Final Fantasy 14's director really wants to do a crossover with Diablo
It's one of Naoki Yoshida's dream collaborations.
Final Fantasy 14 doesn't shy away from crossovers—from Monster Hunter to Yo-kai Watch, and even a surprisingly fun-looking Fall Guys crossover that's set to hit at the end of this month. Director and producer Naoki Yoshida still has one game in mind that would be his dream collaboration: Diablo.
Speaking at a press conference during London's Fan Festival, Yoshida admitted that he would really love to collaborate with Blizzard's gorefest action RPG series. Speaking through a translator, he said, "I've mentioned this in the past, but I'm a huge Blizzard fan. So I mean, if we could just make it work then I would be so happy to see some sort of collaboration with Diablo."
Now Final Fantasy 14 doesn't exactly scrub its game totally clean of dark themes, twisted visuals, or sinister plots. It doesn't come close to matching Diablo though, something Yoshida is well aware of. "Diablo has quite, like, I would say hardcore graphics outlook in terms of the world," he said. "So you know, you see spikes here and there. In terms of the ratings, it might be a bit difficult. And of course, on the other hand, we don't really want to disappoint fans of the franchise as well. So yeah, it's a tricky one."
Yoshida joked that perhaps instead of trying to bring Final Fantasy 14 gore levels up, maybe it could knock Blizzard's down a few pegs. "So of course, if we go for a softer version of Diablo in 14... of course, maybe that's not what people want as well."
I honestly could not imagine a world where Final Fantasy and Diablo collided, especially considering these partnerships with the MMO are often a two-way street. But hey, if they can make Fall Guys work then maybe Diablo isn't such a wild idea after all. It's a series home to some super interesting themes and architecture, and I certainly wouldn't mind a chance for my Warrior of Light to meet Lilith.
That wasn't the only collaboration talk to take place during the press conference, either. Yoshida dropped a hint that we may be seeing the return of some long-passed special crossovers in the near future, including Yo-kai Watch.