Final Fantasy sells off name alone. A new IP by a team of 33 people, which is probably around the size of SE's janitorial staff, says a ton. A small team made the FF game true fans have wanted for 20 years.
As an FF fan, anyone that says FF is relegated to turn-based isn't really that smart of an FF fan. Nor did they pay attention to the series' development ideologies.
FF has always changed battle systems outside of the first 5 games because of hardware limitations. But if you then look at the differences from 7 to 16, each game slowly started to chip away at turn-based. Why? Because as a mechanic its not as universal as RPG fans like to think it is. And take 7R series which are universally lauded, one of the big positives is the dynamism of the battle mechanics.
Now, Clair Obscur is getting love because it does 5 things fundamentally well:
1. It's got a very unique art style that sets it apart from its contemporaries.
2. It's battle system is incredibly unique, despite being turn based. Adding in ATB parry/dodge means you're engaged even when it's not your turn.
3. Fights themselves are VERY well paced. Random encounters don't feel like slogs and boss fights are based around sometimes singular mechanics.
4. Great score that fits the world well and is unapologetic in its Frenchness. (Like how Persona or Yakuza are unapologetically Japanese.)
5. The pacing is awesome. You always feel like there's something to do and you're always moving forward, even when you're in the open world.
- this is just good game design and isn't necessarily something exclusive to RPGs. Any game that does these things will be a good game. Take Sea of Stars and give it an art style, score and engine like Clair Obscur and it's just as lauded. But it's also just exciting to see what small teams are doing. This is fundamentally good for the industry.