Metaphor: ReFantazio Review

Introduction

As a huge fan of the Persona series of JRPGs made by Atlus, I knew as soon as Metaphor: ReFantazio was announced that it was a game that I would need to keep my eye on. Since the release of Persona 5 I’ve tried a number of Atlus RPGs, from Shin Megami Tensei to Soul Hackers, and Metaphor blends elements from these other games to create a new world and game system that feels both familiar and fresh at the same time. Metaphor is Atlus trying their hand at a full fantasy setting rather than the usual one that ties to a more modern setting like Persona, set in a kingdom faced with the death of their heir-less king.

Mild story spoilers ahead for the game’s opening few hours ahead in the next section.

Fantasy’s Power

The world of Metaphor is one rich in detail and I think the game does a fantastic job of explaining and showing that in its opening sections. While I don’t have the word count to give you all the details here, the main aspect of the world is that there are 9 different tribes in the kingdom of Euchronia, all with differences in appearance and culture. The clemar, for example, have horns while the roussainte have long elf-like ears. The world is also threatened by the increasing number of horrifying monsters known as humans (yes that’s right - humans!).

You play as a young elda, a rarer tribe looked down upon by the others, on a secret mission with Gallica, your fairy friend. The game makes it clear from the beginning that this is a world plagued by discrimination and prejudice - a message that is tackled through the story. The catalyst for Metaphor’s overarching quest is the death of the king, sparking debate about who should take the throne. However, the kingdom is shocked at the royal funeral with the king’s will - powered by royal magic - declares that the country will decide its new ruler. The individual, be they a lord or commoner, who has the most support by the decreed date will claim the throne. You may not want the throne, but this is an opportunity to fulfil your mission.

I won’t go into any more details of the plot but this is a game rich in narrative and I found the story took some real twists and turns which left me genuinely surprised throughout. I think the only plot points I successfully predicted was which characters would join the party and I still got some of those wrong! The only criticism I can give is that the game can be a little fond of over-explaining mechanics in the early hours. I find that Atlus RPGs can quite often do this (I love you Persona 5 but you take a while to over explain mechanics in the first dungeon) so it’s not a surprise and I do feel that Metaphor is a bit more succinct than other Atlus titles.

Warriors In Arms

Combat in Metaphor takes place in turn-based battles that will be very familiar for fans of previous Atlus games, especially Shin Megami Tensei. You have a number of battle icons equal to how many characters are in your party. You consume these when you take an action with a character and hitting an enemy with an attack that they are weak to uses half an icon instead, allowing you extra turns. The biggest twist to the turn-based format is that you roam the dungeons and can attack enemies before the fight begins. Weaker enemies can be entirely defeated in this way and tougher ones can be stunned, allowing you to start the fight with a huge advantage. This playstyle feels far more involved than most turn-based RPGs and while it isn’t a full blown action game, it is a brilliant addition to the format.

Instead of the Personas and demons that you may be used to from Atlus, your characters gain the use of Archetypes which are akin to jobs or classes from other games. These Archetypes are wide ranging and have a variety of abilities. For example, the Seeker specialises in wind magic and has single target heals and buffs, while the Warrior uses powerful slash attacks. As you progress through the game, you will unlock new Archetypes and improved versions of these. Each party member can unlock these by using a currency earned through battles which gives you a huge wealth of party combinations. On top of this, you can inherit skills from Archetypes and equip them onto others, which gives you a way to carry over your most powerful skills. Your party’s Archetypes also affect which synthesis skills you have access to in battle. These are your classic JRPG fancy special attacks and they use both characters and 2 battle icons. These are brilliant for clearing mobs of enemies or dealing heavy damage to bosses, but you need to plan your team to make sure you can use the ones you need and be aware of the higher costs required.

Overall the combat of Metaphor is rich in strategy and the shift to a job system on top of the over world combat works brilliantly. I found that the early game sections were a little tricky in part when you have less Archetypes to utilise but this is easily solved with a little patience for levelling up where needed.

Gathering Support

Fans of the Persona games will be familiar with the combat being only one side of Metaphor. The social life element is just as big an aspect of this game as it was in Persona. Over the course of Metaphor, you will gain supporters that you can spend your time with - exactly like the social links of Persona. The key difference here is that each supporter is linked to an Archetype tree and spending time with them will improve those and also provide other in-game bonuses. For instance, the Warrior Archetype is linked to Strohl and so improving your bond with him will give the Warrior line more skill slots and unlock improved versions of this Archetype. I found this system to be a little more refined here as you always increase your bond with supporters when you can spend time with them and a fair few of them have quests linked to them. Sadly not all of these bond conversations are voice acted but this is a minor thing in such a big RPG. The social stats also make a return from Persona, this time they are called Royal Virtues, and you can increase these in your spare time to ensure you are able to help your supporters and further your bonds.

Metaphor has you travelling across the continent in a vehicle known as a Gauntlet Runner and so uses the travelling as part of the social life cycle in the game. Every new city comes with quests and bounties that populate your map with places to travel to, some might only take a day to get to while others could take several. You have a deadline for main story quests and you have to spend your time wisely between completing that, the side quests you pick up, spending time with supporters, and improving your Royal Virtues. This is where your trusty runner comes in handy. The travel time gives you downtime on the runner where you can perform various activities such as reading books, cooking meals, or hanging out with the rest of the party. I always felt like I was doing something, even when travelling to the next dungeon. This may sound potentially like there is a little too much time management but I found Metaphor to be quite generous with the time given and I think this is down to the downtime you get on the runner. By the end of the game, I had managed to max out the bond with every supporter which was really satisfying to achieve.

The Art of Fantasy

It is impossible to talk about Metaphor without highlighting the overall art direction as it has such a strong identity. The world has so much character, from the first city of Grand Trad to the twisted human monsters that you come across. There are numerous anime style cutscenes throughout the game which are brilliantly animated and the battle animations are wonderfully flashy. Atlus once again have proved themselves to be the masters of stylish UI, the pause menu is genuinely a work of art.

The music in Metaphor is also really impressive, though outside of some choice tracks in particular I personally don’t think it quite hits as hard as the music in the Persona series. The soundtrack here is more orchestral to fit the fantasy theme of the world. The battle theme is one of the catchiest I’ve ever heard, with a monastic-like chanting that is frankly amazing. I also really enjoyed the music for the gauntlet runner, which really captures the theme of exploration and the shaking from the runner running through the world really helps amplify that. I love the ingame explanation for the music is that it is Gallica’s special spell to motivate the protagonist!

Conclusion

At the time of writing this review, Metaphor: ReFantazio has won Best RPG, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction at the Game Awards and these are well deserved awards. The whole game from start to finish hooked me with its rich world, fantastic gameplay, and a story that kept me guessing throughout. This is the new gold standard for RPGs and I honestly cannot recommend Metaphor enough, especially if you are a fan of RPGs.