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

Monster Hunter Wilds brings a wave of exciting changes, new features, and quality-of-life improvements to the series. But the game's evolution started much earlier than you might think, rooted in the success of Monster Hunter: World's crossover events. Specifically, feedback from Final Fantasy XIV's director, Naoki Yoshida, during the FFXIV crossover, and the overwhelmingly positive reception to The Witcher 3 crossover, directly shaped key gameplay elements in Monster Hunter Wilds.

In short, conversations with Yoshida-san during the FFXIV collaboration inspired a significant HUD (Heads-Up Display) alteration: the on-screen display of attack names as they're performed. The positive player response to The Witcher 3 crossover solidified the decision to incorporate more dialogue options and a speaking protagonist in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Final Fantasy XIV's Influence on Monster Hunter Wilds

During the Monster Hunter: World and FFXIV crossover reveal event, Yoshida-san suggested to Monster Hunter Wilds Director Yuya Tokuda that players appreciate seeing the name of their attack in real-time. This feedback directly led to the new HUD feature, showcased in the image above.

The 2018 FFXIV crossover in Monster Hunter: World offered a glimpse of this concept. This major collaboration featured catchable Cactuars, a Kulu-Ya-Ku hunt set to Chocobo music, the impressive Drachen armor set, and much more, culminating in the challenging Behemoth fight. Similar to many MMORPGs, Behemoth's attacks were displayed on-screen as text, as seen in the video below.

Completing the Behemoth repel quest unlocked a "Jump" emote, inspired by the Dragoon's moves in *Final Fantasy*. Using this emote displayed the text "[Hunter] performs Jump," a unique instance of on-screen attack names in *Monster Hunter* prior to *Wilds*.

The Witcher 3's Influence on Monster Hunter Wilds

Director Tokuda noted the comparisons drawn between Monster Hunter Wilds' expanded dialogue options and gameplay elements with The Witcher 3, stating that the popular Monster Hunter: World crossover served as a successful test for gauging player response to these additions.

The *Witcher 3* crossover in *Monster Hunter: World* featured Geralt of Rivia as a playable character, engaging in voiced conversations with dialogue choices. This contrasted sharply with previous *Monster Hunter* titles, where the protagonist was voiceless. This directly influenced *Monster Hunter Wilds*, giving the player character a voice and interactive dialogue with NPCs.

Tokuda revealed that while Wilds wasn't in active development during the World collaborations, these experiences informed the team's vision for the future of the series. He personally pursued the Witcher 3 collaboration with CD Projekt Red, a decision that proved highly successful.

This information was gathered during an exclusive visit to Capcom's Japan offices for this month's IGN First. Don't miss the full hands-on preview of Monster Hunter Wilds, new interviews, and exclusive gameplay from January's Monster Hunter Wilds IGN First:

Behind Monster Hunter Wilds' New Approach to Starting Weapons and Hope Series Gear Monster Hunter Wilds Interview and Gameplay: Meet Nu Udra, Apex of the Oilwell Basin Evolving Monster Hunter: How Capcom’s Belief in the Series Made it a Worldwide Hit Monster Hunter Wilds: Gravios Returns in This Exclusive Gameplay