Long before Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director Guillaume Broche was humbled by the success of the J'RPG, he was humbled in a somewhat different way by one of its biggest inspirations – namely, the first boss of Final Fantasy 8.
Over the past 12 months, Broche hasn't been shy in naming heaps of the JRPGs that have helped shape Clair Obscur, from the stunning UI of Persona to the vibes of Final Fantasy. In a new interview with The Washington Post, however, he digs into how Final Fantasy 8, his first JRPG, shaped what came after. He was just as taken with the character art and romantic tone as the rest of us were, sure, but struggling with the combat arguably left the biggest impression, as he could "barely read" at the time.
“It came out at a time when my brother and I could barely read,” Broche explains. “So we have very fond memories struggling against the first boss. We couldn’t beat him because we couldn’t read, as the only thing we knew how to do was just auto-attack, which is really bad.”
The boss Broche refers to could be Ifrit if we're including the Fire Cavern, though most wouldn't, as it's technically the tutorial area. Rather, it's likely a flying monster called Elvoret that you face immediately after fighting FF8's version of Biggs and Wedge. I can only imagine how Broche and his brother fared when taking on Black Widow just after, a big ol' spider tank you face several times while fleeing Dollet.
While Final Fantasy 8 might have been a struggle at first, it clearly all worked out for the better. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has sold over two million copies in two weeks, and some developers within the industry think it could "top 8-10 million."
