Metaphor: ReFantazio Review – High Fantasy Persona

Metaphor: ReFantazio Review

Metaphor: ReFantazio has been compared to the Persona series since it was announced, and for good reason. It uses a lot of the same storytelling techniques and gameplay mechanics. However, the story it tells is rooted more in high and dark fantasy titles than Persona’s urban fantasy coming of age.

The king of the United Kingdom of Euchronia is dead—murdered in his sleep. With the prince having died 10 years earlier, he has no heir. But at his funeral, as figures of power discuss who should rule, the voice of the king rings out. He states that his successor shall be the one who wins the hearts of the people before a certain date.

Except the prince isn’t dead. He’s languishing under a curse, and the only hope for him—and Euchronia—is the mysterious Traveling Boy. Unfortunately, our protagonist is an Elda, a race of rare outcasts. And it’s never a good time for an outcast to be caught in the capital.

Soon, he’s used as bait for one of the deadly creatures known as ‘humans.’ The protagonist awakens a power known as Archetype and slays it. Now, he may finally have the power to save the prince—and stop Louis, the man who killed the king.

But first, he must sway the people’s hearts away from the kingslayer. Since Louis is one of the most dangerous men alive and a good public speaker, that won’t be an easy task. The church is also trying to hijack the competition. And the humans aren’t going to stop coming just because the kingdom is in chaos…

Classic Fantasy Meets Democracy

Metaphor: ReFantazio has one major difference from Persona: its party’s age. The Persona games are fundamentally coming of age stories focused on teenagers. As a result, their focus is on problems faced by teenagers: bullying, depression, figuring out who they want to be. This title is focusing on adults, and the issues it looks at are correspondingly more mature. From systemic discrimination to mass murder to how difficult it is to make meaningful change. The results play out with a certain grim glory.

However, this game often feels operatic in its scope and presentation. This results in some strange tone choices at times as harsh reality collides with storybook logic… and loses. The idea of a world where rulership cannot be seized by force is a fascinating one. Euchronia’s people are themselves swept up in the wish fulfilment of being able to pick their ruler. It makes for an atmosphere that is both grim and full of wonder.

The game is narrated like a storybook and the characters draw on classic fantasy archetypes. Between that, its meta elements, the multimedia presentation, and a literal storybook as a recurring symbol, it is clear that Metaphor: ReFantazio has a point to make about fantasy. And what is needed to truly change the world.

On thing to note: this is a long game, and the events of the story are tied to an in-game calendar. As a result, it’s difficult to advance through the title swiftly. Just like in Persona, the calendar has a death grip on the game’s pacing and refuses to relinquish it.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Builds on Persona’s Foundation

Metaphor: ReFantazio’s battle system, stats, party members, and relationship values all draw heavy inspiration from Persona. If you like Persona—and to a lesser extent, Shin Megami Tensei—you will probably like this game. If you dislike either of those titles, this may not be the game for you. Increasing your stats through events and sidequests unlocks new options. And you must balance your time between activities in town and dungeon-diving.

Swapping between Archetypes allows you to switch between entire classes and movesets for any given situation. And you can set a skill from one class to still be accessible in another class. This allows for a lot of flexibility in combat, though it would be nice to switch Archetypes mid-battle. There are five difficulty levels ranging from story-focused Storyteller to brutal Regicide.

In dungeons, you can attack enemies in real-time on the field or pull them into a turn-based Squad Battle. If you’re good at sneaking up on enemies, you can clear them out pretty easily on lower difficulties. Hammering on an enemy’s weak points will reduce its turn icons and vice versa. The game also encourages you to adjust your formation on the fly.

Euchronia’s landscapes feel immediately fantastical, but it can be hard to tell what’s going on under the filters. And there’s some interesting character design on display, though it’s very easy to tell which characters are important by design alone.

The bright colors and anime cutscenes do feel a little odd when the contents are so grim and mature. I wish the animated sequences had a more stylized moodiness to them. On the other hand, the game’s soundtrack is genuinely beautiful with its sweeping orchestral hymns and ominous chanting. It’s perfect for such an atmospheric fantasy game.

Subtlety? What’s That?

Metaphor: ReFantazio is not subtle, but its imagery is powerful. Racial discrimination is arguably the biggest conflict of the game. To the point that it frames our Earth as a utopia in comparison to Euchronia. And the bizarre, powerful monsters currently laying siege to Euchronia are called ‘humans.’  This presentation of discrimination and inequality won’t be for everyone. If you can go along with it, the game has solid writing and an interesting approach to the idea of fantasy wish fulfilment.

Aside from that, the single biggest downside the game features is also a strength. Namely, its pacing. This is a long game, and the events of the story are tied to an in-game calendar. As a result, it’s difficult to advance through the title swiftly. Also, combat is fun, so I don’t know why the game likes to toss in stealth sections.

It offers both Japanese and English voice acting and the English voice cast is very solid. I wish the game was fully-voiced so I could hear more of them. The UI is incredibly stylish—possibly too stylish. I kept having to move further away from the monitor or I’d get eyestrain.

All in all, Metaphor: ReFantazio is fun, colorful, meta, and openly questions why we should accept a cruel and unfair world. Whether it’s Earth or Euchronia, it argues that everyone deserves to be safe and happy. If that theme and the gameplay of Persona appeals to you, check it out.

***Xbox code provided by the publisher***