Monster Hunter Stories 3 will take 30-50 hours to finish the main story, and the JRPG's devs want you to "feel satisfied" with the plot instead of just dragging you straight to the endgame

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Demo players have already proven there's a lot more to do than main quests, though

A character in Monster Hunter Stories 3
(Image credit: Capcom)

Despite trading action-RPG stylings for turn-based JRPG combat, the Monster Hunter Stories series is very much like its big brother in one major way: it offers an absolute feast of content, particularly for players who want to invest in a meaty endgame grind. It sounds like Monster Hunter Stories 3 will be no exception, but it seems the devs want the main story to be a little more satisfying for players who put the game down after the credits roll, too.

Game director Kenji Oguro told 4Gamer (translated by Automaton) that the main quest of Monster Hunter Stories 3 would take around 30 hours to complete, but that apparently represents a pretty rushed playthrough. Executive producer Ryozo Tsujimoto explained that some playtesters spent over 50 hours finishing the game, with typical playtimes ranging from 40 to 50 hours.

That's in line with previous series entries, according to HowLongToBeat's data. A rushed playthrough of the original game averages 35 hours, with 50 hours for one incorporating more sidequests. Monster Hunter Stories 2 averages between 41 and 61 hours along those same metrics, though either game's playtime might double – or go even further – if you want to truly see everything.

I love a good sidequest, but I also generally find myself pretty much ready to shelve a game as soon as I reach credits – particularly if I've spent a full work week or more getting to that point. Monster Hunter Stories 3 sounds like it's sitting right in my own JRPG sweet spot.

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Dustin Bailey
Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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