Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has gotten a lot of comparisons to classic turn-based Final Fantasy games since before it launched back in April. Sandfall Interactive’s RPG has been such a runaway success that people are asking Square Enix if it might signal to the storied developer that Final Fantasy should go back to its turn-based roots for Final Fantasy XVII. From the looks of it, both studios have a great deal of respect for each other, with Sandfall employees visiting Square’s offices for an “exchange of ideas” in July. Now, in the lead-up to Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade’s launch on Switch 2, the teams are collaborating on official art of each other’s characters.
Just revealed at the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Final Fantasy VII Remake collaboration event in Paris, brand-new artwork celebrating both worlds.
Made by E33 Art Director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe & FF7R Creative Director Tetsuya Nomura! pic.twitter.com/5w1gn3MEEQ
— Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (@expedition33) October 30, 2025
The artwork was made by both Square Enix creative director Tetsuya Nomura and Sandfall Interactive art director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe, and features Clair Obscur leads Gustave and Maelle in Nomura’s style, while Maxson-Francombe draws Cloud and Aerith from Final Fantasy VII. Both pairs have swapped outfits, so we see Gustave in Cloud’s iconic SOLDIER uniform and Maelle in Aerith’s dress and jacket, and Cloud and Aerith are seen wearing Expedition 33 uniforms. Shoutout to Delaney on ResetEra for aptly describing the piece as “like when Gaga and Beyonce made Telephone together.”
Clair Obscur is getting a major update soon, and it would be a fun surprise if this art were a precursor to an in-game crossover with new outfits based on Final Fantasy characters. As for Final Fantasy potentially nodding to Clair Obscur in-game, it wouldn’t be the first time Final Fantasy has done that sort of thing. I’ve never forgotten Final Fantasy XIII-2’s Mass Effect and Assassin’s Creed costumes, so it doesn’t seem entirely out of left field that we’d see something official in the video games themselves. For now, we have new Nomura art of some of the breakout characters of the year. Nomura has collaborated with several franchises over the years by reimagining characters in his style, whether that be in more straightforward crossovers like Super Smash Bros. or some more uh, maximalist designs like when he remade Batman and the Joker in his style.
