If there’s one thing Monster Hunter World is good at… actually, scratch that. Monster Hunter World is good at just about everything it does. It’s our game of the year so far, and the upcoming PC version will likely take the #2 spot. How is that even possible? Monster Hunter World found a way.
But one nifty side element in MHW is its crossovers. We’ve had the universes of Devil May Cry, Horizon Zero Dawn, Street Fighter, and Mega Man already invade Astera, with presumably more to come. The pattern so far has been to re-skin your hunter. But what about actual monster crossovers?
We’re about to get a Behemoth from Final Fantasy in MHW (And FFXIV is about to get a Rathalos):
But there’s a lot more that can be done with this.
Think of the possibilities. Not only are there some awesome, iconic monsters from decades of gaming, many of them would fit right into Monster Hunter World‘s combat system.
It’s clear at least one developer on Gears of War has been thinking about it…
1. Brumak — Gears of War
In the grand scheme of the Locust invasion in the Gears of War universe, the Brumaks were massive, siege-busting machines of war. They’re the ogres of the Locust army, too stupid to be useful without a driver on top, but deadly enough to be a miniboss in every Gears of War since the start.
They’re tall, but not taller than an Anjanath or something similar. They also have a habit of lowering themselves when their feet are attacked.
Fighting an armoured Brumak is already a multi-staged affair, which plays right into Monster Hunter norms. Gears of War Ultimate included several new cat & mouse fights with a Brumak that involved taking out its dangerous arm cannons, then shooting its legs so it would slump over, and then targetting the vulnerable driver. Only then could it be properly killed.
So who at @monsterhunter do we need to talk to about getting a Brumak in the game? 🙂 With or without guns – although an armed monster would be pretty cool! pic.twitter.com/FP7z8t04lW
— Rod Fergusson (@RodFergusson) May 7, 2018
Sound familiar? Yep — targetting weak points to strategically inflict stuns and hit other weakpoints is the type of progressive strategising that’s right at home for Monster Hunter World. It would also make total sense for new gunpowder weapons to be carved and crafted from its remains. The Brumak is perfect.
Go on, then. The idea is already sanctioned by Rod Fergusson. That’s one half of the deal done. Make it happen, Capcom.
2. Gaping Dragon — Dark Souls
It’s sometimes a good idea to fight right under a boss in Dark Souls, where their overhead swipes can’t hit you. Not so with the Gaping Dragon, whose undercarriage is one big toothy maw waiting to scoop you up.
If you could avoid getting directly in front of ol’ Bitey McChompsnacks, you’d evade its massive ground slam as it flattens itself out for as wide an impact as possible. Although this section of the Depths was wide enough for you to move around its flanks, it might be harder to maneuvre around the varied and independent ecosystems of Monster Hunter World.
Perpetual backstepping and flanking leads to the kind of encounters MHW is known for. Often a fight will begin as one thing, and end up as something entirely different. Maybe you encounter a Great Jagras along the way, or a Radobaan comes rolling along, or that God-awful B52 swooping in for a bombing run, damn you, Bazelgeuse! Let me have one fight without filling the battlefield with hot droppings!
Sorry, got distracted there.
Anyway, the Gaping Dragon’s actual head is quite tiny, and is only possible to hit after it commits to its biggest slam attack. That involves some distance management for those who want to optimise the fight and hit its weak point. As a strategy, it’s already balanced across ranged/melee fighters for Monster Hunter World. Melee warriors do more damage, but will only have brief windows of opportunity.
Just imagine the gaping gear that could be made from this freaky fangbeast. It already comes with a tail that pops right off, with a bit of persuading. And it’d be great to get a bit more life out of Dark Souls‘ bosses — just as the franchise was getting long in the tooth.
3. Avion — Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus is a beautiful game, and jumping onto Avion is one of the best moments in gaming, period. As one of the more peaceful monsters in Shadow, Avion won’t attack you until you attack it. It’s one of the more memorable fights of the game, and in true Shadow of the Colossus style, we felt horrible for downing this majestic creature.
