Metaphor: ReFantazio is the next big JRPG release from the incredible team over at Atlus. With the astronomical success of Persona 5, its many spin-offs; and the latest entry into the Shin Megami Tensei series, Atlus is looking to knock it out of the park yet again with Metaphor: ReFantazio!
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a game about uniting a nation to overthrow a corrupted kingdom. The story takes place in The United Kingdom of Euchronia. The most recent king has been assassinated and the kingdom falls into chaos and despair. Seemingly out of nowhere, a new magic known only to the king called “Royal Magic” has been unleashed upon the land, and the world must fight in a royal tournament to take over the throne. The protagonist as well as his partner, Gallica, must cleanse the cursed that has been placed on the prince of the kingdom. The stakes are high and political unrest is at an all time peak. It is up to you and your friends you meet along your journey to win the power of the throne and bring peace to the United Kingdom of Euchronia.
What is most exciting about the new IP is that it has been masterminded by the incredible team behind Persona 3, 4, and 5. The game will be directed by the legendary Katsura Hashino – making this his eighth overall game he’s directed for Atlus. It has character design by Persona 5‘s Shigenori Soejima, and music by the incomparable Shoji Meguro. Seeing that core team alone come back together for a brand new game not only ensures its overall quality, but essentially confirms that Metaphor: ReFantazio is sure to match the level of icon-status of its sister games.
Much like the Atlus games before it, Metaphor: ReFantazio wants you to build relationships with those around you. Because of the game’s high-fantasy setting, you won’t be communing with local highschoolers in Shibuya, you’ll be hobnobbing with the local rabble as well as the elite. Campaigning your way to the throne requires getting people on your side and gaining the trust of the kingdom. You’ll build social bonds to further your public standing as well as strengthen abilities that can be used in battle as well as conversation.
There’s also a day and night cycle in the game that impacts how you handle the social aspect of Metaphor: ReFantazio. Some characters are only available during the day, and some characters might only come out at night. There’s also a calendar system that shows you a countdown of how many days it will be until the next major event occurs. Much like in the Persona games, you’ll have to use your days wisely and efficiently. Focus on a few bonds at a time so you can get the biggest bang for your buck, or go all out and do something different every day to become a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none type. In a game like Persona 5, this forced amount of time makes sense because you’re in high school. You’ve got classes to take, holidays, and other school events to worry about. However, in a fantasy world where you’re essentially a politician trying to get people to put their stock in you so you can continue your quest without any hiccups is much more engaging and enthralling. The stakes feel much higher because they ARE higher.
Of course turn-based combat is back, but this time there is an added real-time combat system as well. You can run up on enemies and do a bulk of damage to them before jumping into a more prepared turn-based style fight. If you beat up an enemy before getting into turn-based, you can gain a full turn advantage as you’ve already hurt them quite a bit before they even had a chance. Eventually you can become so strong that you can just one-shot lower level mobs, which should ultimately soften grinding during later stages of the game. Enemies will fight back though, so you can’t just expect to be able to get that advantage for free. Be sure to dodge their attacks and learn their tells before going all in!
Another exciting thing about the combat system is the addition of ‘archetypes’. Archetypes act as jobs that you are able to acquire through playing the story. There are over 40 archetypes for you to pick from and they stem from 14 different lineages. Akademeia is where you will enhance and equip your archetypes. It works similarly to The Velvet Room from the Persona series. You’ll discover new archetypes by meeting characters associated with each job’s respective lineage.
Some of the known archetypes are:
- Seeker – a versatile, well-rounded job
- Mage – exploit weak points with magic
- Thief – skilled in robbery
- Brawler – excels in hand to hand combat
- Warrior – excels in sword attacks
- Knight – has outstanding defensive skills
- Healer – recovery abilities
- Commander – support and formation skills
- Gunner – long-distance shooting
- Merchant – money-related attacks
- Faker – “tricky” moves
Each character in your party can have different archetypes equipped and you can manage them in Akademeia. As you strengthen your social bonds and climb the political ladder, your archetypes will evolve into more powerful variants. Examples of the higher level archetypes would be; The Berserker, The Masked Dancer, and The Summoner. Your social standing and combat efficiency fit hand-in-hand, which is very much something that is being adopted from the Persona series. You can even blend two different archetype attacks together to hit one target extra hard, or to hit multiple targets in one attack. Maybe one party member has fire attacks, and another has ice. You can combine those two attacks into a stronger more effective attack. Knowing that there will be many playable characters and other archetypes we aren’t aware of is exciting! Think of the experimentation!
Some of the characters you will meet along the way in Metaphor: ReFantazio are going to fight alongside you. Gallica is not one of those. She is going to be by your side, but she will not participate in battles as she is a fairy. Much too small to provide any actual support in combat. She’s the voice in your ear akin to Navi in Ocarina of Time or Issun in Okami. You’ll also meet Strohl, a noble who decides to fight alongside commoners in the army; Hulkenberg, a young soldier who failed to protect the prince when he was cursed and in danger; and Heismay, a sensitive rabbit-like soldier who has been oppressed his entire life. These characters will fight with you and help you win your place on the throne.
The English speaking cast has been announced for Metaphor: ReFantazio as well. The voice cast of the main characters are:
Protagonist – Caleb Yen
Strohl – Stewart Clarke
Hulkenberg – Kristin Atherton
Gallica – Alejandra Reynoso
Heismay – Phillipe Spall
Junah – Emma Ballantine
Eupha – Emily Burnett
Neuras – David Monteith
Louis – Joseph Tweedale
More – Greg Chun
Grius – Gordon Cooper
Metaphor: ReFantazio will be released on October 11th and will be coming to Xbox Series X|S, PS5|PS4, and Steam. You can pre-order the game here.
