r/JRPG • u/Marinebiologist_0 • Apr 27 '25

News Clair Obscur has achieved the highest concurrent player rate ever for a JRPG on Steam.

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Incredible numbers, this doesn't even include the Xbox Gamepass player count. The last time I remember a JRPG getting this level of attention was Persona 5 and NieR Automata in 2017. It'll be interesting to see how massive Persona 6 will be, if it launches day 1 on all major platforms.

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u/fmal Apr 27 '25

It's a great game. I hope it is a gateway to get people into all the other fantastic RPGs that are available.

It is testament to just how much internalized prejudice against Japanese games a lot of people have that this is such a runaway success while so many similar games have had a much smaller impact. I hope this does a lot to squash that.

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u/mrtomjones Apr 28 '25

Which old JRPGs is this one like? Is it reminiscent of older final fantasies? Big story turn-based combat sort of thing?

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u/ThrowawayBlank2023 May 01 '25

Definitely. It's turn-based combat with a twist, but the story structure, party dynamics and even most game mechanics are very JRPG inspired. It's also extremely good, which helps. People compare it to games like Final Fantasy X and Legend of Dragoon but the game has many inspirations

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u/mrtomjones May 01 '25

Damnit you named one of my favourite games ever and another i really liked. I guess i should try it lol.

Thanks for the rundown

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u/ThrowawayBlank2023 May 01 '25

You're welcome! I'm sure you can find more inspirations if you experience it, the devs themselves are very open about this being a love letter to the games they love (JRPGs) and their own culture (French). It combines a lot of things into a truly wonderful experience.

I'm not sure which one is which for you, but FFX is one of my fave games ever and I can definitely say that E33 is one of the few games in over a decade that's ever come close to it. Of course not everyone will like it, but I really hope you do! :)

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u/mrtomjones May 01 '25

Yeah it's final Fantasy 10. That used to be my favorite series along with Zelda until they changed both so much

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u/negativecarmafarma Apr 28 '25

Yeah prejudice against japanese games is the only reason people in general are not caring for japanese rpgs. Elden ring should have been bigger, but since it's japanese...

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u/amc9988 Apr 28 '25

Basically general people hate Japanese style games (anime) but if it's western style with realistic looking people they become hit. Elden ring doesn't look anime, nor is E33. I bet if E33 use anime art style a lot of these people won't even look at it. It's only novel because it's a turn based rpg with realistic looking western characters 

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u/Active_Bath_2443 May 01 '25 edited May 06 '25

To dislike an artstyle is perfectly valid.

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u/BellySmash Apr 30 '25

Tbf the anime style is ugly af

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u/ThrowawayBlank2023 May 01 '25

You are right and there is a lot of dislike towards the anime style which is unfortunate and leads to people skipping out on some of the best games out there, but diminishing these games to "they became hits because they're not anime" is really unfair I would say. Both Elden Ring and E33 (I've fully played through both) are some of the best games of our generation, it's just a shame that all the debate the game is bringing up is making people blind to that.

Lots of people who know nothing about JRPGs or trashtalk JRPGs 24/7 are giving us ignorant takes while enjoying E33, giving a bad image to that game and the community. Meanwhile people who have to hear those takes and realize they are stupid also assume E33 is likely not actually good because of all the noise generated by ignorant people, when it is genuinely a masterpiece of a game. Pretty unfortunate situation that has been stirring because of this game.

I've mainly played games from most JRPG franchises for over 15 years and I can definitely say that E33 is one of the best games in the genre.

About your initial take, I think we are making progress with the "anime style" thing in the west, franchises like Persona and Xenoblade are really seeing huge growth in popularity here in the west even among casual gamers which is a sign of gradual acceptance towards the style, hopefully in the future there will be even less prejudice towards the style :)

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u/Drakeem1221 Apr 28 '25

I don't think it's prejudice; I think a lot of people just don't like the storytelling mechanics and presentation that come with that style of game. Not liking something doesn't automatically mean prejudice.