RPG fans are loving the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 turn-based combat. Adding to that, its environments, gripping storytelling, memorable music, and characters are being heavily praised as well. Just as Sandfall Interactive owes a lot of its style to the likes of Atlus and the Persona series, they're also heavily inspired by one little Italian plumber: Mario. More specifically, Square's Super Mario RPG.
Back in the 90s, turn-based combat dominated the RPG genre. There were a few outliers like the Tales Of series, which innovated by introducing more real-time combat systems, but far from the action-oriented mechanics of recent titles like the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.
Along came Super Mario RPG, blessing the genre with perhaps one of the most fun evolutions of turn-based combat that's almost single-handedly kept this perceived outdated style of gameplay alive: Action Commands.
In 1996, when Squaresoft (now Square Enix) partnered with Nintendo to bring its iconic Mario characters to the realm of role-playing games, they poured their entire hearts into the project. Creating beloved characters like Geno, having the legendary Yoko Shimomura on deck to compose the game's gorgeous OST, and delivering a simple yet timeless mechanic like Action Commands which so many games have taken a page from, including Expedition 33. Suffice to say Super Mario RPG deserve its laurels as well.
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+ 2The way they worked in the original Mario RPG was rather simple: you pressed a button at the right time while performing an attack, defending from incoming enemies, or even using an item. Hitting the button at the right time would increase the potency of whatever you were trying to achieve (doing damage, guarding, healing, etc).
It was a refreshing take on turn-based combat. Even if it wasn't the most in-depth system, the ever-lasting impact of Action Commands can be seen throughout the decades.
The Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi franchises borrow heavily from this implementation. Elsewhere, the newer mainline Like a Dragon (formerly known as Yakuza in the West) titles also utilize Action Commands for their latest turn-based entries: Yakuza Like a Dragon, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Even indie games besides Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 pay homage to this feature. If you've never played Sea of Stars, it's one of the games I highly recommend you check out after you're done with Sandfall's masterpiece.
click to enlarge+ 2While on the topic of recommendations, I also suggest you give the latest Super Mario RPG remake a shot. It's almost a one-for-one recreation of the original with some added bells and whistles that make the experience much more enjoyable. But I digress.
Naturally, the concept of Action Commands is heavily expanded upon in Expedition 33. Animations are more dynamic and timings are stricter. You can even dodge and parry incoming attacks. One can argue it's the most action-oriented turn-based system to date.
It's definitely no secret that Expedition 33 is the sum of everything the RPG genre and turn-based combat systems have achieved over the past 30 years. The developers are absolutely wearing their influences on their sleeves and you can clearly tell.
Having a successful launch, not only as an independent studio but one that provides a fresh coat of paint to one of gaming's most historied genres can only be good for enthusiasts. Expedition 33's success will hopefully spark a wave of fresh faces that have never given turn-based combat a chance to dive deep into the genre and perhaps discover their latest obsession down the line.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Features, Super Mario RPG, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 pages.