2025 has been a year of uncomfortable questions and realizations for theFinal Fantasyseries, and many of these can be attributed to 2025’s breakout masterpiece,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Sandfall’sClair Obscurcould have a major influence on the JRPG genre, despite coming out of France instead of Japan, and a part of this is due to its innovative turn-based combat. While many modern JRPGs stick to traditional turn-based combat, likeDragon QuestandOctopath Traveler, or embrace action combat likeFinal Fantasy,Clair Obscurshowed how turn-based combat can be modern and still feel classic.
The question about turn-based combat returning toFinal Fantasyhas been the most prevalent, butClair Obscuris a love letter to all aspects of the JRPGs of old, so turn-based combat is far from its only mechanic that honors the genre.Clair Obscurhas areas with fixed camera angles in reference to pre-rendered scenes used throughout classic JRPGs, a wacky world with a dark, mature story, which is somethingFinal Fantasyused to thrive on, and a mode of transport that opens up the world. WhatClair Obscurdoes with said world is another elementFinal Fantasyshould consider.
Final Fantasy Should Use Clair Obscur’s Overworld
FF’s Open Worlds Haven’t Been Particularly Exceptional
Final Fantasyhas occasionally made use of an open world in some of its modern games,specifically withFinal Fantasy 15andFF7 Rebirth, but neither open world has made much of an impression. They look incredible, andFinal Fantasy’s visuals are one area where the series is still hard to beat.
The areas are vast with plenty to do, but a lot of the activities can become boring, getting in the way of the story more than adding to the experience. While more involved side quests or better mini-games and activities could potentially improve this,Final Fantasycould also always take a step backward.
Final Fantasy 15began life as anFF13spin-off calledFinal Fantasy Versus 13, but was reworked to become the game it is today.
Moving on from the traditional overworld, where things aren’t quite to scale, made sense at the time, since it wasn’t clear how an overworld would translate to the fully 3D, modern visuals thatFinal Fantasyuses. While Square Enix hasn’t done away with the overworld as a whole, maintaining its presence inDragon Quest,Clair Obscurproves that the idea will workfor a game attempting a realistic presentation.Clair Obscur’s overworld is a visual stroke of genius, using blur and camera techniques to make the overworld look like a miniature set.
The big bonus of using an overworld is how much time it saves compared to crafting an open world while giving an immense scale to the world as a whole.Traversing an overworld tends to be easier, and locking areas off due to their geographical location is more believable until players unlock certain vehicles. Returning to an overworld would be a great way forFinal Fantasyto honor its roots, and could it be the perfect tool to experiment with for therumoredFinal Fantasy 9remake.
Clair Obscur Showed How Classic JRPG Mechanics Can Work For Modern Games
Contradicting The Narrative Around Final Fantasy
Although it features plenty of modern mechanics, like the Soulsborne-style enemy reset after resting at a checkpoint and parries,Clair Obscuruses many traditional JRPG mechanics.With incredible visuals and combining modern combat mechanics that fuse with the classical turn-based mold, it’s able to feel simultaneously classic and modern, sitting somewhere in the middle of the approaches taken byDragon QuestandFinal Fantasy.
The originalDragon Questwas the game that first defined JRPGs for many fans, releasing in 1986.
This is where modernFinal Fantasyshould be,experimenting with its core ideas of turn-based combat and overworldsinstead of going so far away from what made the series great in the first place.Final Fantasy 16’s combatis actually quite fun for hack-and-slash fans, but the game just doesn’t feel likeFinal Fantasy.Final Fantasy 7 Remakeis closer to what the series used to be about, with the ability to pause and issue commands while switching characters, but even theFF7 Remakeproject feels like it is going too far away from the original at points.
There’s been a substantial narrative thatFinal Fantasyneeds to move away from its roots to appeal to the global market and keep up with modern demands, butClair Obscurprovides a counter-argument. Copying the formula used inFF6 - FF10wouldn’t have been enough, but instead of leaving it behind,Final Fantasyneeded to evolve it in the way thatClair Obscurdid. It needed to make turn-based combat and the overworld feel modern, not leave it behind to do what everyone else has been doing with action combat and vast open worlds.
Final Fantasy Should Honor Its Roots
And Some True Remakes Could Help Recalibrate The Series
Final Fantasyis in an odd area where the games are still well-made, but they’re neither quite good enough to rise above the general RPG competition nor true enough to their roots to satisfy the oldest fans. In a few ways, thesituation is similar to theAssassin’s Creedseries,where the games don’t have that unique feeling the franchise once brought.
Final Fantasy, however, could look to change this with remakes. Making true remakes with turn-based combat and an overworld, while updating them for modern audiences, could be a way for the franchise to find itself again.
TheFinal Fantasy 9remake could be the answer to this, or Square Enix experimenting withFinal Fantasy 17could be the way the series gets back on top. Either way,Clair Obscurshould be an eye-opener for Square Enix, especially if Sandfall delivers again with a title in the same style. Ultimately,Final Fantasyis at a crossroads, andClair Obscur’s solution to the overworld could be a great example of how it can rediscover its identity to rise to the top of the JRPG pile.
