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When Studio Zero finished up with Persona 5, the next project they announced would be their take on the fantasy genre. That project turned out to be Metaphor: ReFantazio. While the setting of Metaphor differs from the Persona games, the DNA of Persona is still found within Metaphor. From its in-depth character stories, in-your-face themes of inequality and injustices, and its excellent turn-based combat. Everything you could want from a Persona game is here, and it is an amazing RPG worth playing.
Fantasy Hellscape
Metaphor’s story starts with the murder of the king of Euchronia, at the hands of Count Louis, a well-liked general responsible for placing a curse on the prince of Euchronia. The main character is responsible for finding out how to lift the curse from the prince. At the same time, with the king dead, the king’s final wish is to hold a popularity contest amongst the people to find out who the new king should be. You enter the contest to get close to Count Louis and find out how to save the prince.
Along the way, you meet companions who will join your cause. Each companion has their own story to explore through follower bonds. The deeper you grow your follower bonds, the more benefits you unlock. Your party members can gain new forms of their archetypes, the summons of this game, and can block attacks for you. Non-combat followers can unlock discounts in stores or benefits outside of combat that are beneficial throughout the game.
Turn-Based Excellence
Metaphor’s combat, while similar to previous Persona games, has a different approach to how you’re fighting enemies in this game. In Persona games, you use different types of spells and attacks to figure out the enemies’ weaknesses, knock them down, and perform an all-out attack to perform massive damage. In Metaphor, you have a certain amount of actions equal to the number of party members you have. Each action you perform takes up an action unless you hit a weakness, then it counts for half an action. So instead of knocking enemies down, you’re trying to extend your turn to wipe out the enemies.
Another interesting factor to combat is positioning. You can position your party members at the front or the rear. Positioning party members at the rear would have them take less damage while dealing less damage. One strategy I liked early on was having my knight archetype in the back while taunting everyone to attack the knight while my other party members fought freely. The positioning mechanic adds a new wrinkle to combat, but I wish they played around with this idea more.
The other big change to Metaphor is how summons work. In metaphor, your characters get powerful summons called archetypes. Archetypes take on the form of RPG classes. For example, you can have a warrior, mage, cleric, etc. Every character can use any archetype, as long as you have unlocked them. You can level archetypes up to level 20, and unlock skills. These skills can be transferred and used in other archetypes. I love the flexibility that this creates throughout the game. Being able to use skills for whatever situation you need is awesome, and I love the strategies you can create with all the different skills your archetypes give you.
Running the Gauntlet
Fans of Persona will feel right at home in Metaphor: ReFantazio. It is a long journey with many twists and turns tied to a calendar year. Its themes of inequality and a desire for a better world are in your face, and a little on the nose sometimes. The characters you meet along the journey and the stories they have are also memorable. One thing that is particularly interesting to me is the idea of fantasy in this world. Throughout the story, the main character has a book that tells the story of a utopia. That utopia is our real world where everyone is equal and united. Which is the opposite of Euchronia where racism and classism divide the country.
Of course, dungeon crawling is fun and streamlined this time around. Weaker enemies can be taken out without engaging in battle. Each quest feels different based on what archetypes you bring and the party members you have. Dungeons feel massive in scale, even compared to the palaces of Persona 5. Of course, the battle themes are amazing and I will have them stuck in my head for hours after putting the game down.
Fit To Wear The Crown
While Metaphor does not soar to the highs that Persona 5 did, this game is a truly exceptional RPG. Its turn-based combat is a lot of fun to engage with, the dungeons are massive and a ton of fun to explore. The characters have the same emotional depth that Studio Zero is known for, and its grandiose story will leave you on the edge of your seat. Metaphor: ReFantazio is a special game and it is worth your time.
