Review: Metaphor: ReFantazio - Atlus Proves It's Still The King of JRPG-Land

It seems odd now, looking back, that we hadn't really been particularly excited for Metaphor: ReFantazio over the past couple of months. Maybe it's the fact we've played so many Persona revamps and remakes lately, but something or other has had us feeling as though a return to similar JRPG ground was gonna take a lot of digging in, especially given the running times of most of what's produced out of Atlus HQ. It's a commitment, to say the least.

Now that it's here, of course, and having spent pretty much every waking hour with the game over the past week or two, we can tell you that we've been very silly in not being incredibly excited for this one. Studio Zero's first fresh IP since its formation in 2016 is a bonafide Persona 5-beater. Yep. That's a crazy thing to say, and we're all crazy people. But it's also true.

We won't spoil anything in this review, rest assured - and, if you can, please try to go in as unsullied as possible - because you'll want to savour every single second, every surprise and twist in this tale, in your own good time. Metaphor: ReFantazio sees the masterminds behind the Persona series at the very top of their best-in-class game, taking all the many lessons they've learned from creating some of the greatest - and most stylish - RPGs of all time, and serving us up a delicious slice of fantasy that's hands-down the best thing we've played in 2024.

Set in the fictional land of Euchronia, the story here sees players assume the role of a lowly Elda orphan, who decides to stand up and fight back against a corrupt system that's already murdered a king, and now has the nation's prince (his childhood friend) in a magic-infused slumber. You'll likely know the general outline of the narrative already if you've been following along with the pre-release hype and, honestly, we're really reticent to say anything much more about it, because it's just too damn good to spoil a second of.

Expect high drama of the most JRPG kind though, and with a seat on Euchronia's throne open to anyone who can prove themselves the most popular candidate, well, Studio Zero manages to take the most outlandish of concepts (floating magic king face, anyone?) and work it into a conduit for a pleasing amount of politics, calls for equality and, of course, the smashing of corrupt authority. It's all wonderfully timely in the fights it picks and, even when it gives over to the usual, longwinded JRPG spiels - which it does often - you can't help to be drawn in because of top-notch performances, writing and character designs.

It doesn't really hit out with any big political swings, mind you, but it does enough to feel edgier than most of the painfully apolitical stuff we're usually served up in these very final days of humanity. Besides being a little lacking in this regard, though, everything else in Metaphor ReFantazio is executed with an imperious eye for detail, for slick and sexy design, and for core gameplay loops that keep you locked in and laser-focused - even as the campaign running time slips up and into triple digits.

With the school setting and strict timetables of Persona ditched - for the most part - Studio Zero is free to get seriously wild, and some of the Hieronymus Bosch-inspired creatures you fight really are fantastically deranged. One early boss, as an example, has its heart on a plate above its head, requiring you to break its eggshell body (careful there's a dining room full of enemies inside!) before using your party of three to beat the crap out of its exposed blood pumper. And that's just for starters, mate.

Speaking of beating the snot out of someone's vital organs with a bunch of your mates, the combat here is also the best we've seen from this particular bunch of devs - which in turn means it's the best in JRPG land. Fact! It's all very Persona at the outset, with turn-based shenanigans that once again see you given free reign to skip between protagonists as you line up attacks, choose when to brace for big impacts, balance magical buffs and debuffs, or hit out with MP-draining screen-shakers.

Your current party members can be moved around to form front and back lines in a fight formation - stick weak healers at the back and all that - and the UI and flow of battles will be pick-up-and-play for the most part to anyone who's played through any of Joker's most recent adventures.

As in Persona, your party members also possess the ability to transform into powerful versions of their inner spirits - known as Archetypes this time out - which are basically big metal robot things that can smash stuff real good - and developing relationships with companions, exploring or taking on side missions gradually gives you access to more archetypes; seeker, mage, warrior, knight, etc. Archetypes can then be swapped around between characters - not to mention the fact you can lift and mix moves from Archetype sets - in order to add a little personalisation to your preferred attack style. The ones we've listed here aren't really all that exciting, to be fair, we're trying not to ruin any of the fun and sticking with early game unlocks, but rest assured there are a load of Archetypes to muck with, and some surprising inclusions along that way that give you plenty of tricks to play with.

