Among all the potential collaborations in Monster Hunter: World, none were quite as unexpected as Final Fantasy. Then again, the Monster Hunter franchise is full of strange and unusual collaborations. Players have been able to acquire armor and weapons inspired by Metroid’s Samus, Devil May Cry’s Dante, and Pizza Hut (yes, seriously), and there was also that one time Snake fought a Rathalos, Tigrex, and the awesome abomination known as the Gear REX in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. And now, this summer, players will be able to fight one of Final Fantasy’s Behemoths in Monster Hunter: World (and a Rathalos in Final Fantasy XIV).
But, I hear you ask, what about collaborations with/in other Final Fantasy games? Well, the franchise isn’t exactly rife with crossovers or collaborations, but it isn’t a stranger to them, either. Sure, we usually only get a small reference or a cameo, such as posters for the fictional Final Fantasy XXVII in Deus Ex: Human Revolution or the Culex boss battle in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. However, some go a step further and create some truly memorable, or at the very least unique, experiences.
Assassin: More than Just a Job
Best Final Fantasy Collaborations
When Square Enix released DLC costumes for Final Fantasy XIII-2, gamers collectively rolled their eyes. Characters dressed up in N7 armor and Assassin’s Creed’s assassin robes? Sounds like a fanfic gone wrong. But, not only did one of those costumes return in a later game, it was the basis for a stellar in-game event.
The Assassin’s Festival in Final Fantasy XV was a meta mindscrew. Assassin’s Creed is not only a video game in the real world, it’s also a fairly popular one in the fictional world of Eos. Assassin’s Creed is supposed to be a piece of historical fiction, yet it takes place in countries and portrays events that don’t exist in Eos. It’s bound to make your head hurt if you think about it too much, but anyway, the festival was an excellent excuse for Noctis and crew to unleash their inner fanboys and tear through Magitek Soldiers with some decidedly Assassin’s Creed maneuvers — including the iconic Leap of Faith. Shame the festival was a limited-time event that ended before Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition was released, which means PC gamers (including myself) missed out on this particular collaboration. Well, almost.
Since the Assassin’s Festival was meant to celebrate the release of Assassin’s Creed Origins, that game returned the favor and provided its own Final Fantasy-related content. While not as grand and gloriously stupid (the good kind of stupid, mind you) as the festival, Origins players get to experience a unique quest that rewards them with some special Final Fantasy equipment and a “chocobo camel” mount. And yes, the concept of a camel cross-bred with a chocobo is as terrifying as it is amazing.
LittleBigPlanet Fantasy
Best Final Fantasy Collaborations
Oh, LittleBigPlanet, whatever happened to you? You used to be an amazing game series that let gamers create and explore colorful worlds that were only limited by their imagination (and the game engine). But now you’re… well, you’re not bad, but you seemed to have dropped off the map entirely. Which is a shame since your second game has some great Final Fantasy content.
Unlike most other good collaborations, The LittleBigPlanet2/Final Fantasy collab only consists of several costumes, and of the most famous Final Fantasy VII characters no less. But that’s really all the game needs, because the costumes have given players the inspiration to do what they’ve always wanted: create levels that recreate some of Final Fantasy VII’s most iconic locations and scenes.
Shoot Some Hoops With Mario and Moogles
Best Final Fantasy Collaborations
What do Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Final Fantasy have in common? They were both developed by Square Enix. That’s all the excuse the company needed to insert some Final Fantasy characters into the game.
While most Final Fantasy collaborations involve fan favorite characters, Mario Hoops 3-on-3 tries something different and includes three of the most iconic classes and two recognizable creatures from Final Fantasy history. And yes, they’re all playable. By completing certain game modes, players can unlock the Moogle, Cactuar, Ninja, White Mage, and Black Mage characters, each their own unique abilities. If nothing else, watching a Cactuar dribble a basketball (and manage to not pop the ball with its needles) might be the most unusual sight in collaboration history.
Everything Kingdom Hearts
Best Final Fantasy Collaborations
You all saw this coming. Don’t act like you’re surprised.
The entire Kingdom Hearts franchise was designed from the ground up as a crossover bonanza between Disney and Final Fantasy. The games might star Sora instead of an existing character, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t full of recognizable or fun cameos. From Auron mocking Hades to the secret (and frustrating) boss fights with Sephiroth, Kingdom Hearts has plenty for Final Fantasy fans, at least in terms of characters. The games don’t really feature any of Final Fantasy’s iconic monsters. The closest Kingdom Hearts gets to any of those creatures is the Behemoth, an obvious reference to the infamous monster of the same name and color, and the Dark Thorn, which is just a reskinned Ifrit from Final Fantasy X. Not a single Bomb, Malboro, or Tonberry-like Heartless, Nobody, or Unversed in sight.
