Metaphor: ReFantazio Review - The RPG Files | MMORPG.com

System · October 11

Metaphor: ReFantazio Review - The RPG Files | MMORPG.com

Metaphor: ReFantazio is the latest entry in ATLUS' line up of games, and it feels like the studio has taken every thing it's ever learned and poured it into this one resulting in the studio's best game to date.

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Torpian · October 11

I'll add it to my wishlist.

Terazon · October 12

wow amazing score. Thanks for the thorough review

Neoyoshi · October 12

Yeah that 10 seems about right; it's a pretty amazing game with a persona-like art direction that still seems to feel fresh and unique.

EDIT: i just wanted to add that it really feels like everything ATLUS has learned in their years of making rpg's has materialized in this game.

Ridrith · October 12

One man's 10 is another man's 0, this is the case for me. Still, a good review, and for the weebs of the world I can understand why they'd like this sort of thing.

Vagabondo · October 12

Sadly not on Switch. But it is on PC, so.

Ginaz · October 12

It looks fun but I just can't get into anime. It just all seems stupid as hell to me. Glad weebs have something good to play, I guess.

Angrakhan · October 12

Yeah I just can't suspend my disbelief with the "skinny child is actually super powerful and saves the world" premise of theses games, but that's a me thing. It's got excellent reviews on Steam so a lot of people really like it. Glad the developers are enjoying a successful launch.

Neoyoshi · October 12

I can't help but wonder if this was originally supposed to be Persona 6; -much in the way Devil May Cry was born out of the attempt to make Resident Evil 4, i cannot help but be curious if Metaphor was born out of an early draft of Persona 6.

ATLUS and the persona team have always been 'cagey' about information, but I'd be really interested in knowing how Metaphor originally came about, because the Persona DNA can be felt in this game, it's really striking how strong it is.

Nick_Shively · October 12

Neoyoshi said:

I can't help but wonder if this was originally supposed to be Persona 6; -much in the way Devil May Cry was born out of the attempt to make Resident Evil 4, i cannot help but be curious if Metaphor was born out of an early draft of Persona 6.

ATLUS and the persona team have always been 'cagey' about information, but I'd be really interested in knowing how Metaphor originally came about, because the Persona DNA can be felt in this game, it's really striking how strong it is.

I legitimately thought this was a persona expansion or spin off, lol

kitarad · October 12

This is so great. Fantastic review. Thank you.

So sick of all the Steam forums with the usual suspects coming and flooding the forums with the numb nutz complaints. Hoping this gets game of the year so these morons will shut up but yeah they will latch on to another word. Never a lack of it in this day and age is there?

mitech616 · October 12

While I appreciate the review, and I have always trusted his reviews, this one gives me some pause. I think a key factor here is that it's similar to the author's favorite game, which is overly tilting the scales in the game's favor.

Is it a TRUE "10/10"? I really don't think so. I think what we're seeing is too little impartiality. This is just another Persona game in essence, and while a certain group of players enjoy it, I don't think that translates outside the niche.

Put into comparison with top games of other types, I don't see this holding up to the likes of Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Halo 2, Portal 2, Skyrim, Bioshock, or the myriad other all-time greats. So while it's likely the best of its type, does that really make it one of the best OVERALL?

I'm not sold. But I always say games are art. Not everyone likes Metallica. Not everyone likes Monet paintings.

Aeander · October 12

Let's give a JRPG the GotY award, finally. It deserves it.

samooryesord · October 12

So, a 10/10 means nothing will ever be better than this.

Aeander · October 12

samooryesord said:

So, a 10/10 means nothing will ever be better than this.

No, a 10/10 designates a game as an exemplary landmark of its genre. The gold standard that all games to that point, and until the next landmark aspire to be. If we aren't willing to issue a 10 to the Skyrims, Baldur's Gate 3's, Mass Effect 2's, and Witcher 3's of the world, we'll never be able to use the 10 score at all.

Ridrith said:

One man's 10 is another man's 0, this is the case for me. Still, a good review, and for the weebs of the world I can understand why they'd like this sort of thing.

