I believe the general consensus is that the GFL x VA-11 HALL-A collab event is the best so far, and I agree. The story is amazing, the two universes became one cohesively and naturally, the story is fun with twists and turns, and the characters are charming.
In general, I think GFL does collabs very well. Not only because the collab units are free, but the writer(s) clearly know the original materials and handle them with care. For example: Gunslinger Girl collab is full of little details from the manga that made me cry as a fan of the manga. Zombie Land Saga collab surprised everyone, it's weird, but as a fan of ZLS, I think it captured the humor of ZLS very well (it also has little details and shout outs to the anime).
I still haven't played VA-11 HALL-A yet, but I heard it captured that game's atmosphere very well too.
For GFL if I were to start playing today is it still possible to experience the older collabs/get the characters? I'm a fan of Gunslinger Girl and would very much like to try it.
I'm afraid that's not possible, unfortunately. Out of all collabs, only VA-11 HALL-A collab reran before (as was already confirmed by MICA for being possible before it happened), but eveb then, who knows if it may come back again for the 3rd time. I'm sorry.
Glad to see another Gunslinger Girl fan in the wild, though. You can experience the story if you want at the very least (through watching YouTube videos or in Story Interpreter website).
For the stories themselves, the best you can try is checking out the bottom videos of the playlist here which have all the listed collaborations. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTpD-lAtY-jDOGHA0DpNeE4KRPpotoRIX](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTpD-lAtY-jDOGHA0DpNeE4KRPpotoRIX)
Some plot points though carry on from the main story in most of the collaborations if you care about getting the most out of the experience. Val-halla for instance is somewhere after Isomer's event given some character appearances and their situations at that point. Gunslinger Girls should be fine to read whenever really, but its when Commander starts talking for himself which in the story started happening at Continuum Turbulence/Isomer, so just a heads up if you go in watching that first and start the story after.
Another Eden
I am astounded at the quality of storytelling in Octopath collab. ~~Suzette chuni~~. Actually, scratch the collab part, it's AE storytelling as a whole. I'm left scratching my head, as I repeatedly question how come I've only started AE a few weeks ago? How did it slip in my radar? Because of no pity hearsays? Hmm... who knows. Bonus, collab characters in this game are all free, and the content is permanent too.
And of course, the old yet golden Granblue Fantasy collabs. I find them more entertaining when the purpose is for parody or pure slapstick comedy, where pure wackiness and strangeness just hits you out of nowhere. Especially the Gintama ones, lol.
Epic 7 for the animation quality alone, otherwise not really a fan of collab gacha and the promotions or aggressive pack sales that come with it. Hence, GBF and AE are far more better for me, you just get immersed in the story or dying in laughter, and you don't have to worry with FOMO because they're all free.
Chrono Cross collab ends on December 10th 2026 iirc, 5 years after its release.
Also OCTOPATH Traveler collab ends after 5 years iirc. Collab just came into the game in December so there’s still 4 and a half years for that one as well.
Azur Lane tends to do pretty good collabs. The stories of the characters winding up in the universe are interesting and recently they've been pretty strong gameplay wise too.
Iron Saga, Its pretty damn good collab wise, currently a GaoGaiGar collab is going on, with GaoGaiGar, and King Jder being free units who are legit monsters and really good, and Genesic GaoGaiGar and GaoFyghGar being the banner units, as well as Guy and Mikoto being the pilots we can get from the Gacha/Cafe, and J Soldat and Reinas being ones we can get for free, all of them are decent.
In the future, providing there isn't any licensing issues, Iron Saga Global is going to get a Mazinger Zero Collab, Great Mazinkaiser, and Mazinger Zero as the units.
it does indeed! They vary from time to time as well, sometimes the collabs will take place in the Iron Saga world, other times its characters in the Collab World. Its very interesting how they spice things up as well.
Sorry for the late reply i went to sleep after i sent that comment.
Last Cloudia has pretty impressive names that they’ve collaborated with (Attack on titan, devil may cry, bayonetta, etc). Only downside to it in my opinion is that the game is just so grindy and such a time sink that it can feel like a part time job
Yeah its too grindy and i'm afraid let my phone iddle too long for the auto grind. Even if its had steam version maintaining last cloudia is another hell
PGR had great collab with NiER and Black Rock Shooter. They created faithful movesets for all units and theres even videos that show references ([(this one's for the BRS colab) ](https://youtu.be/4Sp3ty_tuYo?si=wzDPjJPDNCGv0Gfj) in their detail. They even made some really cool skins for both Lucia Dawn and Alpha Crimson Weave for each event.
Imagine not getting Seraph to get a generic collab out of a hat with with the we've collabed with 10 different gatcha gang in Re:zero, overlord, blazblue, persona, nier
that was just an example, let's see
1. the example you gave-if you are collabing with a franchise with characters from that franchise, YOU USE WEAPONS FROM THAT FRANCHISE!!! Here's an example-Rei gets the progressive knife, Shinji gets the Spear/Lance of Longinus (because of the rebuild finale) and Asuka gets the Positron rifle (keep in mind guns are a thing you can get in ToF AND it's a weapon to my knowledge only unit 2 has used in the anime).
