{"id":232485,"date":"2024-06-14T20:16:46","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T20:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/14\/refantazio-feels-like-a-jrpg-free-from-restraint-and-sanity\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:17:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:17:03","slug":"refantazio-feels-like-a-jrpg-free-from-restraint-and-sanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/14\/refantazio-feels-like-a-jrpg-free-from-restraint-and-sanity\/","title":{"rendered":"ReFantazio feels like a JRPG free from restraint and sanity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>Metaphor: ReFantazi<\/em>o has been a long time in the making. It was announced in 2017 as<em> Project re Fantas<\/em>y through a weird long video that said very little. Since then, Atlus has swapped the Project for Metaphor and scoured Google Translate to find a cool way to say \u2018fantasy.\u2019 It\u2019s also made a giant fantasy JRPG \u2014 and after rolling through a demo at Summer Game Fest last weekend, I\u2019m dying to play it.<\/p>\n<p><em>ReFantazio <\/em>is the first original title by Studio Zero, a relatively new Atlus division headed up by Katsura Hashino. As the director of the third, fourth and fifth Persona game, Hashino is responsible for the Persona series\u2019 pivot towards social simulation elements. After finishing up <em>Persona 5<\/em>, Hashino left P-Studio to work on all-new titles unrelated to Atlus\u2019 Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series.<\/p>\n<div class=\"caas-iframe-wrapper\" data-embed-anchor=\"2a6dbff6-91c3-53a0-863c-5735bc4444a7\">\n<div class=\"caas-iframe youtube\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%\" data-type=\"youtube\">\n<blockquote data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GfgkVGFhN8A?rel=0\" scrolling=\"no\"><p><noscript><iframe title=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio \u2014 AWAKEN | Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GfgkVGFhN8A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Atlus and Hashino are both known more for (<a data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/megamitensei.fandom.com\/wiki\/Mara\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:semi;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><\/a>-) grounded urban fantasy than wizards and elves, and <em>ReFantazio<\/em> in that sense represents a big departure. This is an epic, sprawling story covering a whole nation, the United Kingdom of Euchronia. The Euchronian king has been assassinated, and the people of the land must elect (!?) a new one.<\/p>\n<p>Euchronia is home to eight \u201ctribes\u201d (fantasy races) and our hero is trying to reunite them. There\u2019s also a cursed prince who everyone thinks is dead, a royal tournament for the throne in six months and monsters everywhere. To make matters worse, Euchronia is being invaded by hideous, Hieronymus Bosch-inspired creatures called humans, which function as the game\u2019s bosses. Humans, huh? Wonder if it\u2019s a\u2026 metaphor?<\/p>\n<p>Given Atlus\u2019 storytelling history, the broad strokes of <em>ReFantazio<\/em> will probably make more sense than the moment-to-moment beats. Best to just let it wash over you.<\/p>\n<p>The game takes place over the course of six months, and you\u2019ll be traveling across Euchronia in a Gauntlet Runner (a cool ship designed by the Evangelion mech guy) trying to rally support for your entry into the royal tournament. Each town in the game has a tavern where you can grab a bite and gather information, a recruitment center where you can accept quests, various shops and an inn where you can rest. Completing quests and making friends along the way will gain you supporters among the various tribes, which is key to both the overarching story and the combat.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/qKF4G6r_DUi0jHxXFQS4ZQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xMjE2\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ed73550-2a7b-11ef-affe-5b2e9453ee7a\" height=\"608\" width=\"1440\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/qKF4G6r_DUi0jHxXFQS4ZQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xMjE2\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ed73550-2a7b-11ef-affe-5b2e9453ee7a\" height=\"608\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Atlus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Atlus\u2019 Summer Game Fest demo was segmented into three 15-minute chunks. The first was a training sequence of sorts, story-heavy and light on combat. This felt mostly like a showcase for <em>ReFantazio<\/em>\u2019s cinematics, which were gorgeous, despite the TVs in the demo area being set to interpolate frames. Atlus has a tradition of showcasing top-quality anime in its games, and the demo clips were among the best I\u2019ve seen. What I appreciated more than the quality of the animation was how closely the character designs and vibe of the game matched the cinematics.<\/p>\n<p>Also memorable is the voice acting. For the English-speaking cast, Atlus is taking the \u201cUnited Kingdom\u201d of Euchronia <em>very<\/em> seriously, as everyone I ran into had a totally over-the-top British accent. As the owner of an English accent, I found the characters beyond theatrical but nonetheless enjoyable. At one point in the demo I met a hyper-cockney cat girl that could&#8217;ve been auditioning for <em>Oliver.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure small\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/xu0ahnwfTFKCs2AsjYFGbg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3efae9f0-2a7b-11ef-b9fb-fb1d5310d4eb\" height=\"540\" width=\"960\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/xu0ahnwfTFKCs2AsjYFGbg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3efae9f0-2a7b-11ef-b9fb-fb1d5310d4eb\" height=\"540\" width=\"960\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Atlus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In another segment, I fought alongside an adorable floppy-eared fellow from fantasy Liverpool who sounded like he was <a data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2_O5YHX4urE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:analyzing a soccer game;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><\/a>. If none of this excites you, the Japanese voice cast seems to be shooting for a typical fantasy vibe. Personally, I can\u2019t imagine playing this game in anything other than English at this point.<\/p>\n<p>Not <em>everything<\/em> is voiced \u2014 as in a lot of JRPGs, key lines and conversations play out in full, but many interactions will be confined to text, with the voice actors emoting a little along the way for flavor. As a speed reader, this is absolutely fine by me.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/AAYS0eUeboCoTej.Q6GNYg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3f10e2f0-2a7b-11ef-acfb-9695e968ffd8\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/AAYS0eUeboCoTej.Q6GNYg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3f10e2f0-2a7b-11ef-acfb-9695e968ffd8\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Atlus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Segment two was all about dungeon-crawling combat \u2014 time for the Persona comparisons! The setup here will be familiar to fans of Atlus games: It\u2019s a turn-based JRPG, with various types of physical and magical attacks, status effects and ailments. <em>ReFantazio<\/em>\u2019s version of the classic JRPG class system is Archetypes \u2014 there are 14 lineages containing over 40 unique Archetypes, including some familiar roles like Mage, Thief, Knight and Healer.