No, dude. Being unwilling to try a game doesn't mean it's "your 0." It means you aren't qualified to have an actual opinion because you can't even give a surface level critique.

Ginaz said:

It looks fun but I just can't get into anime. It just all seems stupid as hell to me. Glad weebs have something good to play, I guess.

Being exclusively a western games fan isn't any less cringe than being a weeb. If you can't respect both, that makes you an Ameriboo.

Neoyoshi said:

I can't help but wonder if this was originally supposed to be Persona 6

It was in development for a long time as Project Re Fantasy.

Dattelis · October 12

Glad I trusted the hype on this one.

Ridrith · October 12

mitech616 said:

While I appreciate the review, and I have always trusted his reviews, this one gives me some pause. I think a key factor here is that it's similar to the author's favorite game, which is overly tilting the scales in the game's favor.

Is it a TRUE "10/10"? I really don't think so. I think what we're seeing is too little impartiality. This is just another Persona game in essence, and while a certain group of players enjoy it, I don't think that translates outside the niche.

Put into comparison with top games of other types, I don't see this holding up to the likes of Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Halo 2, Portal 2, Skyrim, Bioshock, or the myriad other all-time greats. So while it's likely the best of its type, does that really make it one of the best OVERALL?

I'm not sold. But I always say games are art. Not everyone likes Metallica. Not everyone likes Monet paintings.

That's what we like to call an opinion. Reviewers are just reviewers, I don't think the intent is to uphold these people as some kind of authority or word on if a game is bad or not. They're just like critics. You either care about what they have to say, or you don't. It's ultimately up to the person playing the game if it's a 10 for them or not.

For this particular reviewer, it's a 10. Maybe it isn't for you.

Aeander · October 12

mitech616 said:

This is just another Persona game in essence, and while a certain group of players enjoy it, I don't think that translates outside the niche.

Put into comparison with top games of other types, I don't see this holding up to the likes of Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Halo 2, Portal 2, Skyrim, Bioshock, or the myriad other all-time greats. So while it's likely the best of its type, does that really make it one of the best OVERALL?

Hate to break it to you, but Persona 5 is the very definition of a 10. It singlehandedly brought its genre back from a near decade long lull state. It was one of the best games its genre has ever seen. Games are still inspired by Persona 5. In fact, it has more copycats than the Witcher 3, Portal, or Bioshock. And it is not, in fact, niche, being the biggest JRPG franchise not made by Square or Nintendo (honestly, it's probably bigger than Square's franchises now, judging by how the last couple Final Fantasy games performed).

Dattelis · October 12

Aeander said:

mitech616 said:

This is just another Persona game in essence, and while a certain group of players enjoy it, I don't think that translates outside the niche.

Put into comparison with top games of other types, I don't see this holding up to the likes of Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Halo 2, Portal 2, Skyrim, Bioshock, or the myriad other all-time greats. So while it's likely the best of its type, does that really make it one of the best OVERALL?

Hate to break it to you, but Persona 5 is the very definition of a 10. It singlehandedly brought its genre back from a near decade long lull state. It was one of the best games its genre has ever seen. Games are still inspired by Persona 5. In fact, it has more copycats than the Witcher 3, Portal, or Bioshock. And it is not, in fact, niche, being the biggest JRPG franchise not made by Square or Nintendo (honestly, it's probably bigger than Square's franchises now, judging by how the last couple Final Fantasy games performed).

Yeah for me, P5(R) was still a 10 even though I didn't care much for the story (at last not until the royal arc) or half the cast. They literally did everything else person which kind of made up for it imo.

Vagabondo · October 12

I love Jrpgs in general and I love a well-made Jrpg.

Sold.

Neoyoshi · October 13

Btw, there is a demo for the game, so people can actually try it out before deciding, and the progress in the demo carries over to the full game.

Belgaraath · October 13

I tried the demo. I really wanted to love it due to all the positive reviews, but the kiddy nature and the art style is so childish to me, I just can't force myself to look past it and its antiquated graphics to get to the great story. I just can't, even though I so want to. Reminds me of the same problem I had with Wildstar...along with its boring quest system.

