We have a new gameplay preview of Metaphor: ReFantazio.
The details in this preview come courtesy of Gematsu, and you can watch the gameplay video below.
As we noted in a separate article, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a traditional party based RPG, from the developers who made the monster collecting RPG series, Persona. Your character comes from one of the lesser regarded tribes, so he is looked down on by others. But, he bravely enters the tournament for the throne, following the king’s assassination.
This world is built around different tribes of many kinds, and as the trailer hints at, the protagonist sees all tribes as equal. You can build your party from people of different tribes, but just as interesting is the follower system.
In the course of playing the game, you interact with different tribes, and they will each support you in their own way. You can choose to get more support from some tribes over others by interacting with them more, and that will give you access to different jobs, which in this game are called archetypes.
Archetypes are pretty straightforward, with titles like Mage, