You would inform us you’re demoing a brand new dustbin from the crew behind Persona, and we’d nonetheless flock to see it.
So after we bought the prospect to play Metaphor: ReFantazio, the most recent from the crew behind Persona 3, 4, and 5 we had been thrilled. Even should you didn’t comprehend it was from the Persona crew, that degree of fashion by no means leaves you.
Right away you’re greeted with fashionable visuals, an unbelievable soundtrack, and a solid of characters that may doubtless be taken to coronary heart simply as shortly as Persona casts earlier than it.
It’s not merely Persona with the numbers filed off, nevertheless. The largest departure is the sport’s setting and tone. Set in a high-fantasy medieval setting with components of steampunk, Metaphor: ReFantazio will not be one other high-school RPG.
Whereas little context was given for the story in our demo, what we did glean is that we’re tasked with defending our world from demonic forces which have sprouted up throughout, a race generally known as “people.” Sure, in Metaphor: ReFantazio, fairies=actual, and people are huge heads with tentacles protruding.
Our demo was break up into three sections. An preliminary tutorial which bought us to grips with the sport’s important character, who in one other departure from Persona, is voiced. The tales of Atlus video games aren’t constructed for these sorts of demos, however the characters we did get to fulfill had been attention-grabbing, as had been the hints to the broader world.
The solid can also be much more left-field than Persona. Within the later part of our demo, we had a crew that featured not solely a speaking rabbit, but in addition a scouser.
Fight might be straightforward to choose up for Atlus devotees, nevertheless, a big portion of the sport’s fight revolves round combining two or extra characters’ powers to be able to unleash a strong assault.
Most of those assaults come full with extremely fashionable animations, reminiscent of when considered one of our characters produced a steed to dash on the enemy and ship a crushing jousting blow. One other noticed a cacophony of protect rain from the sky, producing a fireworks show on the similar time.
Unsurprisingly, the sport is a presentational powerhouse. As a substitute of thumping J-Rock hits and jazz scores, there are choral chanting and orchestral sweeps, all making each battle really feel epic. It’s all so seamless. Every thing flows collectively, there’s no trace of wasted effort.
Each single alternative there may be for one thing cool to occur with the UI, Atlus has taken it. You’d battle to discover a body that doesn’t look superb. Very small nitpick, however whereas the sport is essentially voiced, and options absolutely animated anime cutscenes for giant moments, there may be nonetheless some dialogue that’s text-only. We perceive that the interpretation enterprise should make obligatory, however it’s a change we’re nonetheless hoping for going ahead from the studio.
The second a part of our demo noticed us exploring extra conventional dungeons. In Metaphor: ReFantazio, should you’re a excessive sufficient degree you may sweep by way of low-level enemies with out even triggering that battle animation, which helps with pacing. Even the largest Persona followers have felt the ache of charging by way of a dungeon just for issues to be damaged up by enemies you possibly can defeat in your sleep.
For more durable foes, sneaking behind them and attacking earlier than they spot additionally, you will offer you an enormous benefit in fight, which means it’s strategically sound to be sure to at all times have the drop on them. In our demo, this turned fights that had been pretty tough with our low-level celebration, into walk-overs.
The third, and hardest a part of the demo was a boss battle. This came about on the deck of a ship, which was attacked by a large human head. The pinnacle was flanked by harmful tentacles that whipped wildly in the direction of our celebration. Whereas most demos are designed to be on the simpler facet to present gamers a style of what they will anticipate, this boss was no joke.
If we didn’t have tons of of hours of expertise in Persona video games, we’d have been team-wiped in two turns. These fights are most likely the closest to Persona when it comes to technique. It’s all about discovering the weak spot, establishing defenses, and focusing on weak factors. It’s additionally about praying to god that the boss misses you a couple of occasions.
Metaphor: ReFantazio goes to make the watch for Persona 6 a lot simpler. The fight feels nice, and the animation is gorgeous. The music is already racing by way of our heads, determined for us to get again on the market slaying people.
Whereas we didn’t get an incredible sense of the story, which is the place Atlus actually shines, we’re fascinated to learn how we met these characters, and why we’re happening this journey.
It’s not a Persona clone, however the crew has taken all the things you’d need them to from a Persona title, and introduced it to its new world of Metaphor: ReFantazio. If the way forward for Atlus is swapping between a Metaphor and a Persona each few years, we’re all for it.
