Metaphor Refantazio: A Good Game, But Not Perfect
Metaphor Refantazio was a bumpy ride, I found myself initially hesitant while playing the demo. But it gradually won me over.
The game’s strongest asset is its narrative. From the outset, it poses a compelling question about the power of fantasy, following our protagonist’s journey to claim the throne. His friends are a bunch of unique fleshed out memorable characters. Gallica can get a bit annoying, but she grows on me.
Playing this during the US Presidential election is wild, as the game follows the process of democratic elections where the most popular candidate wins.
The villain stands out for being present from the beginning, with clear motivations that drive the story forward, rather than being a random God that jumps out at the end as the final boss.
The world-building shines through its locations, each city has distinct cultures and inhabitants. The random stops at vistas somehow works as it adds more info to the world. These moments of exploration brought a smile on my face.
The English voice acting deserves special praise – surprisingly excellent performances made me abandon my usual preference for Japanese audio.
Combat follows familiar turn-based mechanics with weakness exploitation and turn manipulation, though it feels somewhat basic compared to other Atlus games. My biggest gripe is the inability to switch archetypes (classes) mid-battle, leading to frustrating restarts when faced with unfavorable fights.
Visually, I like 2D portraits but 3D models look goofy. The 3D models for the archetypes appeared weird and out of place. But it may be because of artistic choice reflecting Jung’s concept of archetypes as abstract symbols.
The game streamlines several Persona elements for the better. Social links progress more naturally through the main story, and social stats feel less demanding. The calendar system, while less punishing than Persona’s, still creates unnecessary pressure around dungeon deadlines.
Some features feel underdeveloped – the weather control system is largely ignorable outside specific dungeons, and various free-time activities like hot springs, fishing and cooking feel redundant on Normal difficulty.
The game has a banger soundtrack where a monk raps in Esperanto in the background. It reminds me of SMT: Strange Journey, a game that I have never finished.