It’s been said before, but turn-based games are pretty popular again thanks to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 popping up and winning people over. Rather than celebrate how this game is a work of art, however, some fans are choosing to bash action RPGs and modern Final Fantasy. It’s a real shame, especially since the devs are huge fans of Final Fantasy.
What makes all this hostility towards other games even more perplexing is that fans can enjoy turn-based RPGs and action RPGs. In a perfect world, fans would just enjoy all of these games and not make them face off against each other.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an excellent RPG with turn-based combat, but it still has plenty of real-time elements to it. Fans can aim their weapon and fire, similar to third-person shooters like Resident Evil. The game also has defensive actions based on real-time dodges, which are based on Nintendo’s Mario RPGs.
Beyond that, these same fans enjoying Expedition 33 aren’t bringing up other turn-based games they enjoy. They could bring up Persona, XCOM, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and other games, but all they do is demand another turn-based Final Fantasy. It’s kind of pathetic, especially when they can just start playing other games with a similar battle system.
Other fans have done a much better job of advocating for other turn-based games, like Xbox 360 hidden gem Lost Odyssey. A simple search on X reveals that fans are hyping up Lost Odyssey again, which is always good. Sure, some fans are saying that they’ve always liked Lost Odyssey and similar RPGs, but that’s a whole other topic.
While it’s good seeing people enjoy a genre that went underappreciated for a while, that doesn’t mean we have to rip on action RPGs. There are plenty of great action RPGs like Ys X and the Kingdom Hearts series that are still really fun to play. Even the controversial Final Fantasy 7 Remake games are fun to play, especially once fans get used to the meta-narrative Square Enix is hellbent on telling.
Gamers can love turn-based games like Clair Obscur or even the old Final Fantasy titles. They can even dislike action RPGs if the genre really doesn’t mesh well with them. I just think that actively putting another series of games down to praise something you like is backwards thinking. Feel free to disagree with people about games, just don’t make hating things your personality.
Anyway, since turn-based games are cool, it would be really great if Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon got modern re-releases. Until that happens, this writer will play as many action and turn-based RPGs as they like.