I might be underleveled? I haven't been grinding so much so...- is that every fight feels like something you're having to put some work into. I feel like they way they do it, with your opponents changing tactics back and forth and not being able to see the health of new encounters or bosses, really keeps a good sense of tension and effort that can kind of be lacking in some fights in other critter collection games I've played. And part of the problem with the other ones, I think, is that you just keep having to put in the time and effort when you run into things you're really stronger than.

Just, if I'm playing pokemon and I return to an early route for something, then if I run into an opponent I either have to run away- which makes the encounter just a pointless waste of my time- or I have to fight them- which gives me a bit of experience, but there's only so many times you can go to the fight menu, hit a move, take out the pidgey, before it just is boring. Overall the game just slows down without any sort of tension or even points of interest. It's a little better when you go to areas where you can't oneshot something, but if it's something that can't stand up to you then you're just doing the same 'hit them hard and wait for the fight to end' that you were before, but for longer.

But MHS2's quick finish option solves that problem but giving you a simple key combo to press that immediately ends the fight with you victorious. If you've got enough of a power advantage in an area you've already cleared, the game just gives it to you- you both know you're going to win the fight, so rather than waste time and health you just quick finish and move on. And already I've gotten use out of it- getting a bit of grinding in while doing quests because hey, I can get some exp and only need to take five seconds per encounter rather than closer to a minute, avoiding the boredom factor caused by your opponent not being an actual threat. Or by being able to blaze through opponents that are hard to avoid while on the way to a quest battle.

It lessens the time you spend on fights that would just be needlessly drawn out and allows you to more quickly get through quests that are likely more interesting, or get to the real intense 'go down you bastard or so help me' fights that are where the game has really been shining for me.