Metaphor ReFantazio is Persona in new clothes, and I love it [INITIAL VIBE]
Rhianne Ward
Note: this post has been transferred over from my old Wordpress blog. I could go through the trouble of reformatting everything with supporting images and italicisation and whatever else, but I don't really have time to do all that unfortunately, and I'd prefer to spend my time writing new things than labouring over the old. So, if anything looks a little weird or messy, that's why. I hope you enjoy it regardless!
The Persona series is incredibly unique, in not just its thrilling turn-based combat or its groundbreaking time management life-sim mechanics, but in the beautiful weaving of the two concepts to create a beautiful cohesion that makes its ridiculous runtime feel like a breeze. There truly isn’t another game series like it, not has there really been many attempts to replicate that winning formula. A big part of that is how resource-intensive such an endeavour would be; it’s no small ask to develop a 100+ hour RPG, and quite risky too if the finished product doesn’t grab its player base.
Regardless, it feels like a huge shame, because it’s such a fun series that I want – nay, need – more of that style of game. However, it seems like Atlus are the only ones putting in the effort in this regard. Introducing their new IP: Metaphor, from director Katsura Hashino, character designer Shigenori Soejima and composer Shoji Meguro, all veterans of the Persona series, finally breaking away to try something new. The game isn’t out yet, but the demo is, and it contains around 8-9 hours of food to enjoy. And let me tell you, the meal is delectable.
Going in, I was already a little sceptical. I love the Persona games a lot, so I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure how the game style would work outside of that format. The high school life lends itself so well to the kind of freedom of choice those games absolutely require, so the move to an epic fantasy setting was exciting, but also presents a different kind of challenge for the developers. As it turns out, my fears were unfounded.
The nuances of Metaphor‘s systems allow it to thrive in an environment that is functionally just Persona again. The time management stuff is there, but it’s flavoured a little differently. Social Links/Confidants are back, now called Followers, which is more appropriate for this story. Social Stat-enhancing activities are typically very person-centric, involving spending time with individuals to learn more from them, or people watching to benefit your overall wisdom. The focus is more on using them to build out the world rather than emulate a high school lifestyle.
The stats themselves are also renamed to reflect the change in setting and priorities. Rather than being stuff like “Guts”, “Charm” or “Smarts” – things that might be important to a high schooler – they swing closer to the skills of a leader. As such, you get what are now called “Royal Virtues”: Courage, Wisdom, Tolerance, Eloquence, and Imagination. The reason for this is partly that it fits the setting better, but also because of the contest at the heart of the story; a fight to become the people’s hero and ascend to the throne following the untimely death of the king.
I’ll get back to story stuff in a bit, because I have some things to say there, but first I want to gush about the gameplay. Again, it plays an awful lot like Persona, but considering that is a series with some the most enjoyable turn-based combat in all of video games, that’s not a bad thing whatsoever. However, I’d argue this errs closer to the combat of Shin Megami Tensei V, which I can’t say I expected but is a welcome surprise.
Both the player and the enemies have a set number of actions in any given turn, equal to the number of party members. However, you can keep taking additional actions if you target enemy weaknesses or land critical hits, so if you manage to play your cards right, you can cycle through your party multiple times before the enemy even gets to do anything. On top of that, there’s the formation system, which lets you switch party members to the front – more attack power, less defence – or back – less punchy, more guardy. This all mixes together for a beautiful strategic cocktail and, once you have the strategies down and become prepared for every situation, creates an ungodly level of satisfaction. It’s really, really good.
Add on top of that the Archetype system, which replaces the Personas from… I mean, take a guess. Archetypes are quite similar narratively, in that they typically awaken from a character’s innate sense of unwavering righteousness, but mechanically function closer to classes from traditional RPGs. The difference here is that you are able to change your and your friends’ Archetypes at any time, and even customise them by having one Archetype inherit a skill from another, allowing for loads of freedom in refining everyone’s play styles. The main point of concern is that each Archetype has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, as well as a physical weapon type specific to them, so it’s worthwhile to have a well rounded team and not just a quartet of brawlers monkey-moding through every encounter.
But then, you also have the freedom to do that too, so do whatever you want! That’s the beauty of it! Overall, while time will tell if these new systems continue to flourish as they have so far, I’m feeling very optimistic. When my demo drew to a close, the thing I wanted to keep progressing the most was the combat, because it’s just so gosh dang fun! If you know me, you’ll understand that’s high praise, given that I’m usually a dedicated story girlie first and foremost. Perhaps that’s a little telling…
…which leads us nicely into my main worry with Metaphor: the story; or more specifically, the writing. Honestly, I adore a good fantasy setting, and this one is absolutely gorgeous. I’m already taken in by this world, its inhabitants, and the promise of secrets hiding underneath the surface. The only issue that gives me pause is the painfully explicit main theme of the game, which is prejudice. This world consists of various races – named “tribes” in this case – who regularly butt heads throughout the course of the story, with certain more obscure tribes receiving particularly cruel treatment.
Our protagonist is himself one of these oppressed groups – an Elda, possibly the only one of his kind in the capital city, where most of this demo takes place. There’s also Clemars, Roussaintes, Eugiefs, Nidias, Paripuses, Ishkias, Rhoags, and quite a few more. They clearly had a lot of fun coming up with the different types of guys you can come across in this universe. Some of them are fairly generic fantasy fare, similar in design to elves or beastfolk, but there are a couple quite unique ones. The Mustari, for example, are a three-eyed tribe who wear headgear such as baskets and pots, for reasons presumably related to that, and follow their own very specific religion which they mostly keep to themselves. Notably, the missing piece of this puzzle is humans, who are absent for reasons to become clear when you play the game (and I will not spoil!)
The heavy-handedness of this game’s messaging isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but from the way its brand of bigotry is being expressed, I’m not convinced its portrayal of such a complex societal issue will be very…intelligent? It all feels like an entry-level, childlike understanding of this particular subject matter, and if Hashino’s prior track record of blatant homophobia and transphobia is anything to go by, the situation is not looking good. That being said, it’s clear that the game is probably not going to take a ‘racism is good’ stance, so I don’t think it’s bad by any means. Just kinda dumb. Racism commentary for dumb people. And hey, if it ain’t hurting anyone, that’s fine by me.
To be fair, I might be wrong! I’ve only played what it likely around a tenth of the full game, so it’s entirely possible my fears will be unfounded. I certainly hope so, because despite those criticisms, I really enjoyed my time with this snippet of the game, and I’m eager to play more. This demo has definitely been the deciding factor in me actually picking this one up, so I guess I’ll lbe returning to the United Kingdom of Euchronia on October 11th! And then when I finish the game in about a week after that following a series of deeply unhealthy 12-hour play sessions, I’ll maybe be back to let you know what I think of it.
To sum up, though, I want to go back to what I suggested with the title. This game is Persona; there’s no mistaking it. There are differences, sure, but at its core, it is doing pretty much exactly what Persona does. Is that a problem, then? No, of course not! I’m so glad that we’re getting more games like Persona, and experimenting with the format by placing it in new settings and telling fresh stories. It doesn’t have to work all of the time, but it makes me so happy that the horizon is broadening for this series. Here’s to many more of its like!