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also a tactical element to party composition, with a front and back row playing a part in combat, and Synthesis moves that allow you to combine your party\u2019s Archetypes for stronger attacks. Everything has a little Persona and SMT to it \u2014 you manage Archetypes in an Akademeia (similar to a Velvet Room), they can evolve through experience, and their proficiency in battle is linked to your bond with your supporters.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure small\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/AmCtqenKl6xZmi2KFiSbfg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ed73551-2a7b-11ef-9ffa-664beba1e59e\" height=\"540\" width=\"960\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/AmCtqenKl6xZmi2KFiSbfg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ed73551-2a7b-11ef-9ffa-664beba1e59e\" height=\"540\" width=\"960\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Atlus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A twist on the classic turn-based formula \u2014 and one I\u2019m very pleased about \u2014 is the Fast battle system. When you come across an enemy, you\u2019ll be able to gauge their strength before initiating combat. The Fast system lets you target a particular enemy and strike them; this can insta-kill underpowered foes, which allows you to avoid turn-based battling entirely when grinding low-level enemies. For stronger foes, you can use Fast to butter them up and start a squad battle with advantage, but if you mess up this engagement you could start the turn-based combat on your ass. Other Atlus games have a similar risk-reward system to allow players to gain an advantage, but this is more nuanced and satisfying.<\/p>\n<p>The interface for all of this is a typically gorgeous menu system and UI that feels more refined than ever. Simple actions are assigned a face button on the controller, which means less time spent in menus. It\u2019s all pretty intuitive, and towards the end of my short demo I was already speeding through the turn-based combat without wondering what button did what. Taken as a whole, the combat system feels like a natural evolution to the classic formula Atlus is known for.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/pgMvXile_RbkmbCx8qHvKw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ee231d0-2a7b-11ef-affc-3a5539fa411c\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/pgMvXile_RbkmbCx8qHvKw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ee231d0-2a7b-11ef-affc-3a5539fa411c\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Atlus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The final demo section starts inside the Gauntlet Runner. It\u2019s a claustrophobic space, more submarine than super yacht, but filled with things to do. There are people to talk to, activities to partake in, and routes to choose. Similar to Persona, the game occuring over a fixed period means you likely won\u2019t be able to do everything you want to, and instead need to decide how best to spend your time each day. You might try to level up one of the main character\u2019s five traits \u2014 courage, wisdom, tolerance, eloquence and imagination \u2014 or perhaps focus on fighting monsters or earning cash. I played to type and read a book, which was sadly not enough to raise my courage from \u201ccraven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My cozy book session led immediately into the main show: a face-off against a giant human. This began with an anime sequence, which gave way to classic four-on-one combat. The human designs in this game are buckwild. This one was called, \u201cSea Horror Homo Sabara\u201d and here are the Cliff\u2019s Notes:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"caas-list caas-list-bullet\">\n<li>\n<p>Long violet beard and eyebrows.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>One yellow eye, one white eye, both glowing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>12 ears arranged in two rows? Edgy piercings.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Crown of thorns. Actually, make that two crowns of thorns.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Top half of head has been scalped. There seems to be a human heart sticking out.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Also, eight giant bejeweled tentacles as weapons.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s not like I haven\u2019t seen crazy bosses in a JRPG before, but this octodad was a lot of fun to fight. There was no <em>major<\/em> challenge: Take out the tentacles, wail on the body, tentacles regenerate, repeat. But he hit hard, and the demo clearly set me up for success. It\u2019s easy to see this guy wiping your team if you don\u2019t come properly prepared.<\/p>\n<p>Of all the things Atlus squeezed into the short Summer Game Fest, the human battle was the most memorable. From the lore being drip-fed to fans, it seems like the humans are actually from our world, and are being Isekai\u2019d into Euchronia as these messed-up monsters. Here\u2019s hoping a lot of them made it over.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/m19RJlZP2jGGiPhate5eig--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ef25e70-2a7b-11ef-bfaf-0cccc034921a\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Metaphor: ReFantazio\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/m19RJlZP2jGGiPhate5eig--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/3ef25e70-2a7b-11ef-bfaf-0cccc034921a\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Atlus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At first blush <em>ReFantazio<\/em> feels like a real auteur moment for Hashino \u2014 as if, after the worldwide success of <em>Persona 5<\/em>, he\u2019s basically been given a blank check. Hashino\u2019s Persona titles bend over backwards to show you how cool and edgy they are, but the only concern for <em>ReFantazio<\/em> is how loud, confident and unique it can be.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, there are elements borrowed from almost every Atlus RPG you can think of, but it&#8217;s all been remixed and refined. I left my brief time with <em>ReFantazio<\/em> filled with this wonderful milieu of nostalgia and surprise, a warm familiarity from something unlike anything I\u2019d played before.<\/p>\n<p><em>Metaphor: ReFantazio<\/em> comes to PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox Series consoles on October 11.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 <\/em><a data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/summer-game-fest\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:right here;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>right here<\/em><\/a><em>!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/metaphor-refantazio-feels-like-a-jrpg-free-from-restraint-and-sanity-185129361.html?src=rss\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Metaphor: ReFantazio has been a long time in the making. It was announced in 2017 as Project re Fantasy through a weird long video<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":232486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}