An RPG that takes an approach to storytelling that ATLUS has utilized for many years now. It goes farther in aspects that I wish they had done in previous games, but it doesn’t reinvent the formula. The framework for the story differs in its topics, but it does tread familiar ground mechanically.

You are the comatose prince’s best friend. He’s in a coma because someone attacked the castle and placed a curse on him. The suspected culprit is the king’s general Louis as he has long been a critic of the king’s. Not to mention in one of the first scenes we see him, he is slicing the king’s throat and staging a coup to take over. As the prince’s friend and a part of a resistance effort, you are responsible for bringing Louis to justice. During a secret mission you are awakened to a special power, and as such so are your compatriots. This power gives you the confidence to continue your journey to expose Louis for the traitor he is. Just when Louis is about to assume the throne at the death of the king, the king appears as a giant face in the sky and boasts that no one can become king without the full faith of the people. He essentially forces people to campaign for the right to be king (inventing democracy basically) and everyone has to follow his rules as his magic prevents anyone from taking the throne by force. It’s a surprising turn of events for the citizens of the city as now “anyone can become king.” That’s where the real journey begins. You join the race to get closer to Louis and expose his treason, but to also build support for the prince (who no one knows is alive) and also find a cure for the curse he’s afflicted by. Your ultimate mission is to save the prince and expose Louis but you have to jump through the hoops of the campaign trail to do so. There’s a few twists and turns throughout the story that are not too surprising however the storytelling is well done overall.

There’s a lot of political espionage going on here which is really surprising to tackle in this type of setting. The church is a big power as well as Louis and his supporters. None of the other throne candidates have as much of a following, but their reasons for running were admirable. The insights into their motivations were interesting and helped feel like the world existed before I started playing. I liked learning about the politics of the land and the residents of it. There’s people of varying races inhabiting the world and not one of them felt out of place. Learning how some are treated just because of their natural born skin hit a little too close to home. I do think they went a bit overboard on the discrimination message throughout the game. It was handled very directly, which can be appreciated, but it was incessant. The only other subject they tackled was in the city of Martira and that plotline, while predictable, gave me chills. When *redacted person* screamed, I felt it in my core. Because of that plot, I had hoped the story had more to say than “discrimination is bad.” Not much else came out of it though and I was left a bit disappointed.

ATLUS knows how to craft an aesthetically pleasing experience. Everything here looks fantastic. The 3d renders of characters are the weakest part and they’re still not bad. Character portraits, environmental art, menu interfaces and overall style are on point. They pulled out all the stops on character design as well, and every race looks unique enough to differentiate it from the others. There are a lot of humanoid characters that could have used a bit more flair, but their designs lead to a cohesive look and the world they live in is perfectly designed for them. Many areas are dense with magical oddities and the architecture is almost medieval, however grand cathedrals showcase the importance of religion in the world. Each destination you visit has a sense of wonder and I was always looking forward to what was next.

Characters in the game are relatively complex for the most part. Your companions are not one-dimensional followers of yours. They all have their quirks. Strohl and Hulkenberg are the first two you really get to know and his struggle to deal with losing his home and his family name was more interesting than I initially thought. Hulkenberg struggles with her honor as she was supposed to have protected the prince the night he was “killed” (she thought he was dead before meeting you) and whether she’s even worthy of the title. Their side stories help you get to know them well and after finishing the game, I miss them like they were real friends. I won’t spoil the other party members, but the next one after the first two also has a story that was heart wrenching at times. Out of the rest, only one didn’t really hit for me. Their arc was loosely tied to their character and it just missed the mark. The final party member’s story was exquisitely done and I found them to be my favorite overall. I was surprised as I didn’t think they’d get enough time to blossom, but their struggles and attitude made me gravitate toward them more and they really came into their own by the end of the game.

Outside of the main cast, the other candidates, church and Louis excluded, don’t do much. You can duel with them on the campaign trail and talk to them in cities, but many of them don’t do anything impactful in the main story. There are some side quests related to some of them, which give some insight but it’s surface-level. I don’t think these characters really needed any more fleshing out than they got, so it’s not a big deal. The bonds that you forge are a different story. People you meet in your travels become sources of bonds. They require you to travel back to them and usually just talk to them. Their stories vary in quality but Cuculus’ story was insane and it’s the most memorable for me. Brigitta was also another highlight, but it was stronger in the beginning; the ending fell a bit flat for me. The rest of them were okay, unfortunately nothing special.

Gameplay isn’t anything new for ATLUS game players. Everyone fights by transforming into archetypes and doing elemental or physical damage. Most enemies are weak to certain types of attacks, like wind or piercing, and battles boil down to exploiting that weakness. There are buffs and debuffs as well, but they aren’t really necessary until the end game. The interesting part of archetypes is that anyone can be trained in any of them. You can do this to dip into a few skills that can then be used with other archetypes. It’s interesting at first, but as you progress down the trees, you realize that some advanced archetypes require getting others to certain levels. The initial freedom you have with the system is then completely destroyed. It doesn’t help that towards the endgame, characters that don’t have the ultimate version of their base archetype fall off completely. It really bothered me when I couldn’t use certain party members because I didn’t have their best form. Another factor in this is the bonds. To even be able to unlock advanced archetypes, you need to level up your bonds to certain ranks. For the best archetypes, they have to be maxed out. I barely leveled up one of my bonds and because of that, Strohl suffered. It made me so frustrated to realize how useless he was for the endgame. If there were certain things that had to be done for a character to be usable, there shouldn’t have been choices that waste time. This is mind boggling as the entire game is on a timer, so everything you do should go to further the ultimate goal. If something isn’t going to help, why have it be an option? If there’s only one right way to build a character, the skill trees should have been more streamlined. The illusion of choice harms the very foundation of the game’s systems, because if a character has a bad build, the difficulty goes up. If you don’t level up your bonds, the same thing happens. It’s a delicate balance that is weighted against you if you’re going in blind. Also, near the endgame there are three dragon towers that are an absurd difficulty spike and aren’t made mandatory for story progression. I attempted them a few times, but never had any luck which resulted in wasted time. If you can, I’d definitely recommend beating them as the final dungeon and boss(es) are ridiculous. I got so angry with these challenges that I had to put the game down a few times. Once again, saying something is a choice, then making everything more difficult if you choose the other option, is not good design.

The game wants you to feel like you’re on a road trip with friends, but they add a fast travel system that takes away from that experience. It made the world feel small and that I was never too far from home. Usually this type of addition is never a bad thing, but I think it really harms the overall feeling the creator was going for.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a good game. I think the world and characters within it really work cohesively. The story is grand and takes a few turns, but nothing really different from any other ATLUS games. There is a bit more development for the companions compared to their previous titles and I think the narrative is way more immersive for it. I was constantly hoping for more diverse messaging, but sadly the only thing they had to say was “discrimination is bad.” It’s a good message, but it’s so blatant and constant that it started to lose meaning. ATLUS still has a few kinks to work out, including difficulty curve, before I’ll confidently be able to put any of their games in my top favorites, but this one is a step in the right direction.