Square Enix and Capcom announced a crossover between two massive games: Final Fantasy XIV and Monster Hunter World

Rathalos in Final Fantasy XIV

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“ The excitement I felt after finally challenging it again and beating Rathalos has just stuck in my mind.

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Behemoth in Monster Hunter World

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“ What kind of gameplay do we want to have was the bigger discussion.

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Final Fantasy XIV x Monster Hunter World Details

“ I’m hoping that my emotion and love behind this project is conveyed to the audience.

We had the chance to interview both Monster Hunter World’s producer and director Ryozo Tsujimoto; and Final Fantasy XIV’s producer and director Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P), about how this epic crossover came to be and what to expect.Yoshida said Rathalos isn’t a FATE (Full Active Time Event) or a dungeon , but will be a challenging battle that requires a "Full Party" of eight.“We’re revealing a lot of information here, but there is a Rathalos fight you can jump in as you hit that level cap [70], but there’s another Rathalos fight,” Yoshida said.I’m assuming this means Rathalos will appear as a Trial with a regular version of the battle, and a "Hard" or "Extreme" mode. In Final Fantasy XIV, Trials are essentially difficult boss battles that require an incredibly coordinated party.“That first time when I encountered Rathalos, the despair that I felt when I lost the first time, but also the excitement I felt after finally challenging it again and beating Rathalos, has just stuck in my mind,” Yoshida said.“At first, I was hesitant,” Yoshida said. “It’s such a sort of iconic monster in the Monster Hunter franchise, but when I brought it up to Tsujimoto, he was very accommodating and was like, ‘Oh sure, go ahead!’”Because Rathalos is only accessible after level 70, there no way to immediately challenge the Monster Hunter content within Final Fantasy XIV. You can, however, purchase an item to automatically level up a job of your choice to level 60. Yoshida said the remaining ten levels are for players to gain experience so they can learn how to play, and effectively prepare for the more difficult end-game content – like Rathalos.As for the familiar Felyne that appeared in the trailer, Yoshida wouldn’t go into too much detail, but said the cute Palico is not a minion.When considering which Final Fantasy monster to include in Monster Hunter, Capcom considered a lot beyond how recognizable the chosen monster was.“What kind of gameplay do we want to have was the bigger discussion,” Tsujimoto said. “With Monster Hunter, because it is an action game, we needed to think about how the movements pan out, not just for the monster, but for the players as well.”Eventually, they decided on Behemoth, an iconic character that has appeared in nearly every installment since its debut in Final Fantasy II. In Final Fantasy XIV, it appears as a difficult boss monster in a FATE, which can sometimes take well over a full party of eight to take down.“[In Monster Hunter, Behemoth] is very unique, something that you haven’t seen in previous battles or anything previously in Monster Hunter before,” Tsujimoto said. “You’ll definitely have to have a very good strategy going into battle.”Yoshida, who was able to test out the Behemoth hunt, said there’s still no doubt it’s a Monster Hunter encounter.“It’s unique, but very familiar at the same time, so it’s very interesting,” Yoshida said.Tsujimoto said Behemoth is “not like, super, super big, but it is in the larger monster range.” Specifically, it’s not quite as large as Kulve Taroth , for example, but there is a specific zone designed for the battle against it. It will also be very aggressive, so don't expect a drawn out, more passive fight like that of Lao Shan Lung.Though during the interview I originally understood that the monster in Behemoth’s mouth in the trailer is a Deviljho, which is what is reported in the video, there may have been a miscommunication. It looks like it's actually a Dodogama, which would make more sense with Behemoth's size details.Behemoth will most likely be accessible sometime after Monster Hunter World’s main story is completed, like most free content update monsters such as Deviljho and Lunastra , but this was unconfirmed.As for Cactaur, Tsujimoto wouldn’t spill the beans of what capacity the Final Fantasy staple would appear.“We’re not able to go into details about it, but it’s something fans will smile about when they see it,” Tsujimoto said.“Of course with this announcement we are kind of focused on the monsters, but we definitely did put in some Easter Eggs people would smile at when they see it,” Tsujimoto said.For example, at least three tracks of music from each game have been shared between the two, but additional clips may have snuck in, as each team kept asking for more as they worked on the collaboration.One of the most surprising details is that this collaboration has actually been seven years in the making. Yoshida and Tsujimoto began discussing featuring each other’s games in their own projects back then.As for future collaborations, Yoshida and Tsujimoto said there are no plans at the moment, but for good reason.“If we feel we have a next time, we might hold back,” Tsujimoto said.Yoshida added that because they never consider they’ll have a next time, they’re concentrating and focusing on what they have now, and going in with as much effort as possible.“If players get a sense of how much we’ve put into doing [the collaboration], it would be great,” Yoshida said. “We feel that fans won’t be disappointed in how extensively we’ve thought of this.”

Casey DeFreitas is an editor at IGN and just may pick her level 55 Warrior back up to get ready for Rathalos. Catch her on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD