Capcom took us all by surprise when it announced Monster Hunter World’s next free monster Behemoth. This is the same Behemoth from Final Fantasy, as a result of collaboration between Monster Hunter World and Final Fantasy 14 (which sees the latter having Rathalos as an enemy).
Speaking to IGN, producer and director Ryozo Tsujimoto offered some more details about Behemoth, including why it was chosen. “What kind of gameplay do we want to have was the bigger discussion. 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.”
The key was to have a monster that was unlike anything seen in Monster Hunter till now. That being said, it should still have the integrity befitting its home franchise. Eventually, the developer settled on Behemoth.
“[In Monster Hunter, Behemoth] is very unique, something that you haven’t seen in previous battles or anything previously in Monster Hunter before. You’ll definitely have to have a very good strategy going into battle.”
Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida actually had a chance to try out the Behemoth hunt and said that it’s most definitely a Monster Hunter battle. “It’s unique, but very familiar at the same time, so it’s very interesting.”
While Behemoth isn’t immensely big (or even as large as Kulve Taroth), it still is “in the larger monster range.” There will be a special zone designed for fighting Behemoth and it will be super aggressive. Don’t expect something akin to Lao Shan Lung, an Elder Dragon that made its debut in the first Monster Hunter in 2004.
What about Cactaur, who was briefly seen in the trailer? Tsujimoto wouldn’t say. “We’re not able to go into details about it, but it’s something fans will smile about when they see it.”
The Behemoth update is expected to land around the same time as Final Fantasy 14’s Rathalos encounter. It still has a release window of “Summer 2018” but it could very well arrive in July. As always, stay tuned for more information and make sure to optimize those builds in the meantime.