The world is rife with turmoil caused by disagreements about religion, politics, and what is real. After a recent event, I think we can safely say that we are not going to be getting away from this reality any time soon. The time leading up to this major event caused me a ton of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty for my friends in the USA as well as other places around the world. I was always told when I was young that you really shouldn’t talk about these sorts of things; religion, politics, money, etc,. But how am I supposed to pretend those things don’t exist when the world is literally fueled by their existence? How could Metaphor: ReFantazio – a game that is literally about those things – help in any way to quell those feelings of despair and anguish? It helped by being funny, charming, beautiful, terrifying, and one of the best games I’ve played.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is about a political scandal of the highest degree. The king is assassinated and the prince is cursed. The person who did this is none other than young noble and military officer, Louis Guiabern. This isn’t a major spoiler, it’s the first thing you see in the game. There is no confusion about who the real bad guy is, because it’s told to you the second you meet him. After the assassination, the country of Euchronia is scrambling for a way to find a new king. Out of nowhere, the king’s castle lifts up off the ground and flies into the sky. Carved into rocks and boulders that were once underground, now hovering above the kingdom, is the king’s face. He tells the nation that the Royal Tournament will begin, and the winner will become the new king. Each candidate must prove to the civilians why they should be the leader, and earn the people’s support.
Louis is immediately among the frontrunners as people see him as the next obvious heir to the throne since the prince is assumed dead. Louis is a powerful man who believes that responsibility should be handed to those who are powerful and to those who can snuff out their competition through use of force. There isn’t a shred of positive morality in him. He has the desire to change civilization by using a radical shift of power to suffocate the public into following his commands, and he has absolutely no care for a single person other than himself. But, of course, to no surprise, he is beloved by the people. The game is called ‘Metaphor,’ after all.
On top of the now corrupted government, there is also the Church of Sanctism. Sanctism is the main religion of Euchronia, and has many followers who believe that in order to build a proper future for the country, Sanctism has to be involved. The religion is helmed by the head of the church, Sanctifex Forden, who not only acts as a pope-figure, but he is also the head of the Crown Theocracy, a brand of government that is centered around their religious beliefs. Forden is beloved by the people because of his faith, and he is the only legitimate alternative answer to Louis. Both parties assume they have support because of their beliefs and have no desire or intent on making the other side happy. Both Louis and Forden have their own ideologies and ideas for a new Euchronia that would shift the country in a horrible direction.
There is a very rare class of monsters that have been seen throughout Euchronia that are cheekily called ‘Humans.’ Humans are monsters with bizarre physical figures that are difficult to even properly explain in the written word. A lot of them are actually directly inspired by the 15th-16th Century artworks of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. Monsters whose biology is unexplored due to how little they’ve actually been seen. However, right at the start of the game we are told that people have been seeing Humans much more. People in Euchronia thought they were nothing more than folklore, but now they’re hearing stories about them actually showing up. Things get heated when a giant human is brought into the kingdom and everyone realizes that not only are they real – they’re dangerous. It’s a ridiculously fun take on the whole “humans are the scariest thing about ______” trope.
This is where you, the self named protagonist, comes in. The protagonist and the prince grew up together in a small commune where they became best friends. Will, as the protagonist is canonically named, is a member of the extremely rare Elda tribe. Eldan people are easily identifiable as they have no distinguished characteristics, such as horns, wings, etc. They look about as close as a real person in our world would look. Members of the Elda tribe are faced with discrimination and adversity, and are often shunned by the public. Your only other close friend is Gallica, a fairy sent to be your companion on the journey to saving the prince from the curse put upon him. The protagonist is really sweet and kind, but also rather gullible and takes everything at face value. Gallica often steps in to be the proper voice of reason in his ear to let you know when someone is bullshitting you or not. It isn’t long before you meet Strohl, a noble who decides to fight in the military as a regular soldier, and Hulkenberg, a royal knight who wants to see the prince saved and the king redeemed.
The protagonist carries around a book about a fantastical land that couldn’t ever exist in their world. What’s funny about this book is that it takes place in modern day society. Cars, skyscrapers, cellphones, all of these are present in this out there fantasy book. However it’s much more utopic there then in our world. Characters are always asking you to read a chapter, and they’re taken aback by how there could be a world without hatred, or racism, or classicism. Obviously, our world isn’t like that – but it’s nice to imagine. A question is constantly brought up about whether or not fantasy is important as the ‘real world.’ When you inevitably lose a fight and head to the game over screen, you are met with big text that reads “FANTASY IS DEAD.” Chasing the dream to live in this fantasy utopia is a major story aspect of the game, and it’s told beautifully and sincerely.
What makes this game so special is how much I loved each and every single character that graced my screen, no matter how long. Each member brings something to the team that makes them indispensable. Strohl is a fearless person who is excellent at setting up plots and strategies to outsmart the enemy. He’s also really down to earth and fun to hangout with. He is genuinely very likeable and would be able to slot into the role of captain when needed. Hulkenberg is deeply loyal and allows you to breathe a sigh of relief when she’s around, as she is extremely reliable and driven. Heismay is a member of the Eugief tribe, a group who resemble a cross between a rabbit and a bat. Eugiefs – much like Eldans – are treated poorly and unjustly by the general public. Heismay acts as someone who can understand what the protagonist goes through and is a wonderful security blanket when you’re not fighting battles. He is a smooth-talker and a terrific voice of reason.