The more you play as any Archetype, the faster you'll rank it through 20 levels, unlocking more and more moves, combos and all that sweet JRPG jazz as you go. There's team combos and synergies to get busy utilising as things get more heated, and generally everything is introduced in a nice rhythm as the game takes its time early doors, letting you get used to each new aspect of scraps, before revealing the next strategic trick up its sleeve. Some might consider the pace a little slow at times in the first third, but we prefer to think of it as marinading ourselves in an exquisite JRPG marinade, that we'd quite happily never be removed from. What's your rush, anyway? Have you seen what's going on outside?

All of this battle stuff, as we've already said, does hew very closely to what you'll have played in the likes of Persona 5, in terms of how it looks and with regards to the basic mechanics. However, for those who worry it's just a reskin of past glories, there are more than enough big changes here to dispel that feeling very quickly once you dig in. Everything is slicker, more immediate and modern. It's more accessible, easier to get your head around, and all whilst still possessing the depth required (and more besides) to give the hardcore faithful exactly what they're after, whilst also opening its doors wide for new players.

One of the biggest of these changes, when it comes to the considerable improvements to combat, is how you can approach and dispatch smaller foes as you move around dungeons without needing to engage them in turn-based battle. Scanning an area will show you all the deets on nearby enemies, with any blue-coloured targets a pushover that you can feel free to smash into for one-shot kills, as well as plenty of XP to feed into your "Royal Virtues" (that's just a fancy word for skills to us paupers, innit). Stronger foes can also be softened up using this new technique, allowing you to get the drop on some heavier units, striking first to engage battles with a surprise advantage.

It really gives the whole thing a huge lift in terms of overall tempo, this ability to wail on weaklings and stealth drop onto harder foes from time to time, providing you much more agency in how things play out from moment-to-moment (spoiler: they play out more violently). The dungeons themselves are still labyrinthian affairs that'll take you hours to complete at times, some things never change, but they're also much busier and generally livelier places to spend time in than Persona's sometimes tediously repetitive rooms and corridors.

There's just way more to see as you blast around Metaphor ReFantazio's twisted world in general, too, with some incredible vistas dotted along the way that help things feel less confined. Indeed, one wide shot of your party running up cathedral steps, as an enormous rotten human corpse comes into view far below, is a moment that has stuck with us. Shortcuts are also dotted about to save you lengthy backtracks in dungeons, fast-travel is a breeze from the beautiful world map, and overall there's just way more smarts in level design - the various town hubs are a big step up - as well as more vibrancy and variety all-round. It's very exciting, pals!

We also need to mention the cast of characters you'll spend time with before wrapping up. The English dub is on-point for the most part (some duff posh accents doth persist) and the likes of Hulkenberg, Strohl, Gallica and Heismay make for proper badass squad-mates to get to know and love as you battle your way through a story that hits hard with emotion when it needs to. There's a little Xenoblade flavour at times, in the regional accents and the banter - these folks are just a little more freewheelin' than the Phantom Thieves, which helps make for an enthralling, emotional and truly epic adventure. This is a great big sprawling JRPG of the very best kind, a game to get 100% swept up in for aeons.

Honestly, we could just talk all day about this one but, to cut it short, it's quite simply the best game we've seen out of one of the most talented studios in the biz. That in itself should be more than enough to have any interested parties absolutely chomping at the bit for release day. No big spoilers, or detailing of every single facet of this one necessary, just go play it already.

Finally, and in terms of performance on Series X, Metaphor: ReFantazio is as slick as it is beautiful, in both quality and performance modes. We've pretty much stuck with quality mode the entire time as a result ,and have experienced nada in the way of bugs, stutters or anything else, leaving us free to swish and swoosh through the game's ultra-stylish menus and battles. Oh, and we simply cannot wrap up here without mentioning the battle music and soundtrack, as it is absolutely banging. Seriously, big respect to Shoji Meguro, he nailed it in providing a suitably bombastic score for the best of game of 2024 - so far.

Conclusion

Metaphor: ReFantazio is the team behind the best of the Persona series at the very top of their game. We were a little concerned we were in for a quick reskin of Joker's past glories, if we're being fully honest (we'd probably still have gobbled that up, let's face it), but what we've actually ended up with is a monumental JRPG. This is a coming together of everything that's been learned, honed and perfected over the years, presented through a phenomenal core narrative that's full of emotion and hope, amazing characters, some of the most warped enemy designs we've ever seen, and enough slick combat and style to do us until they make the next one. They better be making the next one already.