How World's FFXIV and The Witcher 3 Collabs Inspired Monster Hunter Wilds - IGN First

Monster Hunter Wilds: A Legacy Forged in Collaboration

Monster Hunter Wilds boasts numerous innovations, features, and quality-of-life enhancements. However, the game's evolution began surprisingly early, during Monster Hunter World's crossover events. Feedback from these collaborations, particularly those with Final Fantasy XIV and The Witcher 3, directly shaped Wilds' design.

Specifically, discussions with Final Fantasy XIV's director, Naoki Yoshida ("Yoshi-P"), during their crossover event inspired a key HUD change in Wilds: the real-time display of attack names. The overwhelmingly positive player response to the Witcher 3 crossover, meanwhile, solidified the decision to incorporate more dialogue options and a speaking protagonist.

Final Fantasy XIV's Influence

During the Monster Hunter: World and FFXIV crossover event, Yoshi-P suggested to Wilds director Yuya Tokuda that players appreciate seeing attack names displayed as actions occur. This feedback led to the new HUD feature shown above.

The 2018 FFXIV crossover in Monster Hunter: World provided a glimpse of this concept. The collaboration featured memorable elements: catchable Cactuars, a Kulu-Ya-Ku hunt to Chocobo music, Drachen armor, and the challenging Behemoth fight. Crucially, Behemoth's attacks were displayed on-screen, mirroring common MMORPG practices.

Defeating Behemoth unlocked a "Jump" emote, inspired by Final Fantasy's Dragoons. The on-screen text, "[Hunter] performs Jump," marked a rare instance of this style of attack naming in previous Monster Hunter titles.

The Witcher 3's Impact

Director Tokuda noted the comparisons between Wilds' enhanced dialogue and gameplay elements and The Witcher 3. This wasn't coincidental; the Witcher 3 crossover in Monster Hunter: World served as a test to gauge player reaction to increased dialogue options and a voiced protagonist.

The Witcher 3 crossover featured Geralt, a speaking character with dialogue choices. This differed significantly from previous Monster Hunter games, where the protagonist was silent. Wilds, inspired by this, features a voiced protagonist and interactive conversations.

Tokuda revealed that while Wilds wasn't in active development during the World collaborations, these experiences informed his vision for the future of the series. He actively pursued the Witcher 3 collaboration, a decision that proved highly successful.

This information comes from an exclusive IGN First visit to Capcom's Japan offices. For a complete preview of Monster Hunter Wilds, including interviews and gameplay, check out January's IGN First coverage.