It's not just your favorite JRPGs, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes notes from Studio Ghibli movies like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle too
Clair Obscur dev Sandfall hopes to capture the same "sense of wonder" as the best Studio Ghi🐓bli films

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a moder🍎n take on the classic JRPG formula that takes inspiration from early Final Fantasy games, but developer Sandfall Interactive isn't shy to take notes from the Souls series for its surprisingly demanding combat. Now, it's adding classic Studio Ghibli movies to the pile of inspirations.
Talking to (timestamped ), creative director Guillaume Broche said most of the team at Sandfall are "super big fans" of Studio Ghibl𒆙i's work and estimated that 🐽they've watched all of the movies "25 times." I must say though, very frankly, those are rookie numbers, Sandfall.
S💖pecifically, Broche said that Clair Obscur composer Lorien Testard was heavily inspired by the legendary Japanese compoဣser and musician Joe Hisaishi, who scored Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service among many other high-profile credits.
Meanwhile, Clair Obscur's art and world were explicitly inspired💙 by Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, with Broche adding that Sandfall is hoping to capture the same "sense of wonder" that you get watcꦺhing those seminal anime movies.
We like to anchor Clair Obscur to its JRPG inspirations because that's where Sandfall seems to have found its core structure, but the game is a mishmash of elements from various genres, with studio co-founder Frᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚan&cc🎶edil;ois Meurisse recently telling GamesRadar+ there are tidbits everywhere from deckbuilding games to that distinctive 20th century Belle Époque art style that defines its visual themes.
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After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing abou💫t whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.
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