Metaphor ReFantazio is an incredibly intriguing and historic release from Atlus. After an extensive development cycle since its unveiling many years ago, it is a completely new RPG with no direct ties to any of Atlus’ most popular titles. It’s not a new Persona game, it’s not a Shin Megami Tensei spin-off and it’s not some sort of sequel, surprise or continuation of something they’ve done before, it’s something completely new and quite incredible.
Metaphor: ReFantazio the best Atlus game at the moment
The initial plot of Metaphor: ReFantazio is certainly a bit different from what we already know from Atlus, from the very beginning, it all starts with the assassination of the king in the medieval fantasy world of Euchronia. Players step into the shoes of a young man guided by a fairy named Gallica to deliver an urgent letter. Their mission leads them to become accomplices in an attempted counter-attack against Louis, the king’s assassin.
Although this premise of revenge plays a minor role in the protagonist’s motivation, the real reason lies in his desire to see the royal prince assume the succession to the throne. Unfortunately, the same perpetrator previously placed a curse on the prince that is slowly consuming his life and has put him in a critical state. One of the ways to undo the curse is to take the life of the caster, but the plans of the protagonist’s team are unexpectedly interrupted when the king’s royal magic is activated from beyond the grave.
Metaphor: ReFantazio establishes a kingdom-wide universal mandate that the next ruler of Euchronia will be decided by an election. The individual who has gained the most support by a certain date will become the next king or queen; anyone in the entire land of Euchronia, regardless of their position on the social ladder, may participate. Those who rank particularly high in popularity, such as Louis due to his respected exploits as a military commander, are protected by the late king’s royal magic which prohibits him from being attacked, whether by assassination or otherwise.
The gameplay of Metaphor: ReFantazio offers the option to activate turn-based combat in ‘Squad’ immediately after encountering an enemy on the field, usually preferably hitting them enough times to stun them first. However, if an enemy hits the player, he will immediately gain the advantage to switch to turn-based mode. Exploration and navigation in dungeons are much faster, especially since it is not necessary to face stunned enemies at all.
People can simply stun enemies to navigate around them safely. Depending on the archetype the protagonist has equipped, their weapon in the field will change. Each different archetype has a unique passive ability that only applies to the real-time action mode for the main character. Enemies hit very hard and bosses have a variety of patterns that encourage people to adapt their strategies on the fly.
In a boss encounter, your allies may be the real threat rather than the boss itself, while another boss may try to overwhelm players with a barrage of benefits and disadvantages every turn it takes.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is an amazing game, of course like any game it is not without some bugs, but with time and updates it will improve, it is a great RPG adventure that celebrates Atlus’ history as it combines some of the best ideas from many of their previous titles in an enchanting fantasy setting.