ATLUS have made a name for themselves in the JRPG space. They’re behind mammoth series such as Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, both of which have received critical and commercial acclaim. They’ve tackled school settings, inter-dimensional devils, and even god themselves, but none of these games has ever delved into the typical fantasy genre. That’s where Metaphor: ReFantazio comes in (which I’ll be calling just Metaphor from now on), and basically, it’s as if Persona met high fantasy. But that begs the question, is this just a re-skin of Persona? I had that same question, so when I came across it on the PAX Aus Expo floor, I had to give it a shot and see what it was all about.
Upon starting the demo, the comparisons to Persona were unavoidable. The in-game menus have the same style as Persona, the camera is the same, and the way you interact with party members is nearly identical. I was beginning to think it was just a re-skin, but then I stepped into the dungeon. After taking a few steps (and pressing random buttons), I found out that you can dodge and attack in the overworld. This immediately set it apart from Persona which only has battles take place in a turn-based setting. In Metaphor, you can run up to enemies, and as long as you don’t get hit, you can either take them out with one swing or lower their health by half before transitioning into turn-based combat. As someone who’s a bit more of a fan of real-time action games, I really enjoyed this addition. It rewarded me for my reflexes by either skipping fights entirely or weakening stronger foes. It also led me to getting steamrolled once or twice, but that was because I got a bit too greedy.
When the combat becomes turn-based, it’s more or less the same as other ATLUS titles. You have your basic attacks, summons, items, defence, and skip actions displayed in a stylish menu. If you’re a fan of Persona, you’ll feel right at home here. Metaphor does have an additional action you can make, and it involves having two of your party members teaming up to deal large amounts of damage. It does mean you have fewer attacks in your turn, but you can also end the fight early. It’s a risk vs reward system that I can see keeping combat interesting. Outside of combat, dungeon exploration is standard for this type of game. You have your map, various floors (but with no loading screens), and random side-quests to find. I did manage to complete one side quest, and it had an engaging story, which I hope carries over through the rest of the game.
While Metaphor might play a bit like Persona, the environment is completely different. Instead of schools and weird out there building, Metaphor is full on fantasy. Both inside and outside the dungeon, it all looked distinctly unique. The outside area was covered in gorgeous foliage and stone doorways that looked straight out of Dungeons & Dragons. Then there was the cathedral, which was the dungeon, and it gave off major gothic vibes. The art style took my breath away when I entered the main hall, which looked just magnificent. It also looks like there are some modern-looking areas as well, so I’m interested to see how they incorporate the two different art styles in future locations.
The character designs also screamed fantasy with a unique twist. The player character was the most distinctive of all because he didn’t have a fantasy look with his fancy white jacket, which made him all the more intriguing (he also had two different colour eyes, so that’s pretty neat). The two party members I had fit more into the fantasy vibe. One was what I assume was an elven woman who wielded a big ol sword and specialised in defence. The other was a man with small horns (maybe a demon, but a good one), and he wielded a clamour, specialising in attack. The player character was a jack-of-all-trade guy, similar to other ATLUS games. I’m curious to see how crazy the character designs get the further into the game you get because if I’ve learned anything from ATLUS games, they can always get weirder.
I was pleasantly surprised with Metaphor: ReFantazio. I went into the demo thinking it would be a re-skinned Persona game, but this is very much its own game. The changes to combat make it a more engaging experience for me, and I’m really digging the fantasy vibe mixed with some modern elements. This game is definitely on my radar now, and I’ll look into picking it up because it’s available right now on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox, and PC! If you’re unsure, come down to PAX Aus and give it a go, or try the demo at home. Either way, I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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Have you tried Metaphor: ReFantazio? What do you think? Is it just Persona but fantasy? Let us know in the comments where we can talk about our favourite ATLUS games.
