#ReFantazio is a grand fruits of the RPGs that got here earlier than it – Destructoid

Metaphor: ReFantazio has quite a lot of legacy behind it. It’s a brand new franchise, positive, nevertheless it has Persona’s Katsura Hoshino within the director’s chair, with longtime collaborators Shigenori Soejima and Shoji Meguro on-board too.

It feels inevitable for Metaphor: ReFantazio to attract comparisons to Persona, and by extent, Shin Megami Tensei. In some methods, it feels acquainted, like a brand new department sprouting from the trunk of Atlus RPGs, however in others, it provides a definite twist. For as usually as Metaphor: Re:Fantazio felt like Persona’s distant cousin, it spent simply as a lot time delivering a contemporary re-imagining of what this type of role-playing sport may very well be.

We acquired a proposal to fly out and take a look at a brand new demo of Metaphor: ReFantazio, in addition to ask its inventive leads some questions, forward of its October 11 launch date. My takeaway is that, even with trepidation in locations, Metaphor appears to be like prefer it may very well be an interesting new department of Atlus’ RPG tree.

For the king

The primary slice of my demo was fairly just like the opening slice of Metaphor I’d already seen earlier this 12 months at Summer time Sport Fest, albeit with some further content material on both finish. The sport opens by questioning what “fantasy” means, and whether or not fantasy can have an effect on—possibly even grow to be—actuality. Then, it asks in your title. Not the protagonist’s, thoughts, however your title. Put a pin in that, I suppose?

From there, it’s a little bit of a drip-feed of information and particulars. You begin in the midst of a journey, with a fairy companion named Gallica accompanying your hero. The hero has a voice on this sport, which is a nice change of tempo; listening to them discuss to characters in dialogue provides a little bit of life to the in-game avatar, and creates some textual distance between participant and character in a approach I dig.

Your convoy to the town of Grand Trad is quickly delivered to a halt, although, as bandits demanding “tribute” strike. After killing one passenger, Hulkenberg—the tall and stoic elven warrior who later joins the celebration—attracts her weapon and coldly delivers the road: “You drew metal. I take it you are ready to die by it?” Wonderful.

I’m going beat-by-beat as a result of, early on, Metaphor has some unusual pacing. Its framing shifts fairly quickly from the bounce, between the meta-narrative introduction, the current time with the story’s hero, and flashbacks that inform the hero’s previous and present quest. You are attempting to make contact with somebody who might help you’re taking down a foe within the shadows, and so that you infiltrate the ranks of the guard to search out your man.

Over the course of the opening hours, the plot stirs up slowly, possibly slightly shakily, then comes into focus. It’s a compelling setup, although leaping round between flashbacks and the current could make it really feel slightly erratic.

What carries Metaphor early on is that this sensible fantasy world. Within the 12 months 785, the UK of Euchronia is sitting on the precipice of chaos; the king is useless, and tensions between completely different courses and races are boiling over. Nervousness, as director Hoshino instructed previewers in a pre-recorded video, is a core theme of Metaphor: ReFantazio. The place is it born from, how does it ferment, and what sort of merciless monsters does it carry to life? Embroiled in that is your hero, a candidate for the throne amongst many, as completely different leaders vie for public consideration and causes in a contest for the dominion’s future.

It’s a magical, excessive fantasy world that feels really easy to get misplaced in. The primary demo launched me to the setup, however the second half opened up and put me within the midst of what looks like the majority of Metaphor’s basic Atlus loop: take care of time constraints, navigate journey restrictions, and use the calendar to chart a course. Days and nights enable the identical distractions as a Persona sport may, and completely different NPCs populate the world throughout completely different hours. Within the day, I choose up a brand new aspect quest from a personality that’s prone to grow to be a social hyperlink; at night time, I spend time talking with a religious member of a persecuted faith, gaining better understanding of what issues to them.

Shades of Persona and Shin Megami Tensei are apparent to see right here. The “royal virtues” are like character traits: Braveness, Knowledge, Tolerance, Eloquence, and Creativeness open up dialog checks. In a single case, I deduced the most effective plan of action with a personality because of my Knowledge. It was good to see the verify brazenly acknowledged by the sport, slightly than hidden till I’d picked my dialog alternative.

Time after time

There are additionally ticking clocks. 11 days till an vital story occasion, eight to a deadline, one month to finish a quest. Not every part is time-gated, however the rigidity of its fixed advance as you do issues, and erase day off the clock, is ever-present. It takes time to speak to folks, to discover dungeons, even to journey from metropolis to metropolis in your quest to grow to be the subsequent king.

I might see it simply resulting in choice-paralysis, or a fear that you just’re misspending your time. Throughout a translated Q+A session with the leads behind Metaphor: ReFantazio, one other press attendee requested about that stress, and the reply from lead day by day system planner Azusa Kido was fascinating:

“In order you play by way of the sport, I do perceive that some folks could be overwhelmed by the quantity,” mentioned Kido. “However I additionally assume that’s the enjoyable and leisure component as nicely, the place we’re touring to unknown cites and unknown territories, and we’re on this journey with restricted time, the place we do have this mission in thoughts.”

Deciding on what to do every day, and the subsequent day, and the day after, is a mode of choice making that may be enjoyable. Every expertise with the sport will be completely different. Even on the preview occasion, I might stroll away from the set-up and begin speaking with different press members, resulting in conversations about every part they noticed that I didn’t see, even inside our allotted slice.

Personally, I believe it really works. It’s an fascinating twist on Persona’s calendar system, with the added wrinkle of journey and bodily distance. Planning and routing grew to become actually vital; spending a day going to a small city for a uncommon ingredient wasn’t price it, but when that city sat on the trail to a dungeon I needed to clear, now I’m hitting two birds with one stone.

