With its deliberate turn-based combat and rapidly growing community, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 suggests there’s still strong appetite for traditional JRPGs. That appetite contrasts with the path Final Fantasy has taken in recent years, where the series has increasingly embraced action-oriented systems.
What makes Clair Obscur notable is how closely it channels the feel of classic RPGs like Persona or Phantasy Star: measured, turn-based encounters, an expansive, beautifully realized world, and layered menu systems. This was long the core identity of Final Fantasy before the series pivoted toward more active, real-time gameplay.
Square Enix has certainly taken notice of Expedition 33, but it’s not ready to overhaul its design philosophy. “Essentially for the Final Fantasy numbered series, the game design is based on the director’s decision himself. For the new title, whether it’s action or turn-based, that’s not pre-determined yet,” Naoki Hamaguchi, director of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, told TheGamer in a recent interview.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Launch Trailer | PS5 Games – YouTube
“If you would ask me, ‘Is [my next game] going to be an RPG?’, yes, there is definitely a possibility. But is it going to be a turn-based RPG? We’re taking this aside from the fact that Expedition 33 was received well, we received a lot of ‘JRPGs are back’ comments. For me, I’m thinking about what game experience fans will enjoy. That’s the most important point.”
Hamguchi’s emphasis on player experience is telling — developers ultimately design for what their audience will enjoy. Recent entries like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and the Remake projects have earned praise for their presentation and systems, and Final Fantasy XVI also received positive reviews. That suggests many players remain comfortable with action-led designs rather than rejecting them outright.
Claiming JRPGs have fully “returned” might be premature. franchises such as Persona and Yakuza have been steadily rising, and the genre has benefited from numerous re-releases — most recently titles like Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles — keeping the classic style in circulation. In short, JRPGs never truly vanished; they simply occupied a quieter corner of the market.
Still, Sandfall Entertainment’s success with Clair Obscur demonstrates that Final Fantasy now faces meaningful competition in the realm of traditional RPG design. How Naoki Hamaguchi and Square Enix choose to respond remains to be seen.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director says “there are still a few” secrets players have yet to find in the JRPG
Source: gamesradar.com
