By The English voice actors for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 faced a comically challenging time attempting to articulate the Je’RPG’s French terms, yet actor Ben Starr assures fans that they can simply enjoy the acclaimed game with the French voiceovers enabled since “their French is a bit superior.”
“It was, like, you know in Friends where Phoebe tries to teach Joey French and he believes he’s repeating what she says,” star Jennifer English (not Jennifer French) shared in a discussion with GamesRadar+. It reached a point where “we were just repeating the same phrases over and over” in the studio, she chuckled. “Putain, no, putain!”
“I would need to get [game director Broche Guillaume] to pronounce the French term, and then I would mimic it, which we would seamlessly weave into the conversation because sometimes I couldn’t pronounce ‘Francois’… because you just want to do it justice,” Starr, who you might also recognize as the lead in Final Fantasy 16, mentioned. “You don’t want to come off as foolish. Luckily, if you’re not pleased with how we pronounce it, you can always opt for the remarkable French cast instead.”
“Their French is just a tad better,” English joked, before Starr interjected, “I think their French may be a notch better. I can’t verify it, but I have a hunch.”
In a behind-the-scenes vlog about the voice recording, Guillaume remarked that the “highlight” of the process “was getting everyone to pronounce ‘merde’ and ‘putain,’ all those French expressions. It was always delightful to assist them in achieving the correct pronunciation.” The video is brimming with the cast attempting – and occasionally struggling – to roll their Rs. Definitely worth a viewing for a chuckle.