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Expedition 33 director’s favorite Final Fantasy game is the perfect explanation why his game is so damn good
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a unique title in that it should absolutely stand on its own merit, but it's impossible to talk about or critique the game without mentioning its clear Final Fantasy inspirations. Sandfall Interactive has not been shy about where its ideas about Expedition 33 came from. Turn-based JRPGs like classic Final Fantasy titles are the blood of the game experience from the story to the turn-based combat that defines it. And now I think I know exactly why the game is so damn good. Screenshot by Destructoid In a March 25 Giant Bomb video that's been making the rounds again after the game's huge success after launch, Expedition 33 creative director Guillaume Broche solidified himself as a current and future king of the industry, for me, with one simple quote. "Final Fantasy VIII is the best one, I will die on that hill," Broche said as the group explored a Tower Records, and suddenly I felt as though I am ready to follow him into the depths of hell for the rest of his career. Because damn it, he's right, and I'm sick of pretending that he's not. In the video, Giant Bomb's Tamoor Hussain mentions that Expedition 33's "reactive turn-based" reminds him of Squall's Gunblade attacks in FF8, and it all clicked for me. I've been doing QTE's and that sort of turn-based RPG combat since 1999, timing my R1 button presses in time with Squall's slashes with the most underrated weapon in all of video game history. For those who haven't played FF8 (shame on you), the main character Squall's weapon is a Gunblade. It's a sword that is also a gun, and it should be in the hall of fame of video game weapons alongside everything from the Master Sword to the Needler to the Blades of Chaos. If I could mount any one video game weapon on my wall, it would be the Gunblade. And so, the hilt of the Gunblade has a trigger that you pull that fires a bullet out of the end of the blade, and when timed properly during Squall's attacks, does extra damage. This is extremely similar to Expedition 33's combat, and explains why it scratches such an itch for me. It brings me back to the beginnings of my love for JRPG's. Funnily enough, Broche goes on to say that Expedition 33's combat is actually inspired by Lost Odyssey, which features circles closing in on each other that must be timed with button presses, but I feel like you'd be hard pressed to say that that game's combat wasn't in turn also inspired by FF8. And this is why I will never understand why FF8 is often hated on as one of the "worst" PlayStation era Final Fantasy games, especially when compared to VII, IX, and X. Broche also says that for most people it's about which FF you played first, and that was VIII for me. But even on subsequent playthroughs, it just feels so damn good, and I feel like a lot of that has to do with the Gunblade's mini QTE's. Image via Square Enix I mean, sure, the story isn't the strongest and a lot of people hate the Junction system (which vaguely reminds me of Pictos and Lumina in E33), but the characters and the world are its strengths in my mind. And nothing can change that, no matter how many times I'm told the other games are better. Basically, you should play FF8 and if you played it and didn't like it, you should play it again with E33 fresh in your mind. You should definitely play it if you haven't been a turn-based RPG fan but E33 may have changed your mind. Wouldn't you know it, FF VIII Remastered is just $8 on Steam right now! Very cheeky. In my biased opinion, I think it's eight of the best dollars you can spend...but only after you finish Expedition 33. The post Expedition 33 director’s favorite Final Fantasy game is the perfect explanation why his game is so damn good appeared first on Destructoid.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a unique title in that it should absolutely stand on its own merit, but it's impossible to talk about or critique the game without mentioning its clear Final Fantasy inspirations.
Sandfall Interactive has not been shy about where its ideas about Expedition 33 came from. Turn-based JRPGs like classic Final Fantasy titles are the blood of the game experience from the story to the turn-based combat that defines it. And now I think I know exactly why the game is so damn good.
In a March 25 Giant Bomb video that's been making the rounds again after the game's huge success after launch, Expedition 33 creative director Guillaume Broche solidified himself as a current and future king of the industry, for me, with one simple quote.
"Final Fantasy VIII is the best one, I will die on that hill," Broche said as the group explored a Tower Records, and suddenly I felt as though I am ready to follow him into the depths of hell for the rest of his career. Because damn it, he's right, and I'm sick of pretending that he's not.
In the video, Giant Bomb's Tamoor Hussain mentions that Expedition 33's "reactive turn-based" reminds him of Squall's Gunblade attacks in FF8, and it all clicked for me. I've been doing QTE's and that sort of turn-based RPG combat since 1999, timing my R1 button presses in time with Squall's slashes with the most underrated weapon in all of video game history.
For those who haven't played FF8 (shame on you), the main character Squall's weapon is a Gunblade. It's a sword that is also a gun, and it should be in the hall of fame of video game weapons alongside everything from the Master Sword to the Needler to the Blades of Chaos. If I could mount any one video game weapon on my wall, it would be the Gunblade.
And so, the hilt of the Gunblade has a trigger that you pull that fires a bullet out of the end of the blade, and when timed properly during Squall's attacks, does extra damage. This is extremely similar to Expedition 33's combat, and explains why it scratches such an itch for me. It brings me back to the beginnings of my love for JRPG's.
Funnily enough, Broche goes on to say that Expedition 33's combat is actually inspired by Lost Odyssey, which features circles closing in on each other that must be timed with button presses, but I feel like you'd be hard pressed to say that that game's combat wasn't in turn also inspired by FF8.
And this is why I will never understand why FF8 is often hated on as one of the "worst" PlayStation era Final Fantasy games, especially when compared to VII, IX, and X. Broche also says that for most people it's about which FF you played first, and that was VIII for me. But even on subsequent playthroughs, it just feels so damn good, and I feel like a lot of that has to do with the Gunblade's mini QTE's.
I mean, sure, the story isn't the strongest and a lot of people hate the Junction system (which vaguely reminds me of Pictos and Lumina in E33), but the characters and the world are its strengths in my mind. And nothing can change that, no matter how many times I'm told the other games are better.
Basically, you should play FF8 and if you played it and didn't like it, you should play it again with E33 fresh in your mind. You should definitely play it if you haven't been a turn-based RPG fan but E33 may have changed your mind.
Wouldn't you know it, FF VIII Remastered is just $8 on Steam right now! Very cheeky. In my biased opinion, I think it's eight of the best dollars you can spend...but only after you finish Expedition 33.
The post Expedition 33 director’s favorite Final Fantasy game is the perfect explanation why his game is so damn good appeared first on Destructoid.
