With veterans Katsura Hashino, Shigenori Soejima and Shoji Meguro at the helm of this new license, Metaphor: ReFantazio suggests interesting artistic intentions (at least in the cutscenes of the trailer) and far from conforming to the standards of medieval fantasy. Director Katsura Hashino makes no secret of it in his preamble, Atlus' hope is that this production not only attracts fans of the studio but also captures a wider audience among RPG enthusiasts.
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The king is me
To recall the basics of the story in a few words, Metaphor: ReFantazio begins when the king is assassinated, a dramatic event which will trigger a sort of race for the crown in the form of an election, which theoretically allows anyone to claim the throne, as long as they obtain favors People. This is the case of our blue-haired protagonist, a young man from a so-called lower caste, who begins a journey across the world to meet the different tribes that make it up and make allies, his primary goal being to save the prince of the curse that afflicts him.
“ What sets this game apart from Atlus' previous RPGs is that we've added a more dynamic sense of action. Turn-based battles are still the core of combat, but we've incorporated elements of real-time attacking and dodging, as well as dashing and scanning to keep things exciting », We are told before mentioning the presence of different difficulty levels and other comfort options that we can choose to activate or not.
If we have no doubt that Metaphor: ReFantazio will give rise to numerous comparisons with other Atlus RPGs, if only by the presence of a calendar whose days pass according to the journeys, the music should be able to stand out, the game world allowing the composer Shoji Meguro to move away from the pop of the Persona games. And it must be said that what we hear here is more reminiscent of the experiments of NieR than of the urban walks of Persona. The presentation then takes us to the royal capital, Gran Trad, where we can see the Gauntlet Runner, a comfortable mobile base with which the protagonist and his team will explore the world from city to city. “ I wouldn't define this game as open world, but we took care to flesh out the settings, even the most remote ones, so that you can feel the unique atmosphere of each location. »
Meeting the third archetype
In town, you will generally find a quest board to choose a monster to hunt, shops to equip yourself, taverns to find out about the next dungeon, in short the ordinary program of the genre. Atlus has also chosen to remain committed to the concept of time management. “ You have a set time limit to complete the main story objective in each location you visit. But side quests also play an important role in the story. Some require fighting powerful enemies, while others may offer rare equipment. The order in which you complete these quests will have a big impact on the difficulty of the fights, so which challenges you complete first will play a significant role in your experience. »
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Then comes a close-up on the combat system, structured around the concept of Archetypes, heroic figures who act as jobs and whose appearance the characters can adopt and use their skills. Once the dungeon has been scanned with a fine-tooth comb, the player will know that he can attack in real time the weak enemies identified in blue, while the more formidable targets require switching to classic turn-based, a compromise which is not without recalling the one found by Falcom in The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak. We also learn that Metaphor: ReFantazio will feature more dungeons than any other Atlus game in 35 years.
“ The key to strengthening a group in Metaphor lies in the job system, and developing these jobs is essential to progressing in the game. In Metaphor, the power of these jobs is called Archetypes. By confronting their anxiety, the protagonists acquire these Archetypes, a special power. These are heroic figures that everyone has. Their powers manifest in different forms throughout the game. » […] “ There's more to say about Archetypes, but we'll save that for future announcements. For now, I'll just say that there are quite a few in the game. Additionally, other members of your party can also equip any type of Archetype, giving you endless options to form your group. »
Atlus will put Metaphor Re:Fantazio into the hands of players from June as part of the usual summer events around the world. Pre-orders are also open from today, an opportunity to note the presence of a collector's edition for $150 on PS5 and Xbox Series. Details of this collector's item are available on the official site already with, Atlus obliges, carrots in DLC based on costumes and combat music from Persona and Shin Megami Tensei.
- Also read | Return to Metaphor: ReFantazio with its main creators