In a recent interview, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s creative director, Guillaume Broche, gave some high praise to another JRPG. Aside from calling it the “best game in the world” in certain regards, Broche also said that it helped inspire Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. If you’ve been enjoying your time with the members of Expedition 33, and are looking to play more JRPGs, you may want to look into one of the games that inspired it.

Given how well-received Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been, its creative director praising another game so highly should mean something. Having played both games, it’s also clear to see the influence that this JRPG had on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Both games do a great job sprucing up turn-based combat with their animations and stylish UI, and I hope future RPGs can take note of their successes.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Creative Director Thinks Persona 5 Has The Best UI And Battle Depictions

Guillaume Broche Points To Persona 5’s Camera Movements And Cinematic Qualities

In an interview with DenfaminicoGamer, Guillaume Broche, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s creative director, mentioned his love for JRPGs. When asked which games in particular inspired him, he mentioned several, but singled out Persona 5 for some of its visual components. Broche went so far as to call it “the best game in the world in terms of battle depiction and UI creation.” He goes onto explain how Persona 5‘s camera movement allowed its turn-based action to feel more exciting and cinematic.

These sentiments echo a similar statement from Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s lead battle planner, Kenichi Goto, who also emphasized camera movements and visual components as a vital way to keep turn-based combat engaging. Goto was also the lead battle planner for Persona 5, and Broche’s comments make it clear his work with the game’s camera had the intended effect. This effect can also be seen on full display in the way Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 handles its own turn-based combat animations.

Persona 5’s Influence Can Be Seen In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Both Games Share UI And Combat Similarities

It’s clear that Broche and the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 team kept the idea of cinematic camera movement in mind when designing the game’s combat animations. You may not notice it while in the middle of battle, but the game employs a variety of camera moves to make its combat animations more impactful. For instance, when an ally or enemy is about to land a very powerful blow, the camera will often zoom out during the wind up, and quickly zoom back in when the hit lands. This first builds anticipation of the hit before adding impact by pushing in.

Persona 5‘s influence can also be seen in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s combat UI. Similar to Persona 5, your combat options fan out from the character you’re currently controlling. While they look different, both game’s UI features are themed to fit their respective visual styles.

Atlus’ JRPGs Turn UI Into An Artform

Atlus Crafts Unique UI For Each Game

There’s probably a good chance that, even if you didn’t guess Persona 5 specifically, this article’s title made you think of an Atlus game. Although the UI in the Persona games and Metaphor: ReFantazio are cut from the same cloth, they are all distinct. You could show me the combat UI with the text removed from these games, and I’d be able to tell exactly which one it is because of the unique style. Atlus’ artistic UI extends beyond combat, with things like menus and maps also being specifically tailored to each game’s style.

Often, a game’s UI is something I only notice when it’s bad, looking at you Civilization 7. However, games like Persona 5, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 prove that menus and combat UI can be more than either passable or poorly designed. I hope that more games are inspired by this type of design in the future, and creating beautiful UI will be just as much of a priority as any other aspect of a game’s visuals.