“Metaphor Re: Fantazio” is a fantasy game that is made once every few console eras. The development began shortly after Persona 5 and is heavily influenced culture and politics around the modern era.
Politics out of the way first there are two very dynamic figureheads that are blatantly seen in the game to showcase any form of leadership that can be given to the winner of the Crown championship. Authoritarian, Dictatorship, monarchy, dystopia, utopia, ruled by religion, etc. the number of different types of government are shown in this game.
The game is set in a fantasy world straight out of novels like The Lord of The Rings and Game of Thrones but is very Atlus and Studio Zero at its core. Studio Zero is the developer behind Persona 3- Persona 5 and the style choices are shown here.
ArchTypes Vs Personas
This time out the main team unlocks a flesh mecha, a mecha, that can be characterized by a fusion of technology and the body, type creature called an ArchType. These are similar to Personas from Persona 3-Persona 5 but they aren’t.
There is a set number of followers that can give ArchTypes to the player and the main party. Abilities and ArchTypes are not bound to any one user, unlike certain personas which are designed for the persona using it outside of the main characters of the games.
The awakening is similar to Persona but there is a ripped-out iron heart with a speaker that summons the creatures. Bond levels and magic aptitude paly into leveling these creatures and new forms are gained in restrictions the game reveals over time.
More versus Igor
More is this game’s Igor and does the job very well there is a lore reason this time behind More and without spoiling it Literature and Writing nerds will love the use of terms in this game.
More is limited to what he has control over unlike Igor but he has his own bond system for creating a stronger SEEKER, One of the names of the many ArchTypes.
Academia versus The Velvet Room
This is another reference to Persona as Academia hosts More and his cat and various lore about the game. It’s a hub area where the user can build Archtypes and talk to More. Unlike the uses of the Velvet Room, There is no one else but More and his cat there.
Story
The story begins before the player gets to the loading screen and the game tells the player whom the bad guy is before the game asks users to create a new or load the game save. The boy Will is sent out to save his friend from a curse and meets other like-minded people along the way in a story that flows similar but is still different enough from a Persona game. The main goal is to break the curse while taking place in a King Championship selection tournament.
Everything else is huge spoilers but there are references to the real world and events based on the background of selected characters viewing Will’s magic tome relic.
Music
Music is interesting as there is a lore reason to why magic exists. Gallica Will’s fairy partner in crime explains this with a short dialogue. “ Music was one of the first forms of magic this world knew”, she says while casting a Fae spell and now the player can hear the soundtrack. The soundtrack is amazing and has a high fantasy feel to the songs. Classical Atlus battle music is tied to the costumes in the game so players can listen to Persona 4 or Persona 5’s battle tracks by wearing the costume.
Followers
Followers take a role similar to Confidants in Persona 5/5 Royal. Players meet these people and form and bond and this unlocks an ArchType which can change over time to a different one if conditions are met.
Royal Attributes versus Social Skills
Royal Attributes are a different name for Persona’s social skills. Royal Attributes function differently though from Social Skills. An example of this is a dungeon side-quest that is locked away by needing the player to have 2 Wisdom. These Attributes affect the world around Will from side quests to bonding missions for Followers.
Side-quests and Bounties
At a point in the game, the player will unlock side quests and these have a date on some of them when they expire. Bounties are a form of side-quest where Will and the party must kill monsters within a time period to get an item. These will help the ranking of Will’s Party in the game.
The Calendar
There is a Calendar system like Persona but much different. Actions in the world take days to do then another day to explore a dungeon. The game will let the player engage with Followers or do a bounty or fast travel to other parts of the world.
Follower Quests
There is a time when the player needs to do quests to advance the follower level something from finding relics in a dungeon to helping a party member find his inheritance.
Grade: A-
