Although many believe that playing classic Nintendo games growing up is some sort of pre-requisite to make great games, that doesn't seem to always be the case, as the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director never had the opportunity to do so.
As reported on X by Stealth, Guillaume Broch, Sandfall Interactive CEO and director of one of the best games released in 2025, revealed in a fresh interview with Japanese publication DenfamiNicoGamer they never had the opportunity to play Nintendo consoles and games growing up, instead playing games like the Final Fantasy and Atelier series, Devil May Cry and a PlayStation 2 entry in SEGA's Shinobi series. Likewise, Ben Fiquet, the art and creative director of Lizardcube, the French studio behind the excellent Streets of Rage 4 and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, never played a Nintendo console growing up.
While this may sound really surprising to some, especially those living in North America, where Nintendo has always enjoyed massive success, not having played Nintendo games growing up is quite common in Europe, as home computers like Commodore's Amiga systems were way more popular, as were some of SEGA's systems like its 8-bit Master System. Unlike the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance directors, I did have the opportunity to play Nintendo systems growing up in the late 80s and first half of the 90s, but only because I had the rare opportunity of playing the Super Mario Bros. arcade version during the summer of 1989, which, in many ways, influenced me greatly, and made me beg my parents for an NES and, a few years later, an SNES, which most of my friends never owned. Still, given the quality of the games they directed, it's clear how playing classic Nintendo games like the first entries in the Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda and Metroid series is not really a prerequisite to create great titles.
If you're a fan of JRPGs, and never had the chance to try out Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you definitely should, as the game developed by Sandfall Interactive is among the best released in the current console generation. You can learn more about what makes the game so good with my review.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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