I like Final Fantasy. I like Assassin’s Creed. Even with my love of both franchises, I’m not sure this latest crossover is necessary, but hey, why not: Square-Enix and Ubisoft announced today that Assassin Creed protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s robes will be available as an alternate DLC costume for Final Fantasy XIII-2’s pretty boy main character Noel.
This isn’t the first time that Assassin’s Creed has crossed over into a Japanese game: original AC main character Altair similarly had his costume available as a bonus in Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 4, and Ezio himself will make an appearance in Namco Bandai’s upcoming Soul Calibur V as a playable fighter. Of course, those cameos kind of made sense since MGS and Soul Calibur share some thematic elements with AC (the stealth with MGS, the historical fiction setting with SC). Square didn’t release any in-game footage of Noel in the costume, but they did release this hand-drawn concept art:
While I’m not sure that anybody really asked for this particular mash-up, Ezio’s clothes are indeed cool looking, and should provide some relief to those of you tired of FF character designer Tetsuya Nomura’s pretty boy designs. Pointless as it may be, it’s a fun bit of cross pollenation from Square and Ubisoft, and I’m sure they’re hoping this move will increase the popularity of Final Fantasy with AC fans and vice-versa. Square has yet to announce a price or a release date for the DLC, but Final Fantasy XIII-2 itself comes out a scant two months from now on January 31st.