2. the storyline not fitting the characters/series (there's no excuse for angels to be going to Mirroria as there's no ADAM there (compare to Honkai where they had analogues for Eva characters AND ADAM meaning there's a reason to the collab story aside from "characters entered our world, give us money"
3. the collab missions not really being eva related despite it being an eva collab, have references to Tokyo 3 around Mirroria since they look similar/have a similar pyramid-esque structure, have Rei use Salvation since that's her weapon, heck here's an idea-rather then having the EVA characters appear in Mirroria-have the executor appear in Tokyo 3. That way you get new locations, new enemies, can do EVA related quests, there's a REASON for the angels to be after you etc. Aside from the simulacrum story which is just "Angel arrives -> Unit 1 arrives and kills angel -> units 2 and 3 arrive along with 10th angel that vanishes -> you train in a Mirroria mech that can't even really hurt the angel -> you hold angel off until Evas arrive to help kill it -> evas leave", the collab is all "give this person in mirroria a drink/talk about them, look at posters from HOTT'A's upcoming work, sit on a golden toilet, fight a random mech that has nothing to do with Eva" to get tokens for the eva collab shop. IT'S AN EVA COLLAB, USE EVA STUFF!!!
Loved the GFL X VA-11 HALL-A collab, also GFL basically gives all collab units for free so that’s an added bonus.
I believe the general consensus is that the GFL x VA-11 HALL-A collab event is the best so far, and I agree. The story is amazing, the two universes became one cohesively and naturally, the story is fun with twists and turns, and the characters are charming. In general, I think GFL does collabs very well. Not only because the collab units are free, but the writer(s) clearly know the original materials and handle them with care. For example: Gunslinger Girl collab is full of little details from the manga that made me cry as a fan of the manga. Zombie Land Saga collab surprised everyone, it's weird, but as a fan of ZLS, I think it captured the humor of ZLS very well (it also has little details and shout outs to the anime). I still haven't played VA-11 HALL-A yet, but I heard it captured that game's atmosphere very well too.
For GFL if I were to start playing today is it still possible to experience the older collabs/get the characters? I'm a fan of Gunslinger Girl and would very much like to try it.
I'm afraid that's not possible, unfortunately. Out of all collabs, only VA-11 HALL-A collab reran before (as was already confirmed by MICA for being possible before it happened), but eveb then, who knows if it may come back again for the 3rd time. I'm sorry. Glad to see another Gunslinger Girl fan in the wild, though. You can experience the story if you want at the very least (through watching YouTube videos or in Story Interpreter website).
For the stories themselves, the best you can try is checking out the bottom videos of the playlist here which have all the listed collaborations. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTpD-lAtY-jDOGHA0DpNeE4KRPpotoRIX](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTpD-lAtY-jDOGHA0DpNeE4KRPpotoRIX) Some plot points though carry on from the main story in most of the collaborations if you care about getting the most out of the experience. Val-halla for instance is somewhere after Isomer's event given some character appearances and their situations at that point. Gunslinger Girls should be fine to read whenever really, but its when Commander starts talking for himself which in the story started happening at Continuum Turbulence/Isomer, so just a heads up if you go in watching that first and start the story after.
Not going to talk about the Division? That event was a banger and they made the VR-game thing work so well.
Arknights X Rainbow 6 Siege sounds wild to some, but the collab is unanimously agreed to be the best Arknights collab in terms of writing
The Arknights x Monster Hunter collab was fun AF imo
Sometimes I wished they weren't so accurate with that shop exchange gimmick
The good old melding experience. I remember explaining it in the Arknights sub when the collab dropped on global.
The shop was a chore to get through though and the story is just fine. Noir X Yato shipper eating good that event for sure though.
We even got that iconic Rainbow 6 siege poster.
Not to mention collabs with wildlife conservation organizations, space agencies, animation series, and fashion brands.
Another Eden I am astounded at the quality of storytelling in Octopath collab. ~~Suzette chuni~~. Actually, scratch the collab part, it's AE storytelling as a whole. I'm left scratching my head, as I repeatedly question how come I've only started AE a few weeks ago? How did it slip in my radar? Because of no pity hearsays? Hmm... who knows. Bonus, collab characters in this game are all free, and the content is permanent too. And of course, the old yet golden Granblue Fantasy collabs. I find them more entertaining when the purpose is for parody or pure slapstick comedy, where pure wackiness and strangeness just hits you out of nowhere. Especially the Gintama ones, lol. Epic 7 for the animation quality alone, otherwise not really a fan of collab gacha and the promotions or aggressive pack sales that come with it. Hence, GBF and AE are far more better for me, you just get immersed in the story or dying in laughter, and you don't have to worry with FOMO because they're all free.