Avion comes in at 42.7 metres, or a bit larger than an oversized Deviljo. It’s a good size for the world, and offers some new gameplay opportunities as well.
In Shadow of the Colossus, you climb all over monsters and try not to be shaken off as you try to attack. It’s quite similar to Monster Hunter World‘s mounting of monsters — both games even have a “brace” button, and both games have no fall damage for when you eventually tumble off.
Though in Shadow, there are only specific points on a monster where you can physically damage it. For Avion, it’s on the tips of its wings and tail.
Interestingly, Monster Hunter World has a mounting “meter” on its larger beasts. It’s a bit like a health bar that decreases the more you perform aerial attacks. When it reaches zero, your mount is successful and you can hammer away while trying to stay on.
Normally, a monster’s resistance to mounting increases with each mount. That may need to be tweaked, as the Avion fight is almost 100% airborne. It’ll be totally worth it to have a fight that takes your character through the skies, trying to get all stabby stabs with Avion’s weak point.
4. Leliel — Neon Genesis Evangelion
Brace yourselves, because this one’s a bit unusual. Straight from the brains behind Neon Genesis Evangelion, this “ninth angel” attacked Tokyo-3 out of nowhere and nobody had a clue how to fight it.
Firing weapons at the black and white sphere produces no results. It was discovered that the sphere is merely a projection — its shadow is the real Leliel. This presents an interesting challenge. How do you fight a two-dimensional enemy? Especially when allowing Leliel’s black shadow to consume you renders you useless.
Attacks against the ground and walls that host Leliel’s shadow body would likely be how this fight plays out. Its ability to “consume” fighters would have to either be a limited stun, or something your palico could knock you out of. Or perhaps this takes the form of a multiplayer fight, where the game is not being swallowed up all at once.
In any case, tracking it down by its massive aerial sphere won’t be hard.
In the Evangelion, Leliel was around 680 metres long, which is far too large for Monster Hunter World (unless you want a boss of Zorah Magdaros proportions). But there’s no saying they couldn’t just make it smaller.
5. Baron Nashor — League of Legends
The most powerful enemy on the map, the Baron is a foe League of Legends players only take on when ready, as a team. But while veterans may have killed this massive serpent a thousand times with clicking and QWER, no one’s yet had the opportunity to take it on in an action game. Let’s change that.
You could pop this bad boy anywhere, though perhaps near river locations makes the most sense. He’ll come right out of the ground when you least expect it. He could even be more annoying than Bazelgeuse…
Nah, sorry. Not possible.
On top of the fight possibilities, what if the general purpose of taking down the Baron was similar as well? In League of Legends, you kill the Baron for a temporary buff that helps cement your dominance on the game. You can take on towers and teamfights with added confidence. What if you had a similar buff in Monster Hunter World, that helped with some of the tougher quests? What if killing the Baron was a way to restore or improve your food buff?
And since stealing the Baron kill is absolutely a possibility in League of Legends, why not allow that in Monster Hunter World? Should any of the surrounding wildlife strike the killing blow, let’s award them the buff, and give us an even more challenging fight with that monster afterwards.
Unless it’s Bazelgeuse.
Honourable Mentions
This is an idea loaded with possibilities, and there has to be some opportunities for Capcom to do the right business deals here. Just imagine taking your favourite weapon to swing at the below monsters. And then imagine building a new favourite weapon out of these carvings.
Some of these are so large as to warrant Zorah Magdaros-level event quests, but we’re okay with that!
- The Skull Reaper — Sword Art Online
- Adamantoise — Final Fantasy XV
- Karloff — Pacific Rim
- Colossal Titan — Attack on Titan
- Onyxia — World of Warcraft
- Ultralisk — Starcraft
- Carnifex — Warhammer 40k
We could go on all day with what we’d love to see crossed over into Monster Hunter World. So far the game has been great with character crossovers, and we’d love to see some monster crossovers as well.
With the PC release now dated for August 7th, there’s a lot of life left in this game. Here’s hoping we get to see a celebratory PC version crossover monster in the coming month!
