Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads follow up meeting their JRPG idols at Square Enix to exchange "visions and ideas" with praise from another genre icon over dinner: "My favorite game"

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Sandfall Interactive developers have been busy

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Gustave in a French-inspired outfit
(Image credit: Sandfall Interactive)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developers recently went to Japan, where, alongside Hideo Kojima, they met with Square Enix – and received what might just be the highest form of praise from a JRPG veteran.

The adventure starts with a post from Final Fantasy 7 Remake director and studio head Naoki Hamaguchi, who writes about Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive both visiting Square Enix in Tokyo: "Guillaume Broche, Francois Meurisse, Tom Guillermin from Sandfall, and Alexis Garavaryan from Kepler – creators of Expedition 33 – visited the Square Enix office for a creatively rich exchange of visions and ideas."

Attached to Hamaguchi's words is a picture of all the devs posing together in the Square Enix headquarters next to a cardboard cutout of Cloud Strife – a truly fitting moment for the Clair Obscur team, who have previously said their game was inspired by JRPG gems such as Final Fantasy 10 and Persona 5. Hamaguchi isn't the only genre legend with something positive to say about the French studio after meeting them overseas, however.

Ryosuke Yoshida, the director behind Visions of Mana and an industry veteran with credits in beloved games like Devil May Cry 5, has shared his own post and photo with the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs. "I enjoyed dinner with everyone at Sandfall Interactive," states Yoshida, "who made my favorite game, 'Expedition 33.'" That's right – the mastermind himself calls the 2025 turn-based RPG his "favorite game," the ultimate compliment.

Yoshida continues, naming everyone who attended the dinner – including Hamaguchi: "Guillaume Broche, Francois Meurisse, Tom Guillermin, and Alexis Garavaryan from Kepler, and my boss, Hamaguchi-san." He concludes, "Thank you for the wonderful time!"

It's one of the most wholesome meetups between devs I've ever seen myself, and in my opinion, the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 team is more than deserving of it.

Playing the new RPG yourself? Here are our best Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 tips to read if you're diving in.

Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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