Summary
Metaphor: ReFantaziohas piqued the interest ofPersonaandSMTfans, as its most recent Game Awards trailer continues to spark positive reception. With a stacked development team including the creators ofPersona 3,4,and5, as well as concept artist Koda Kazuma from theNieRseries and mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita fromNeon Genesis Evangelion, it’s no wonder that the title is hotly anticipated. Combining a medieval fantasy setting withGhibli-esque aesthetics and gorgeous animation,Metaphorlooks like it will have a lot to offer in both its combat and story, the former combiningpast influences from Atlus' repertoire.
ThoughMetaphor: ReFantaziogives a sense of its distinct personality, it’s clear that its combat takes inspiration from pastSMTandPersonatitles. Interestingly, the title looks to include a bit of real-time combat among its turn-based offerings, with a closer examination of its UI suggesting a nuanced approach to the latter.Metaphorwill include “Archetypes” for its characters, a concept comparable in presentation to Personas, though it looks like the boundaries of these Archetypes will be able to be broken. Similar to the job system ofFinal Fantasy 10-2, it appears thatMetaphor’s characters will be able to switch between Archetype classes, demonstrating that they aren’t locked into one designation.
Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Turn-Based Combat Could Be the Best of Persona and SMT
Archetypes as Akin to Personas
A look at the game’s HUD shows that the MC can use the Seeker Archetype, likely their starting class, though another shot from the trailer shows this change to Brawler. Interestingly, this also affects the Archetype portrait shown beside the character, as well as different Health and SP values, suggesting that each Archetype will have different level-up allotments. Though something like the wildcard ability was exclusive tothe protagonists ofPersona 3,4, and5, it looks like swapping between Archetypes won’t just be for the MC; a red-haired character on the team shows her designation change from Healer to Knight, implying that this versatility will extend to the party.
A glimpse of dialogue between the MC and a character named Junah mentions that she was able to awaken to her Archetype, much likeawakening to a Persona, which is an interesting notion if characters can switch between Archetypes. Given the definition of the word archetype, this seems to imply thatMetaphor’s characters are able to break down the preconceived notions of their specialties, with a character who might look like a Healer given the ability to change to a more attack-focused class like a Brawler or Warrior. It could be likely that each character will bring a distinct ability to their version of an Archetype that helps differentiate movesets among characters.
The Press Turn System Could Be Making a Return
There’s a lot of interesting detail toMetaphor’s combat HUD. First, it looks like the Press Turn system will be making a comeback, as seen in titles likeSMT 3 Nocturneand, more recently,SMT 5, which would make sense given director Katsura Hashino’s involvement with the former. The system is a fantastic way to keep strategy in consideration, allowing the player to maximize the efficiency of their turn by exploiting enemy weaknesses, yielding turns to others in the party, and pitting enemies' attacks against them, resulting in increased or decreased actions depending on how it’s played. There’s also a Retry prompt to “turn back the clock,” which would suggest more leniency than what is largely considered ofSMTgames.
Beyond the Skill, Melee, Item, and Guard prompts that are given, an interesting thing to note is the word “Front” seen next to a character in their turn order. This, along with a “Formation” prompt at the bottom UI, may suggest that there will be a positioning aspect toMetaphor’s combat. This could work similarly to the rows seen inthe earlierFinal Fantasygames, where characters can be situated in the front or back, emphasizing/deemphasizing certain attacks and skills as well as factoring into enemy reach.
Such a design choice could make its class system more nuanced, as characters under the Mage and Healer designations may benefit from being placed behind heavy hitters. This could also affect turn order and attack accuracy, resulting in careful consideration ofMetaphor: ReFantazio’s party placement.
