Nine months on from Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis’ lukewarm launch, Square Enix has brought in reinforcements, borrowing IP from its Japanese neighbour (and rival) Capcom.
Leveraging Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise, Ever Crisis has added new crossover content in the form of a battle against Monster Hunter’s flagship Rathalos, plus a gacha banner featuring Monster Hunter weapons and armour for Final Fantasy’s Cloud and Zack.
It’s the first time Ever Crisis has collaborated with another IP outside of Square Enix’s catalogue, marking an important moment for the mobile title.
Roaring success or continued crisis?
Ever Crisis and Monster Hunter Now are both mobile games that released in September 2023. They serve as celebrations of their respective franchises, with Ever Crisis bringing new and returning content to the Final Fantasy VII universe (a backstory for Sephiroth included) and Monster Hunter Now offering a daily dose of combat augmented by location-based play.
Of the pair, Monster Hunter Now has been the more financially successful, generating $180 million compared to Ever Crisis’ $78 million, according to AppMagic figures. In fact, Now is even outperforming geolocation goliath Pokémon Go in certain key metrics.
Following Capcom’s success – and while Square Enix has floundered financially across its portfolio, so much so that it pre-notified investors of “extraordinary losses” before its latest fiscal results – it’s clear to see why a collab with a thriving IP could prove advantageous.
Monster Hunter’s flagship wyvern Rathalos has been brought into Ever Crisis as a new challenge for players to surpass, meanwhile spending is encouraged through the new gear available – made from monster parts, even if the living, breathing monsters they come from aren’t making a direct appearance.
After all, slaying monsters and carving away parts of them to make gear is a core part of the Monster Hunter gameplay formula; in Ever Crisis players can skip the hunting part and jump straight into the gacha – the core of its monetisation model – for a chance to pull this limited-time gear.
Until July 2nd, Cloud is available with the non-elemental Glavenus Sword while Zack is equipped with the electrified Zinogre Blade based on the most popular monster of them all.
Bringing on board the most recognisable Monster Hunter monster in Rathalos and the fan-favourite in Zinogre (even if only represented by a blade) is bound to bring a new surge of revenue to Square Enix’s wallet, especially when Capcom has been busy building brand awareness and celebrating its franchise’s 20th anniversary.
So far, however, no plans have been announced to bring Final Fantasy material to Monster Hunter Now, further suggesting Square Enix’s need to collaborate more than Capcom’s.
At the start of 2024, the pair donated a combined total of over $1 million in relief funds after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.