Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 creative director Guillaume Broche claims that Sandfall Interactive never intended to make a JRPG and instead wanted to make something French. Since the launch of the record-breaking game, he thinks there's been a movement to create FRPGs in his home country.
In an interview with DenFamiNicoGamer that's been translated by GamesRadar+, the French director says that while JRPGs inspired the team, it was never its intention to create a Japanese game. "When many Western development teams make a JRPG-style game, they call on Japanese people for character design or music," Broche says. "Or try to imitate the Japanese style in some way. But we had absolutely no intention of doing things like that."
If you saw members of Sandfall Interactive pick up any of their million prizes won during The Game Awards 2025 wearing their striped shirts, berets, and wielding baguettes, you'll know that the team is unapologetically French. This is also how they wanted their game to be.
"Our vision was something like 'the gameplay will take inspiration from JRPGs," Broche says. "But aside from that we're not Japanese; we'll do things our way. Because we are French, we'll make something French.'"
If you've played Expedition 33, you'll know that the setting, characters, and story all drip with everything la belle France. "I think the feel of Expedition 33 is very different from the lineage of traditional JRPGs," Broche says. "Currently, in France there's a movement to make FRPGs."
Broche admits that there were elements that he borrowed from Japanese game design aside from the turn-based combat. While almost everyone will have noticed the stylish UI, clearly read from Persona's playbook, there's more.
Broche also discusses how the team was inspired by the sound design of the Ace Attorney series, with every decision from the player being met with a pleasing noise. He also notes that Western developers don't usually pay as much attention to these finer details.
Someone should tell them to watch the background of a Remedy game.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director says the J'RPG has "very Japanese" gameplay, which makes it possible to play "without taking a single hit": "Even if I'm told it's impossible, I want to keep trying."
