Hey everyone! Following up on my impressions article for Expedition 33, here’s part two — the platinum trophy guide.
This article covers my spoiler-filled post-game thoughts along with a concrete trophy guide and tips for anyone going for the platinum.
From this point on, this article contains MAJOR SPOILERS about Expedition 33’s ending and hidden elements.
Only continue if you’ve already beaten the game or don’t mind spoilers.
Trophy Completion Difficulty & Basic Data
- Time to Platinum: ~60-70 hours
- Trophy Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
- Missable Trophies: Yes
- Multiple Playthroughs: Not Required
- Online Trophies: None
In a nutshell: “Immerse yourself in the world and trophies come naturally. But make sure to explore the prologue thoroughly.” Overall you can have fun getting the platinum — EXCEPT for the Jestral games. Those are pure pain. Never again.
[SPOILERS] Post-Game World & My Platinum Journey
Ngl, story-wise, Gustave was the peak. I couldn’t believe he left the party mid-game — I kept thinking he’d come back at some point, but nope. Still hurting. The ending had a surprise branching path, but honestly neither route felt super satisfying. If I had to pick, the Verso route was the better one.
That said, Mael storming Lumiere was absolutely GOAT material.
As the story progresses, Esquie (your mount + emotional support creature) learns to fly, and that’s when you really wanna go full exploration mode as a trophy hunter.
But no matter where you go, enemies are absolutely cracked and will demolish you.
Bigger enemies will straight up one-shot you if you go in unprepared. If you wanna enjoy the story at a reasonable difficulty, honestly just stick to the main path without detours. I didn’t explore much (since everything destroyed me), and the final boss fight against the real Papa was a nail-biter — super intense right to the end.
On the flip side, if you grind levels and collect all the Pictos, your damage goes absolutely brrrr and story bosses just melt. Really a matter of preference.
For leveling up, I used a strategy from a guide site: farm the movie enemy that first appears in “Dark Coast.” Once you get the hang of it, it’s 1.2 million XP every 1-2 minutes.
Once you have the right setup, the enemy literally can’t act, so you get the no-damage bonus XP on top of everything — super efficient.
Required Pictos: Get “Borrowed Power” from defeating Mom after ACT 2
Setup: Party with Verso and Ciel. Make Verso act last. Equip Verso with “Chevalium” (starts at S-rank).
Battle: Ciel uses “Fortune Fury” to double Verso’s damage. Verso uses “Phantom Star” to attack. Enemy breaks, then rinse and repeat.
This’ll get your levels flying up. You need max level for the platinum anyway, so you gotta do this grind regardless.
Must-Watch Trophies & Strategy Tips
Most trophies unlock through story progression, but keep these on your radar:
① Hardest Trophy: “Peace at Last”
The hidden bosses Simon and Claire are just straight up OP. Even at level 90+, you can still lose. I’m sure some parry gods out there can perfect-block everything, but that ain’t me.
Since they’re so ridiculously strong, the strat is to go for a one-shot kill.
Load up Mael with offensive Lumina/Pictos. Give everyone the “Cheat” ability for double actions.
Party order: Ciel → Monoco → Mael (if using first-strike Pictos, the turn order depends on when you add each member to the party, so adjust accordingly).
Character Actions:
• Ciel: All Set + Fortune Fury (buffer role)
• Monoco: Ex Gya Crush for Defenseless debuff, Go Fury for Mark
• Mael: Pray for 200% on Roulette, then unleash Stendhal
Did Claire in a similar fashion — one-shot her too.
② Missable Alert: “Strange Encounter” & “Following Footsteps”
This game has TWO missable elements in the prologue. First, you need to defeat the Mimic for “Strange Encounter.” Second, during the expedition gathering, you need to exchange tokens for the “Old Key” — miss this and you can’t complete the journal, permanently locking you out of the “Following Footsteps” trophy.
I completely skipped the Mimic and had to get it on a second playthrough. Luckily I had the Old Key, but missing it would make a second run pretty painful. Watch out for these!
③ Just Plain Annoying: Jestral Games
These mini-games scattered around the world are required for platinum, and every single one had me malding. They need luck, timing, AND skill to beat. Even looking up guides, the answer was basically “git gud lol.” I didn’t buy this game to play THESE kinds of games, so it was a real pain.
Conclusion: Is the Platinum Worth Going For?
Expedition 33‘s platinum is one of those where if you’re enjoying the game, you’ll naturally collect most trophies without even trying. It’s not too hardcore, so you can have fun the whole way through. At about 60 hours, it’s got solid bang for your buck. Definitely recommend.
Most importantly, Esquie is just too precious. I wanted merch so bad and found a magnet
🎮 Must-Have Gear: How I Saved on a PS5 Controller
During my hardcore Platinum Trophy grinds, the rubber on my PS5 thumbsticks finally tore off. I was dreading spending another $70 on a brand new DualSense… but then I tried these thumbstick caps as a last resort.
Surprisingly, they fit perfectly right over the torn rubber! I saved the replacement cost and used that money to buy another new game instead (lol).
If your thumbsticks are starting to peel or fall apart, I highly recommend this cheap fix to extend your controller’s life before you buy a new one!
(Amazon Associate / PR disclosure)
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