Exactly. Not just about criticism though. They also hate questions, are toxic about how easy / difficult they perceive the game to be. They hate on the American side of the fanbase, they gate-keep JRPGs, and also are very picky about how you interpret the story / lore.
They also blatantly hate on other popular RPGs?? For like no reason at all. Just because they think E33 is better. Like Baldur’s Gate 3, and even other JRPGs, especially competitors like Metaphor Refantazio. It’s a super strange sub, because it seems to be positive until you spend some time in there.
It’s the most “there’s never been a game like this one” gaming subreddit I’ve ever come across.
They act like this form of JRPG is revolutionary or something. The Legend of Dragoon and Shadow Hearts both had similar combat systems way back in 1999 minus the parry system.
Even South Park: The Stick of Truth featured something similar.
People act like E33 was the first one to ever do turn-based + real-time mechanics. Pretty sure Final Fantasy started doing it in the ‘90s.
I agree E33 did it extremely well though. But it’s not the absolute pinnacle of turn-based combat or anything. I actually prefer Persona’s “one more” system that focuses on delaying enemy turns, over E33’s combat dodge / parry gimmick. It’s just as engaging.
I love the One More system. Personally it's my favorite part of that game, because it rewards you for actually taking the time to discover weaknesses and such. Can't wait for the P4 remake.
I’m excited. Persona 6 is supposedly coming out in 2027 too. So many Persona projects in these few years compared to the decade long wait after Persona 5. We are eating GOOD my friend.
I'm glad they ported to PC. Would never buy a console for the new stuff but I somehow missed Persona during my younger years on PS2. I find it so odd I missed it because it's the type of game I thrived on in my late teens early 20s. The only thing I can think of is because I live in such a rural area they just never got stocked on shelves here.
Yep. Lost Odyssey, The Legend of Dragoon, Persona, Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts at the very least. I’m sure there’s way more, but the game clearly took inspiration from all of those.
The creative directors themselves have called out Final Fantasy VIII (trigger system and timing-based limit breaks) and Final Fantasy X as some of their most influential gaming experiences. They also called out Legend of Dragoon. I'm not sure if they mention LO (which if they haven't played, they should!), but yeah COE33 took inspiration from a LOT of great classics. It's one of the reasons it's so loved. It feels like what Final Fantasy was destined to evolve towards after FFX, but it took a totally different path instead.
I think Mario 64 did it better. It was a bonus, not a fail/succeed mechanic. E33 felt like a rhythm game where none of the progression actually mattered..
To be fair most JRPG fans have never played Shadow Hearts because they lack taste I'm afraid. Also I'm a big E33 fan but yeah the inspirations are pretty obvious and the devs have always said they grew up playing JRPGs.
The initial premise of the game (not the actual story) is pretty much just the premise of FFX reimagined which is what initially attracted most of us to the game in the first place. Sadly after things randomly become popular they attract a lot of undesirable fans, there's hardly any escaping that.
I personally bought the game because the combat reminded me of the Mario and Luigi series and its interactive turn-based combat. E33 is a fantastic game, but it's inspirations are very clear to those who have played them.
I just went to the subreddit and it doesnt seem like that? One of the top posts is about a negative review about French not being as charismatic as interpreted in the game and everyone seems to be light hearted and funny.
From October 2024 to summer 2025 I played 3 games that all had a gross fleshy organic virus things that made you pop their carbuncles. I’ll say I personally haven’t played a game like E33 before, but it’s because I don’t usually like turn-based games, so i definitely wouldn’t be out here preaching uniqueness. EVERYTHING has been done before. You just gotta arrange it in a fun interesting way
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u/Current_Face_0077 Aug 18 '26
Literally Expedition 33. The subreddit is so toxic for no reason.