Anyway, just not my cup of tea I guess, but glad that people who are into this style of game found something for themselves.

kitarad · October 13

Art style being a stumbling block is not at all surprising. At least you are not doing the normal oh kiddie style means kiddie story. I have watched anime like Psycho Pass and Madoko Magic Girls and gone OMG this is brutal and somehow the look of the art made it all the more stark and painful.

I think it just takes years of watching anime like I did from a young kid in Asia to associate the art to not really human equivalents. I treat it like how it is meant to be treated as an artistic expression. I see such beauty in it and I have wept buckets playing games or watching anime that have touched my heart in so many ways.

I am sorry you could not get past the art style but I rather that honesty than a complaint about the art itself. There can be such remarkable and truly epic content in both anime and games with that style and it is a loss not to be able to enjoy it.

Talin · October 13

A bit sad to see users using the term weeb, as when applied to others (i.e., non-self-identification) it is generally considered a derogatory/negative word. I've never understood the aversion of some people to anime-style animation, as they miss out on one of the most diverse sets of content you can imagine. While it is true that a good portion do adhere to one or more traditional tropes (some of which can certainly be more than a little weird), there are hundreds of options and they have helped power some great games (and a lot of really bad ones too).

Back to the review; I think a 10 is a tiny bit generous (I would probably rate it a 9 so far with about 12 hours in), but I absolutely love the game. Fire emblem-like setting with Persona gameplay elements and another incredibly stylized aesthetic. If someone loves Persona 5 they will love this (assuming they aren't against more medieval settings).

I agree with a lot of the points around how this is a great evolution on the Persona framework for characters. Allowing the mixing and matching of "personas" (Archtypes here) between any characters and cross-learning skills opens up great strategic gameplay while also allowing you to keep your favorite characters in the party.

I agree the engine feels a step out of date, but the art looks so good that I don't mind. After several technical hiccups in the demo, the gameplay in the full release (with a few minor configuration changes) has run beautifully and I'm enjoying the storyline so far.

Ginaz · October 14

Aeander said:

samooryesord said:

So, a 10/10 means nothing will ever be better than this.

No, a 10/10 designates a game as an exemplary landmark of its genre. The gold standard that all games to that point, and until the next landmark aspire to be. If we aren't willing to issue a 10 to the Skyrims, Baldur's Gate 3's, Mass Effect 2's, and Witcher 3's of the world, we'll never be able to use the 10 score at all.

Ridrith said:

One man's 10 is another man's 0, this is the case for me. Still, a good review, and for the weebs of the world I can understand why they'd like this sort of thing.

No, dude. Being unwilling to try a game doesn't mean it's "your 0." It means you aren't qualified to have an actual opinion because you can't even give a surface level critique.

Ginaz said:

It looks fun but I just can't get into anime. It just all seems stupid as hell to me. Glad weebs have something good to play, I guess.

Being exclusively a western games fan isn't any less cringe than being a weeb. If you can't respect both, that makes you an Ameriboo.

Neoyoshi said:

I can't help but wonder if this was originally supposed to be Persona 6

It was in development for a long time as Project Re Fantasy.

Eastern games aren't all anime, fyi. I loved Black Myth Wukong, the Yakuza series, the Dark Souls series and Elden Ring. None of those are anime style. Nice try.

Vrika · October 14

mitech616 said:

While I appreciate the review, and I have always trusted his reviews, this one gives me some pause. I think a key factor here is that it's similar to the author's favorite game, which is overly tilting the scales in the game's favor.

Is it a TRUE "10/10"? I really don't think so. I think what we're seeing is too little impartiality. This is just another Persona game in essence, and while a certain group of players enjoy it, I don't think that translates outside the niche.

Put into comparison with top games of other types, I don't see this holding up to the likes of Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Halo 2, Portal 2, Skyrim, Bioshock, or the myriad other all-time greats. So while it's likely the best of its type, does that really make it one of the best OVERALL?

I'm not sold. But I always say games are art. Not everyone likes Metallica. Not everyone likes Monet paintings.

I think a good enough game deserves 10/10 no matter how niche or mainstream it is: Those who aren't going to touch the game because of its niche don't matter, because games don't need to please everyone, they just need to please the people who play them.

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