After Persona 5 and its re-release Persona 5 Royal became both widely and critically acclaimed, Atlus has felt like it’s been picking up steam over the years. Their latest project, and newest IP since the first Persona game, Metaphor: ReFantazio, seems to be yet another masterpiece.

However, this makes my job a little more difficult. It’d be pretty difficult for me to pretend to be objective about this game. I adore Persona 5 Royal, and would probably claim it’s my favorite game of all time. I’ve been a veteran Persona and SMT fan since I was in high school, so I had no illusions about loving this game even before it came out. 

Most of my criticism and critiques feel like rather small nitpicks against a product that I think takes some of the best parts of both Persona and SMT games, and sands away a few of the rough edges. At the same time, it introduces a few new fresh ideas that keep the game from feeling overly familiar. 

It’s a pretty fine line to walk, and I think the game strikes a pretty excellent balance. If anyone is interested in Atlus games, this would likely be the one I would recommend first. There are some series or developers that make me nervous every time they announce a new game, because I don’t want to be disappointed, thankfully, I never have that problem with Atlus. 

Metaphor: ReFantazio is set in a medieval fantasy world, a new setting for Atlus, and focuses on the election of a new king while tackling themes of racism and social equality. This game has been in development since around 2016, so it feels like pretty incredible foresight that this game feels so topical in 2024. 

You follow a voiced(!) protagonist on his mission to break a curse which befell the prince after an assassination attempt years before. In order to break this curse and restore the rightful heir to the throne, the protagonist and his allies join a tournament to determine the next king. 

It’s a solid structure, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the story, even if it’s never too groundbreaking. The writing is pretty strong, and the characters are likable. The world feels fairly fleshed out and lived in, and you get to see different parts of the kingdom and the people you’re ostensibly fighting for. 

Alongside your allies, you have to fight various foes, including the monstrous “humans” in both turn based and real time combat. You explore locations in real time, with monsters present in the overworld. You can attack these enemies, and if you deplete their stun gauge, you can enter into turn based combat with an advantage. 

However, the enemies can strike back. If they hit you even once, you enter into combat with them having the advantage. If this doesn’t appeal to you, or you’d rather play it safe, you can enter turn-based combat with the tap of a button, with no advantage to either side. 

I love turn-based combat, but I know it’s sometimes a tougher sell for other players, and I think this approach does a good job at blending the two. You can engage with some simple real time combat as much or little as you like, and if you’re good at it, are rewarded for it once the turn based battles begin. Once you’re a few levels stronger than enemies, you can easily dispatch them in real time combat for reduced rewards as well. 

The combat itself borrows more from SMT in the form of the press turn system. If you hit the weakness of an enemy, or score a critical hit, your party is rewarded with an extra turn. Of course, this applies to the enemy as well, and can quickly turn the tables on you if you’re not careful. 

This time around, each party member uses an Archetype in battle, which can be swapped at while, creating a fun job system. Each Archetype has its own set of skills, weapons, and weaknesses to consider. Eventually, you’re able to utilize a small number of skills from other Archetypes, allowing you to mix and match in some fun ways. 

The job system is a little more limited than I might have liked, but I enjoyed having more tools to play around with to craft unique roles for each party member. It’s a really great battle system, and almost everything you do feeds back into this system nicely. Seeing it gradually become more interesting and complex over the course of the game has been a real treat. 

Outside of combat, you’ll be spending a lot of your time doing the social sim stuff from Persona games. There are followers you can bond with, and each bond gives you a boon, from unlocking a new archetype, to a discount at the item shop. You also have various royal attributes that you may need to increase in order to unlock or advance various bonds. 

In this case though, it just feels a little bit tighter. There are less followers, and there are only 8 ranks for each bond instead of 10. When you meet a follower, your bond will always advance, removing the hidden points required to rank up like in Persona. 

Throughout the story, you will often be given a task and a deadline to complete that mission. Each day you can do two separate activities, or spend the whole day exploring a dungeon. There are also plenty of sidequests to keep you busy, and may even involve optional dungeons to explore. 

While this structure is far from new in Persona games, I did feel a bit more free with how I wanted to spend my time approaching different tasks. Did I want to explore different dungeons to tackle some side quests before exploring the main dungeon? Or did I want to power through the main dungeon so I could explore without any pressure? 

With Persona games, I would often rush through the dungeon, and then be left with weeks in game and nothing to do but social sim activities. Having more side quests and optional dungeons keeps things fresh, and creates better pacing in terms of the combat to social sim ratio. 

It’s a really strong package, and I think if you’ve been interested in Persona games but bounced off them in the past, this game might just change your mind. It feels like a thoughtful mediation on what makes Atlus titles so successful, and takes the best parts and trims some of the fat, while knocking down any barriers to entry. 

It has a faster paced start than most other games, has a lengthy demo, and has various difficulty options for different kinds of players. It looks great, it sounds great, and it rewards you for the time you spend with it. 

Mr Hunter’s Score: 10

This is Atlus’ fastest selling title yet, already reaching over one million copies sold, and it’s easy to see why. The year may not be over yet, but this is my game of the year. After I have more time to reflect on it, I might just decide it’s my new favorite game. The age of a new king draws nearer… 

Final Grade: 9

If you don’t like Persona games or turn-based combat, this game probably won’t change your mind. There’s not as much voice acting as you might like, because what voice acting there is is really strong! The graphics might feel a little dated, but I think the art style really sells it. These are pretty small nitpicks, to an otherwise great game. You probably already know if this game is for you, and if it is, you’re in for a treat.