Monster Hunter Wilds brings a host of exciting changes, new features, and quality-of-life improvements to the beloved Monster Hunter series. Interestingly, the seeds for these innovations were planted during the crossover events of Monster Hunter World. Specifically, insights from Final Fantasy 14's director, Naoki Yoshida, during the FFXIV crossover, and the positive feedback on The Witcher 3 collaboration, directly influenced the development of new gameplay elements in Monster Hunter Wilds.
During the collaboration with Final Fantasy 14, discussions with Naoki Yoshida, affectionately known as Yoshi-P, led to a significant change in Monster Hunter Wilds' heads-up display (HUD). Yoshi-P suggested that players enjoy seeing the names of their attacks as they perform them, a feature that was subsequently incorporated into Monster Hunter Wilds. This idea was initially tested during the 2018 FFXIV crossover event in Monster Hunter: World, which introduced various unique elements like catchable Cactuars, a giant Kulu-Ya-Ku with a crystal hunted to Chocobo music, and the challenging Behemoth fight. In this event, Behemoth's moves appeared on screen, much like in MMORPGs, providing players with a glimpse of what was to come in Monster Hunter Wilds.
The FFXIV collaboration also introduced the Jump emote, inspired by the Dragoon's movements in Final Fantasy. When using this emote, the text "\[Hunter\] performs Jump" appeared on screen, offering a precursor to the HUD feature in Monster Hunter Wilds.
The influence of The Witcher 3 on Monster Hunter Wilds was equally profound. Director Yuya Tokuda was inspired by the positive reception to the Monster Hunter: World and The Witcher 3 crossover, which served as a testbed for introducing more dialogue and options in the game. In this crossover, players took on the role of Geralt of Rivia, engaging in conversations and making dialogue choices, a departure from the silent protagonist typical of previous Monster Hunter games. This experience paved the way for a speaking protagonist and more interactive dialogue in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Although Monster Hunter Wilds was not actively in development during these collaborations, Tokuda was already thinking ahead about what could be included in the next installment. He specifically sought out the opportunity to collaborate with The Witcher 3, which proved to be highly successful.
These insights were shared during our exclusive visit to Capcom’s Japan offices as part of IGN First. For more in-depth information, don't miss the full hands-on, final preview of Monster Hunter Wilds, new interviews, and other exclusive gameplay from January’s Monster Hunter Wilds IGN First coverage.
