Game Thoughts: Clair Obscur, Expedition 33
Note: Trying on a new writing style, things may be awkward for a bit.
My heart will always hold a very special place for Final Fantasy 7 through 10. Not only were they fantastic games for their era, but I experienced them at an impressionable age where they left an everlasting mark. I can't honestly say I've enjoyed attempts to replay them as an adult, but that golden age of 3D JRPGs established a unique formula -- a combination of music, visuals, melodrama, and gameplay mechanics that not even Square Enix itself has managed to replicate since.
These titles founded my appreciation for games as more than a pastime, elevating them to an artform. Yes, in hindsight the stories were messy, the combat monotonous, and the characters varying degrees of one-dimensional; but there was some magic there that simply isn't present in the later titles of the series, regardless of how well they were received.
That magic electrified me. It began a lifelong passion and pushed me into learning the technical skills which now furnish my life with material wealth (though I never did become a full-fledged game developer). It also and kicked off interests in the myriad artistic and technical skills required to build such games.
I have spent many years hoping for a game to rediscover that formula -- to find a way to make it shine again -- only to be disappointed. Other RPGs have evolved and innovated on different aspects of the quintessential RPG, but for me none have ever reached the same heights. Until now, that is!
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has rediscovered the magic formula, updated it for modern tastes, and delivered a nearly perfect experience which captures the magic of that golden era of RPGs. The game pulled me in and consumed me for the duration I spent with it.
As I've spent so long trying to nail down what it is that made that formula so great, I've taken the time here to compare notes and spell it out. I propose that the following list of things, when executed well, make up the magic I've been looking for:
Characters with chemistry, personality, and individuality -- Clair Obscur offers a small but varied cast, each member feeling fairly fleshed out with past traumas and scars. Some of these are explored, others implied, but the characters each felt like complete images. Importantly, the differences between characters were felt in how they played as well. This was a masterful decision, as characters feel different when you play them -- from how they move to how their combat mechanics work, adding to the inherent depth of the differences between them.
Turn based battles that challenge in new and surprising ways -- Combat is Clair Obscur's primary innovation on the linear turn-based RPG. They've mashed together all the best parts of the last 2 decades of RPG combat: stylish menus, fast action, dodge/parry mechanics, and quick-time bonus damage. The resulting gameplay in almost rhythm-based, faced-paced, and masterable. You, the player, improve as your party does. It's a breath of fresh air while still feeling familiar, and each new area introduces new challenges, be they new mechanics or new attack patterns and tricks for dispatching enemies.
A sense of growth -- The characters display growth as the story progresses, both via the narrative and via leveling and skills. Each character comes with a specialized ability tree to explore and experiment with as you master the mechanics of the game. The world itself grows too, as the mysteries surrounding the story unfold.
An excellent score -- A good soundtrack paired with memorable moments will stay with someone for a lifetime; music is an excellent mnemonic, and while the right song adds impact to an emotional scene, so too can an emotional scene etch itself into a song forever. I have paid money to see Final Fantasy scores played live, and I plan on learning some of the excellent soundtrack here on the piano.
A world map with lots of optional locations -- This scratched an unbelievable itch for me. The world map in Clair Obscur is a clear throwback to classic RPG world maps and is absolutely teeming with optional content to find. Much of it is just small items and upgrades, but they've also peppered the map with preposterously difficult optional bosses and locations. Most importantly: there different modes of transport to unlock new locations.
Lot of silly down time between high-intensity drama -- A critical aspect of the formula, and something you often find more of in Japanese RPGs than western ones. Clair Obscur finds a good balance here, introducing a lot of very interesting, very silly content in between tense situations. They even manage to merge the silly and serious at times, which I felt elevated some key moments of the story.
A story where you at some point basically need to fight god -- A trope, yes, but key to the formula. While the scale and scope of Clair Obscur never reaches the levels of the Final Fantasy series, they still manage to find a way to have you fight god.
Systems to experiment with -- more importantly, systems you can break. Materia, junctioning, the Sphere Grid -- Final Fantasy games hand you a system and and the requisite tools to abuse that system and turn your party into weapons of mass destruction. Clair Obscure nailed this perfectly with an abundance of weapons, "picto" skills, and customization options. Blowing through the 9999 damage barrier was unreasonably satisfying, and the skill system is designed to encourage plenty of in-battle experimentation.
Optional content that acknowledges you will break said systems -- Optional, unreasonably difficult bosses are another JRPG trope, but they offer an outlet for when you overpower you characters. Once you're able to one-shot the final boss, it's natural to seek bigger pray. There are nigh-impossible optional boss battles in abundance in the final parts of the game, many of which taunt you in earlier sections to add to the satisfaction of beating them later on.
Lots of time before the final boss -- It was always a running joke with my friends that we left Sephiroth hanging in Final Fantasy 7 while we ran around completing every side quest. Here the game hands you an entire final act where your only official task is "go fight the last boss" while unlocking a cornucopia of new optional content to go finish off. I think I only completed perhaps half of what was offered before I decided it was time to finish things.
It should make you cry -- at least once. I loved this game, I loved the characters, I definitely cried.
There are likely other aspects to the magical formula that I'm missing, but Clair Obscur had enough lined up that it felt like the Final Fantasy sequel that never came. I spent the whole game grinning like a fool, wrapped up in the mystery, the drama, and the gameplay. I don't think it will leave the same everlasting mark on me that the Final Fantasy games did -- after all I'm no longer the impressionable teenager I was then -- but I'm grateful for the experience it delivered.
On top of finding and improving upon the classic formula, the game brought into the mix fantastic acting and voicing -- I discovered later that they used an impressive cast of professional actors for the face and body motion captures, and it definitely shows. The characters all came alive without getting caught in uncanny valley.
The game isn't perfect, but the few qualms I had were drowned in the overall experience. The game is small -- where Final Fantasy games were a meal, Clair Obscur is perhaps a particularly filling dessert. At this point in my life, however, I appreciate a quality over quantity and felt the length was perfect. Enough that I had my fill, but had a few mouthfuls left if I had wanted them
Here is a game I have subconsciously been waiting 20 years for; to light my heart afire once again and inspire me anew. I find myself tempted to dig through all my old game idea notes, to get back to my piano practice, to take another crack at gamedev. The formula that made me love games still works, despite all contrary evidence until now. It just took the right time to dust it off and work out the kinks.