Summary
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33may be one of the most successful games of 2025 — nay, the last decade — but it didn’t get here on its own.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is both uncharted and yet familiar at times, with inspirations that date back to the days ofclassic turn-based RPGslikeFinal Fantasy 10. In fact, embedded within a significant portion of its DNA is Square Enix, the developer behind the massively popularFinal Fantasyseries, to the point thatClair Obscureven features a mechanic that has become fairly traditional for Square Enix over the last almost 25 years.
Rather than tying players down to skills,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33allows players to customize their characters using its unique Picto and Lumina system. When a character has a Picto equipped, they can not only benefit from that Picto’s stat bonuses, but they also gain an advantageous passive effect called a Lumina. Once players complete four battles with a Picto equipped, that Picto’s Lumina is unlocked and can be equipped on any number of characters, so long as they have the Lumina Points necessary to equip it. As it turns out, one ofClair Obscur’s Pictos has a Lumina that hearkens back to an iconic Square Enix mechanic.
Clair Obscur’s Painted Power Picto Conjures Square Enix’s Break Damage Limit Mechanic
Square Enix Has Featured a ‘Break Damage Limit’ Mechanic Across Multiple Games
For an RPG’s most committed players, at some point, their party will be so powerful that they reach what is called a “damage cap.” When a damage cap is reached, as its name suggests, players cannot deal damage that exceeds that cap. The purpose of a damage cap is generally to maintain agame’s pacing and difficulty, preventing players from overpowering the most challenging enemies in the game too quickly. WithFinal Fantasy 10, Square Enix introduced a “Break Damage Limit” mechanic that, when equipped, would allow characters to exceed the damage cap.
Square Enix then continued this tradition across multiple games, likeCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, for example. InCrisis Core, Zack can break the damage limit by equipping specific accessories — Brutal being one of them, which allows him to deal 99,999 damage. The Genji Glove is an iconic item found in manyFinal Fantasygames, and it generally serves the purpose of allowing characters to break the damage limit as well. Square Enix brought the “Break Damage Limit” mechanic over to itsBravely Defaultseries as well, with it manifesting in the form of Bravely Second inBravely Defaultand Surpassing Power inBravely Default 2.
Additionally, inFinal Fantasy 15, players can unlock the “Break Damage Limit” ability for Techniques and Link-Strikes through the Ascension Skill Tree by spending 999 AP.
Clair Obscur’s Painted Power Picto Lets Characters Deal More Than 9,999 Damage
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33effectively taps into itsFinal Fantasyroots — particularlyFinal Fantasy 10— with its own “Break Damage Limit” mechanic in the form of a Picto. This Picto, called “Painted Power,” allowsClair Obscur’s party membersto exceed the damage cap of 9,999. Of course, it will only work for the characters who have either the Painted Power Picto equipped or its Lumina, just as it has only worked for the characters who have the associated weapon or ability equipped in Square Enix games that feature the mechanic.
Painted Power may be a small part ofClair Obscur’s Picto system, but it’s a clear example of how the game draws from established RPG mechanics without feeling derivative. Rather than borrowing just for the sake of nostalgia,Clair Obscurtakes a mechanic that long-time Square Enix fans will recognize and applies it in a way that fits its own structure and pacing. It’s a subtle but smart inclusion, and it shows that even in its boldest ideas,Clair Obscurstill knows when to lean on what worked before.