Journey looks like a serious a part of Metaphor, one other contemporary layer to the system. As a candidate for the throne, you’ve gotten a gauntlet runner, a large ship that actually makes use of mechanical limbs to “run” throughout the bottom. Regardless of wanting a bit unusual, it’s fairly a bit sooner than strolling, and it permits candidates to maneuver freely and (principally) safely between locales. Even whilst you’re touring, you possibly can nonetheless spend time with comrades, gaining further factors in your Royal Virtues. You’ll be able to even prepare dinner for some bonuses, which ends up in some actually enjoyable dialogues with characters like Hulkenberg and Strohl.

Take coronary heart

On the subject of fight, quite a lot of what I mentioned in my earlier preview stands right here. The nuts and bolts of it really feel very Shin Megami Tensei, with characters figuring out weaknesses and placing for a Press Flip-style system. Although a number of the parts could be right here or lacking, the fundamentals will really feel instantly acquainted.

What actually stunned me had been the methods Atlus discovered new room to increase this fight set-up, particularly in coordination with the Archetypes, which perform as “jobs” for every character. In a single struggle, I used to be taking up a large treasure-hoarding fiend, and I had realized by way of an informant again on the town that it’s distracted by gold. If I went in with the Service provider class, I might use one among its skills to scatter money and make the beast lose actions.

There’s so much taking place in live performance there that’s fascinating: an informant that gives hints about upcoming boss fights, for a value; jobs and talents that don’t depend on simply elemental benefits; and encounter-specific mechanics that, once more, don’t depend on fundamental weaknesses and resistances. A back and front row system jogged my memory of Ultimate Fantasy VI, and one bout even had me dancing my celebration members between rows to dodge sure assaults.

Metaphor confirmed some first rate selection within the slice I noticed. In a single struggle, I needed to take out two boss enemies on the identical time, or one might revive the opposite, forcing me to range up my common single-target ways. In one other, I observed one among my characters had a capability particularly meant for coping with sort resistances, opening up new avenues of assault. In all these methods, it looks like Metaphor: ReFantazio goes to really feel very acquainted, however not like a full-on repeat.

Actual-life anxieties

After all, the local weather that Metaphor is launching in is difficult to disregard. It’s a sport a couple of heated election contest between candidates, amid a reasonably eventful election 12 months in america. This isn’t even me making a contemporary remark; it’s one thing that the event workforce actively known as consideration to. In a pre-recorded video proven to previewers, Metaphor director Katsura Hashino mentioned that when the workforce began, they didn’t understand it will overlap with real-life occasions prefer it has. “We proceed to be stunned by the unusual similarities between our actual world and the world of Metaphor.”

Nonetheless, Metaphor: ReFantazio does take care of problems with race, class, and extra. It could be pure coincidence that the timing lined up because it did, however Metaphor’s story is definitely grappling with recognizable areas of historic battle and friction between folks. Anxieties, you may name them.

“One of many themes of this title is nervousness,” mentioned Hashino. “As we thought-about concepts and themes, we realized we needed to discover the concept of individuals realizing their interior power, in addition to discovering their anxieties and fears by discovering widespread floor with others.”

After all, Atlus grappling with these subjects will certainly draw real-world comparisons, identical as any battle the place one might draw parallels to real-life. Producer Junichi Yoshizawa careworn that there “aren’t any particular real-life occasions” that impacted or impressed this sport. However when wanting on the anxieties of this world, lead situation planner Yuichiro Tanaka mentioned the workforce tried to dig into what brings about clashes on the planet, and put the give attention to folks’s minds, hearts, and the nervousness surrounding it.

When addressing the themes of Metaphor, Hashino says you may name the sport a “fruits” of the event workforce’s expertise. It does definitely have a heart-changing vibe to it. You marketing campaign in your trigger, and assist these in want. Whenever you remodel into your Archetype, the unlocking cutscene reveals a personality tearing their coronary heart out of their chest and screaming into it like a microphone, amplifying their beliefs and ideas. It owns.

To a brand new world

With this spherical of previews, it looks like I’ve gained a strong grasp on what Metaphor: ReFantazio will play like within the moment-to-moment gameplay. There are definitely apparent shades of its Atlus predecessors, and even hints of different franchises and broader excessive fantasy tropes. All of it melts collectively within the massive pot labeled Metaphor.

It might really feel foolish to begin out saying this isn’t only a excessive fantasy Persona, solely to finish this piece nonetheless drawing comparisons. Hell, at one level I in contrast Metaphor‘s relationship to SMT with the Ivalice spin-offs of Ultimate Fantasy. However what I’ve discovered is Metaphor: ReFantazio each attracts on quite a lot of legacy, and forges its personal design path ahead. Time constraints are right here, however with a contemporary twist. Battles are nonetheless acquainted however have their very own taste, with a set of mechanics that feels outdated and new, however all its personal. Even having the principle character kind bonds, however not lock into any courting or romance, is a novel twist.

In a 12 months the place the excessive fantasy style is well-served, Metaphor: ReFantazio might find yourself being a standard-bearer. All the pieces feels prefer it’s in place, and I left my preview feeling like Metaphor was now simply my most anticipated sport of the autumn season.

There’s nonetheless quite a lot of this world left to see, however I’m definitely wanting to hop in a Gauntlet Runner and go discover it. Metaphor: ReFantazio will likely be out for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on October 11, 2024.

_{[Travel and lodging for this preview were provided by the publisher.]}