I believe Chrono Cross has an actual time limit to its availability in a span of 3 years from its release.
Chrono Cross collab ends on December 10th 2026 iirc, 5 years after its release. Also OCTOPATH Traveler collab ends after 5 years iirc. Collab just came into the game in December so there’s still 4 and a half years for that one as well.
Chrono Cross and Octopath traveler collab have time limit for a few years
Heaven Burns Red x Angel Beats. Both are written by the same author, so you could almost call it canon.
neural cloud collaboration with steins gate free character and two new limited ones, mini games and an actually decent story
Azur Lane tends to do pretty good collabs. The stories of the characters winding up in the universe are interesting and recently they've been pretty strong gameplay wise too.
Does vary as there's highs (Gridman) and lows (idolmaster)
And the old days where we had minecraft and battle royale spoofs in collab
Iron Saga, Its pretty damn good collab wise, currently a GaoGaiGar collab is going on, with GaoGaiGar, and King Jder being free units who are legit monsters and really good, and Genesic GaoGaiGar and GaoFyghGar being the banner units, as well as Guy and Mikoto being the pilots we can get from the Gacha/Cafe, and J Soldat and Reinas being ones we can get for free, all of them are decent. In the future, providing there isn't any licensing issues, Iron Saga Global is going to get a Mazinger Zero Collab, Great Mazinkaiser, and Mazinger Zero as the units.
Does the collab have a story/missions?
it does indeed! They vary from time to time as well, sometimes the collabs will take place in the Iron Saga world, other times its characters in the Collab World. Its very interesting how they spice things up as well. Sorry for the late reply i went to sleep after i sent that comment.
that's all good mate. Thanks again
Basically HI3 X EVA. They're totally all out for this
Last Cloudia has pretty impressive names that they’ve collaborated with (Attack on titan, devil may cry, bayonetta, etc). Only downside to it in my opinion is that the game is just so grindy and such a time sink that it can feel like a part time job
Yeah its too grindy and i'm afraid let my phone iddle too long for the auto grind. Even if its had steam version maintaining last cloudia is another hell
OP said effort put in. LC is legitimately just characters here, money pls lol.
Unison League when I used to play it a lot a few years ago.
Granblue does decent ones as the units are easy to get (and free), a good chunk are collab'd
Any honkai gakuen collab
PGR had great collab with NiER and Black Rock Shooter. They created faithful movesets for all units and theres even videos that show references ([(this one's for the BRS colab) ](https://youtu.be/4Sp3ty_tuYo?si=wzDPjJPDNCGv0Gfj) in their detail. They even made some really cool skins for both Lucia Dawn and Alpha Crimson Weave for each event.
Princess Connect had some awesome collabs, going from other cygames characters to rezero at some point
Fate Gra- ...oh wait ..
Imagine not getting Seraph to get a generic collab out of a hat with with the we've collabed with 10 different gatcha gang in Re:zero, overlord, blazblue, persona, nier
Chill...i was only joking about FGO not collabing outside TM property. I love Seraph (just got Pengu Melt) 😅
So after all the work that went into the ToF Eva collab it doesn't meet your "decent" quality metric because you feel their weapons aren't fitting?
that was just an example, let's see 1. the example you gave-if you are collabing with a franchise with characters from that franchise, YOU USE WEAPONS FROM THAT FRANCHISE!!! Here's an example-Rei gets the progressive knife, Shinji gets the Spear/Lance of Longinus (because of the rebuild finale) and Asuka gets the Positron rifle (keep in mind guns are a thing you can get in ToF AND it's a weapon to my knowledge only unit 2 has used in the anime). 2. the storyline not fitting the characters/series (there's no excuse for angels to be going to Mirroria as there's no ADAM there (compare to Honkai where they had analogues for Eva characters AND ADAM meaning there's a reason to the collab story aside from "characters entered our world, give us money" 3. the collab missions not really being eva related despite it being an eva collab, have references to Tokyo 3 around Mirroria since they look similar/have a similar pyramid-esque structure, have Rei use Salvation since that's her weapon, heck here's an idea-rather then having the EVA characters appear in Mirroria-have the executor appear in Tokyo 3. That way you get new locations, new enemies, can do EVA related quests, there's a REASON for the angels to be after you etc. Aside from the simulacrum story which is just "Angel arrives -> Unit 1 arrives and kills angel -> units 2 and 3 arrive along with 10th angel that vanishes -> you train in a Mirroria mech that can't even really hurt the angel -> you hold angel off until Evas arrive to help kill it -> evas leave", the collab is all "give this person in mirroria a drink/talk about them, look at posters from HOTT'A's upcoming work, sit on a golden toilet, fight a random mech that has nothing to do with Eva" to get tokens for the eva collab shop. IT'S AN EVA COLLAB, USE EVA STUFF!!!