When this blog started, I made the effort to take photos of ending credits as some sort of proof. Modern gaming platforms usually have achievements to show that you’ve reached the end but I do like taking images like these to capture how I played the game. Besides, not all games have account achievements or trophies you can just look up. For example:

(This is the Mega Drive/Genesis port of Cave Story, played on an Anbernic RG35XX. I forgot to rescue Curly Brace.)

I took the photo to show that I played Expedition 33 on an Xbox Series S through Game Pass. I was lucky enough to have an active Game Pass membership when all the hype around Expedition 33 was coursing through the Internet. I had just purchased Monster Hunter Wilds so I didn’t want to shell out some more money to play something that sounded so promising. I initially figured that I could hold out after putting in a few hours in Wilds but…it didn’t hold me like the previous two Monster Hunter titles did, so I was quick to jump into Expedition 33.

Outside of the favourable reception, I went into the game cold. From all the Internet hype, I knew it was a JRPG made by a French studio made of ex-Ubisoft developers but that was about it. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and how it looked in the eyes of an old JRPG veteran like myself (back in my day, we played poorly translated NES ROM-hacks of Final Fantasy II and we LIKED it!).

At first blush, it’s clear that Expedition 33 was inspired by many JRPG designs. I’m convinced that the developers implemented the battle camera and UIs from the latest Persona games. Like any good traditional JRPG, the battles are turn-based but the weapon and combat mechanics are modeled after Souls-like games, as dodging and parrying attacks in real-time act as the only defensive options in the game. Even resting and item usage seem to be FromSoft-inspired, as you’re able to recover as necessary without having to worry about inventory management, since they all refresh whenever you hit a checkpoint but when you do, all enemies also respawn. The Pictos/Lumina system felt very “junction”-like to me. The skill system isn’t nearly as robust as a sphere grid or job system but still deep enough to allow for unique and specific character builds. Each character plays uniquely as well (I still really don’t fully understand Sciel), allowing for varying synergies across different team formations. I’ll admit my builds were pretty one-dimensional but the game also provides many opportunities to respec your characters so you’ll have the option to theorycraft as you wish but it’s absolutely not necessary to enjoy the main storyline.

Speaking of, it’s been a refreshing experience to play a JRPG without the typical bullshit JRPG plotlines. The premise of the paintress performing a yearly “gommage”, slowly scrubbing away at humanity is a bit contrived but a reality that everyone must face. Under these circumstances, Expedition 33’s characters actually feel human, instead of falling into cheap stereotypes defined by many games before it in the genre. There’s no power of friendship here telling others to be blindly optimistic. No allusions to any magical plot device that can pulled out of thin air to save the world. Everyone is forced to accept the world as it is. Just in case you didn’t already know how French the game was.

If you still can’t figure out that the game is French, it’s stellar soundtrack will make you, with tons of great tunes that prominently feature French, similar to how JRPGs throw him theme songs for its own characters. Befitting of the “clair obscur” motif.

One could call this game derivative and I would even kinda agree; the game doesn’t push or break any boundaries and walks a path well-beaten down by many games before it. However, there’s something to be said about how well executed the game is. Its inspirations from other games don’t feel cheap or ripping off surface-level ideas. Familiar concepts and tropes have been polished and fashioned in a way that fits into the game neatly, signifying that the developers knew exactly where and how they wanted to present them. Expedition 33 is a love letter to JPRGs (and maybe even a plea to Square Enix to return to turn-based combat). It reminds me of kids making their “own game”, right after beating their first, favourite game.

It took me about 40 hours to beat the game and I primarily covered the main storyline. I did do a few sidequests but there’s a lot of post-game/New Game+ content that I haven’t even touched. Since I played this game on Game Pass, I’ll most likely skip them in favour of trying to beat other games while my membership stays active but it is a testament to how much the game as to offer, even after going through it. Expedition 33 is definitely on my wish list, I just don’t know if I should get it through Steam or on Xbox to keep my progress.