Candidates must travel all over Euchronia in these giant mechanical beasts called Gauntlet Runners. They are designed masterfully by Ikuto Yamashita of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame. These titanous machines have legs so they may scale the environment efficiently and seamlessly. It’s in this machine where you will spend time with your crew, get to hone your skills, as well as set up plans for the future. While on the runner, you can be attacked by competing candidates as well as random enemies roaming the lands. Every now and then you will stop and take in beautiful scenes of nature and discuss them with your party. I often took screenshots of these sections, because they are just so gorgeous.
Every decision you make in the game is extremely important as you are constantly being timed. There is really only so much you can do before you have to meet a deadline. Some events only take place during afternoon, and others take place only at night. You can spend your time with different friends to expand your follower bonds with them. Deepening your bonds can give you boons that can be used in battle as well as the overworld, and each character has a unique story that can be told through these events.
Much like other Atlus games, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a turn-based RPG where you are able to select different class types to overcome any bad guy who gets in your way. Classes come in the form of Archetypes – physical manifestation of heroic traits or jobs. Only those who are truly heroic can wield archetypes and fight without using any sort of magic igniters (which are how most people would use magic in this world.) There are a staggering 40+ available archetypes to choose from, but you only start out with a handful. These are unlocked through story progression, and follower bond progression as well. Each archetype has its strengths and weaknesses. Some are proficient at dealing ice damage, while being weak to fire. Some deal physical slash or strike damage, and are weak to piercing damage. Each one is completely different and has skill trees of their own, as well as additional unlockable archetypes you can get from maxing out their experience. You can upgrade and assign your archetypes by visiting More in Akademia. More is an mysterious, androgynous, beautiful being with long silver hair who dons all black clothing. He is the one who teaches you about archetypes. He says he cannot remember how he got to where he is, nor does he remember how he knows you. Plus, he has a cat named Plateau who you can pet whenever you want. So if you ever need a boost of serotonin, pay More a visit in Akademia.
Both the playable characters and NPCs you fight have turn icons. If you hit an attack, your turn icons go from four to three. If you hit a target’s weakness, that icon shrinks down and essentially gives you an additional turn, leaving you with three and a half icons. Miss an attack or the attack gets blocked and you instantly lose two icons. If the enemy completely resists the attack, it will reflect the damage back and you and you will lose every turn icon you have, regardless of the amount. This is a really fun way to control turns, as you never really feel like anything is out of your grasp. Every time I would get hit with reflective damage and lose a turn was because of my own foolishness, and had nothing to do with the game being unfair. Boss designs are absolutely bewildering and incredible to behold. Metaphor: ReFantazio has some of the most insane boss encounters I’ve seen in any RPG. So many of the Human bosses in the game could be final bosses or end-game bosses in any other game. They are that impressive in scale, scope, and overall impact on the psyche. Truly incredible stuff from Studio Zero and Atlus.
I haven’t even mentioned how stunning the game looks and sounds. Metaphor: ReFantazio is an outrageously beautiful game that overflows with personality at every turn. The presentation here is typical of any game that Atlus puts their stamp on – it’s incredible. The menu screens are striking, snappy, and easy to navigate, the UI is so satisfying to look at, and colours burst off the screen like they have a mind of their own. The anime art style fits the fantasy setting flawlessly, and it makes me wonder why this aesthetic isn’t applied to more out-of-the-box genres. Character designs are interesting and easily recognizable. I dare you to google a picture of Louis Guiabern without thinking to yourself, “damn… that’s an iconic design.” Characters all look great, but so do the enemies you encounter. As previously stated, Humans are terrifying eldritch horrors beyond comprehension. Truly unlike any enemy I’ve ever seen in any video game. The standard beasts that you run into are typical fantasy fare; dragons, minotaurs, cyclopses, griffins, etc. It’s very cool to me that Metaphor: ReFantazio does a really bang up job of building up fantasy and talking about how it’s important, but not real. Meanwhile, the typical fantasy creatures we know and love show up in their real world. It’s smart worldbuilding, it’s funny, and it’s interesting that these creatures exist in their reality.
The music also goes so fucking hard. The general battle theme in Metaphor: ReFantazio has a booming orchestra. Massive string sections and blaring horns that let you know that you’re deep down in something crazy. Out of nowhere this man starts chanting in Esperanto over this chugging orchestral piece. It’s like Busta Rhymes rapping gibberish over the Philharmonic Orchestra. They have really nailed their own auditory aesthetic here that hasn’t really been done before in this medium. Each track takes what the battle theme does and expands on it. Esperanto chanting is used in several numbers throughout the game. Even though I have no idea what he is saying, he is delivering the speech with such gravitas. Every single word has weight to it, and it never gets boring to listen to. The jazz rock that I loved so much in Persona might be gone, but I welcome this orchestral insanity with open arms.
There is so much to say about Metaphor: ReFantazio, and I find it quite difficult to write about, as I don’t want to give anything away. Some of my favourite story moments in any game ever happened throughout my near 70-hour playthrough of this game. Both my brother and best friend were playing at the same time I was, and we would constantly call each other and discuss what we had just done, or how incredible it was when _______ did _______ and all of a sudden you’re now _________. I wish I could talk about these moments, but I wouldn’t want to ruin one of the most awe-inspiring pieces of media I’ve ever experienced. Yes, the game has the word “metaphor” in the title, and it constantly reminds you that, yes, every single thing in the game is exactly that – a metaphor. But once you realize how much it actually reflects our world, you’d think that Studio Zero has a team of time travelling wizards in their employ. In my personal opinion… Metaphor: ReFantazio is not only the best game Atlus has ever released, but it’s also as good as video games can get.
