Building on the success of Clair Obscur Expedition 33, the JRPG may well have to reinvent itself in the years to come, and this may not please everyone.
Some may tell you that Chiaroscuro Expedition 33 didn’t reinvent the RPG genre as much as people would have us believe. And ultimately, they are probably right. But if there is one thing that cannot be taken away from Sandfall Interactive’s title, it is the influence that it is already starting to have on the rest of the industry. Because beyond establishing oneself as a new model for certain future productions, he also and above all seems to push the creators who inspired him to want to reinvent themselves.
A big development approaching for the JRPG after Clair Obscur?
Starting with Katsura Hashino, director of Persona 3, 4 et 5 but also from Metaphor: ReFantazio, who does not lack praise for Clair Obscur Expedition 33. “I haven’t reached the end yet, so it’s hard for me to give my opinion right now, but from what I saw, I noticed that it was made with a lot of love and care. It is very well done and very accomplished” he notably confided in the columns of Game Informer.
It must be said that such success cannot go unnoticed. Especially when we know that this was Sandfall’s first title, which therefore did not necessarily have the same resources as the greatest RPG creators. And this seems more than ever to inspire Hashino, who hopes to be able to evolve the genre like the Atlus formula in the years to come. “More than clinging to a specific genre of game, we’re coming back to how we can evolve our JRPG and what it looks like” indeed assured the creator.
“For us, we’re coming to a turning point where we really want to take our JRPG design to the next level.”. However, fans can rest assured: the studio behind Persona does not intend to deny everything that makes up its identity in the equation. “We want to maintain our strengths, whether it’s our storytelling or the elements that make us JRPGs” he adds to this effect to Game Informer.
Reach out to a wider audience
But then, what should we expect for the studio’s next titles, like Persona 6 For example ? More accessibility, for starters. “With these changing times, we feel the need to update our format and create games that would be more widely playable. Not just in the realm of JRPGs, but ones that would be easier and more accessible to a wider audience”he explains. And there is no doubt that the success of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 with a wide audience is no stranger to such a desire.
Of course, as always when faced with such speech, fans are likely to be divided. Because while some will undoubtedly be delighted to see a license like Persona open to a wider audience, others, on the contrary, may naturally fear that this will harm the kind of experiences they are looking for. However, we will have to show a little more patience before knowing more about the approach chosen by Atlus and Hashino. Will 2026 finally be the year of the big announcement for Persona 6? Fingers crossed.
Source : Game Informer
