Unlike other Monster Hunter games, however, there is no convoluted inventory management in Stories, for which I am so, so thankful.
Like other Monster Hunter games, items are super important in and out of battle. There are a lot of nuances to the battle system, and together with more than a hundred different monsters to encounter with different attack patterns, strengths, and weaknesses, battles remained interesting and engaging throughout the entirety of Monster Hunter Stories. With up to five combatants on the field at once, the multiple animations can drag a bit, but to keep things at a fast pace - literally - you can up the animation speed. Different weapon types with different skill sets, such as Great Swords with damaging slash skills, and Hunting Horns with supportive melodies, provide even more variety to every battle. Winning a rock-paper-scissors matchup against an enemy grants power to your Kinship Gauge, a meter that feeds special skills and lets you ride your Monstie, a mechanic that in turn lets you unleash devastating and super cool Kinship Abilities. When in battle, the three rock-paper-scissors style basic attacks - Power, Tech, and Speed - forced me to put thought into my choices even before considering the special skills, combos, single-use items, or elemental strengths and weaknesses of each monster.