Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Bests Persona in One Field

The Persona series, part of the larger Shin Megami Tensei franchise, has long been the staple of turn-based RPGs. Enter Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a game very beholden to the Atlus-made series, which, right out of the gate, does something Persona fans have been asking for for a long time. Even more so, it proves a point that the iconic series should go outside of its seldom-broken comfort zone, even if it’s still a tried and true formula. Plus, if Expedition 33 and the recent Metaphor: ReFantazio are any indication, it can open up the doors to loads of possibilities for the story.

In terms of what Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has that Persona doesn’t, it’s a small yet noticeable change: the ages of the protagonists. Persona, and even Shin Megami Tensei, for that matter, has almost always featured solely teenagers as protagonists. For the most part, outside of Shin Megami Tensei IV and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, all of the main characters are in high school or at least some type of educational level. Meanwhile, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 only has one young character, Maelle, who is 16. The majority of the main cast is 33 years old, given that the Paintress wiped out just about everyone older than 34, outside of Gestrals and other non-human creatures. 

While it may not appear to be a big deal on paper, given that Persona has done right by its characters, Expedition 33 shows that you can do that while making them more relatable to audiences, age-wise. All of the characters are independent in that they aren’t tied down to much back in Lumiere, given the amount of time they have left. Death and mortality were a big theme in Persona 3 (and Persona 3 Reload, for that matter), but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 makes it much more noticeable. Every minute, you face insurmountable odds, whether dangerous creatures or treacherous lands. The very goal you set out to complete is essentially a suicide mission. World threats aren’t new territory for Persona, but they aren’t set up entirely at the beginning, unlike Expedition 33.

Because of this, the main characters of Expedition 33 don’t hold anything back. When they’re angry, they’re angry, and when they’re happy, they’re happy. In Lumiere, they’re essentially the oldest humans in the world, so they are wise beyond their years and in tune with themselves. They’ve lived what could be their entire life, so they have years of experience and memories to take from. We see many of those reminisces in the campfire chats when camping and, with that, we get real conversations about life, family, and the unknown prospect of the future. Persona does have those moments, but they are seldom done with school or youthful promise sprinkled in. You can dive deeper into the complexities of a character outside of a classroom and see them as a peer rather than a schoolmate.

To further prove the point for older characters, we look to last year’s Atlus hit, Metaphor: Refantazio. The protagonist, alongside the other main party members, didn’t have ages but were far from academics (not counting Akademia, of course). From there, you just got to know the characters, whether it was the virtuous Strohl or the scarred Hulkenberg, they had a story to share that spanned years. While Expedition 33 goes further with the realism, Metaphor does keep that potential of broadening the horizons of characters, being on the older side. 

Despite saying this, I do want to mention that some of the Persona games do have older characters like Dojima from Persona 4 or Zenkechi in Persona 5 Strikers. And yet, many hold them as favorites of the franchise, given that they are complex and interesting for what they’ve made of themselves. It’s a big jump for something that has worked repeatedly, but perhaps Persona 6 could change and add a few older characters or set it outside of school. If they can nail high-schoolers and add that depth with them, having adults could make for even more opportunities to build on concepts, like death and mortality, without keeping it so safe.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Series X|S.