Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lead writer says it's "crazy" to see Final Fantasy legends who are "essentially our heroes" praising Sandfall's game after the JRPG series was such a "huge influence"

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen says it's been wild to see Final Fantasy legends praising the award winning J'RPG.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ at GDC 2026, Svedberg-Yen is asked about the journey so far almost a year after the game's launch. She explains, "I keep saying the same thing, but it's true. It still feels quite surreal. I still kind of feel like, is this real life? Or am I going to wake up tomorrow and this is all a dream?" She continues, "Every time I can actually wrap my mind around what's going on, something else happens where I'm like, 'What?'"

One such instance has been Final Fantasy legends praising the game, with series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi shouting out the team after their win at The Game Awards last year. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 7 Remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi called the game his game of the year in 2025, saying "what makes that game so good is the fact it gets all of the elements in it right, and it balances them all at such a high level of quality."

Svedberg-Yen continues, "That part is crazy. Because Final Fantasy is a huge influence on the game... Everyone on the team, from the developers to our voice actors, all hold this franchise in great esteem, and so to now have, essentially our heroes, mentioning us and saying such nice things is just amazing."

This previously led to some of the developers of Clair Obscur visiting the Final Fantasy developers, with Hamaguchi calling the visit "inspiring," so it's really full circle.

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