The surprise hit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 marked a renewed upswing for turn-based combat games and JRPGs. The producer of Final Fantasy XIV and XVI now explains whether future successes will be modeled after it.
Why is this question being asked? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 not only celebrated incredible success among gamers, but it also drew on many famous (J)RPGs, assembling a toolkit to create something new. Among the sources of inspiration were also successful installments of Final Fantasy.
The gaming experience has etched itself deeply into the hearts of players, leading them to fear they may never find something like it again. Clair Obscur primarily relies on an emotional, profound story and a kind of reactive, turn-based combat system that gives the gameplay a unique touch.
This strong orientation to Final Fantasy and the resounding success of the game led to the producer of Final Fantasy XIV and XVI, Naoki Yoshida, being asked in an interview whether future installments of the franchise would take inspiration from Clair Obscur.
Success of Clair Obscur not a guarantee for the return of turn-based combat
What does Naoki Yoshida say about it? In an interview with Anime News Network, the producer was asked whether with the success of Clair Obscur there was a possibility that turn-based battles could return in future mainline Final Fantasy titles.
Fans have shown that there is still interest in such a combat system. With this question, they reference a trend in recent years, where both Final Fantasy XV and XVI focused primarily on action-oriented combat systems.
Naoki Yoshida has a clear opinion on the topic:
The question of whether a game is turn-based or action-oriented reduces the gameplay to the combat system. It doesn’t take into account what kind of experience the creators want to offer the players. For example, if we want to provide our players with a certain graphical quality or tell a specific story, it relates to how we align the game systems accordingly.
This includes the combat system, game design, and gameplay feel. There is no definitive answer to whether the game will be completely turn-based or more action-based.
I may not necessarily be involved in Final Fantasy 17, so we don’t want to constrain or restrict our future director or whoever will produce games like 17 or even 18. We don’t want to pigeonhole them.
– Naoki Yoshida in an interview with Anime News Network
A return to the roots of Final Fantasy, especially regarding the focus of the combat system, seems not to be ruled out. Nevertheless, they do not want to commit at this point to where the journey will lead in the future.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has not only been received excellently by the gaming community because of its gameplay or epic story. The game also broke records on other levels and could even completely convince non-gamers: Expedition 33 breaks several records – but others than you think