Since Kingdom Hearts III is coming out soon, we should expect more Disney and Final Fantasy characters. While Pixar favorites are finally getting their spot in the limelight, we don’t know which Final Fantasy characters will make it into the game. If it’s anyone, odds are it will be Noctis and crew, but that’s hardly a bad thing.
Golfing for Chocobos
Best Final Fantasy Collaborations
Who here doesn’t love a good round of golf? It’s fun, simple, and relaxing. While I’ve never played golf proper, I have spent plenty of hours hitting balls down the green and playing mini golf. Of course, some people prefer a round of digital golf to going out in the hot sun and hitting some balls. While I’ve never gotten into golf video games myself, I will not deny their potential allure, especially when they introduce fantasy elements, pun intended.
Final Fantasy celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, and Sony joined in on the celebration. Plenty of games provided special limited-time events, including Everybody’s Golf of all things. The game gave players various themed items, namely a free 30th anniversary golf cart and a rideable chocobo, because who wouldn’t want to ride the giant, lovable birds on the golf green? Or anywhere else for that matter? Plus, Sony held a special “30th Anniversary Collaboration Cup” in Everybody’s Golf that gave all participants a Cactuar hat and jacket, and anyone who made it into the finals received a Moogle costume for their hard work and skills. There’s nothing quite like earning special items, especially when they celebrate one of the longest running RPG franchises in history. If you managed to snag the costume during the event, you have my respect.
Final Fighting Fantasy
Best Final Fantasy Collaborations
Did you know that Cloud was almost a guest character in a Soulcalibur game? I sure didn’t, and I’m kinda annoyed that he wasn’t. But, lucky for gamers, Soulcalibur wasn’t his only shot at participating in a fighting tournament.
Now, we all know about Cloud being in Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U/3DS (and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). The franchise is a mashup of various gaming icons and legends, all duking it out on floating arenas in what is essentially a game of King of the Hill (the game mode, not the cartoon). However, nobody expected Cloud to make it into Super Smash Bros., especially since he never starred in a game on a Nintendo console. But through some miracle he did, yet that wasn’t his first foray into the fighting genre.
Back in 1998, Square helped produce a game called Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? If not, you’ve probably seen the game’s box art floating around the internet. It’s the picture of Cloud and his giant sword standing behind a bunch of fighters who haven’t been in any other games. Yes, Cloud was a major selling point of Ehrgeiz, as were other Final Fantasy VII characters such as Yuffie, Tifa, and Sephiroth. And they were all as broken as you can imagine; that’s what happens when a character in a fighting game wields a sword almost as large as him. However, we still aren’t done with Final Fantasy characters in fighting games.
While Cloud never made it in Soulcalibur, another character made a guest appearance in Bandai Namco’s other fighting game franchise, Tekken. Noctis, the star of Final Fantasy XV, is a DLC character for Tekken 7 alongside other guests like Street Fighter’s Akuma and Fatal Fury’s Geese Howard. While Noctis doesn’t exactly fight fair thanks to his sword and warping abilities, he still makes for a fun and unique experience, albeit one that probably would have been more at home in Soulcalibur VI alongside fellow guest character Geralt. Still, maybe we can expect more Final Fantasy characters to guest appear in future fighting games. God knows the franchise is rife with characters who deserve a spot in one (coughSabinReneFigarocough).
Final Fantasy XIV
Best Final Fantasy Collaborations
While Final Fantasy XIV is an MMORPG that takes place in its own world, it is basically crossover central for the franchise. Not only has the game been updated with plenty of enemies from past games, including the Espers from Final Fantasy XII and Kefka from Final Fantasy VI, but it also has been host to several limited-time collaboration events that feature popular pieces of Japanese media.
In 2016, Square Enix unveiled the limited-time Final Fantasy XIV event featuring characters from the not-Pokemon game Yo-kai Watch. Gamers could complete various quests to earn weapons and mounts based on Yo-kai Watch’s yokai, as well as several summonable yokai minions. And last year, Square held a repeat performance of a slightly different color with the Garo collaboration event. Like the Yo-kai Watch event, gamers could accept quests to earn shiny rewards. However, this time they were all recreations of (or at least inspired by) armor, weapons and mounts featured in the popular Japanese live-action show Garo (which I highly recommend watching if you’re into guys in plastic armor battling rubber-suited monsters in fights that defy physics more than the Bayonetta games). Unlike Yo-kai Watch, Garo never received much attention outside of Japan, but this event gave it some much-needed publicity.
If the Final Fantasy/Monster Hunter: World event is any indication, these Final Fantasy XIV collaboration events might turn out to be an annual recurrence. I’m looking forward to what other collabs Square Enix has waiting in the wings.
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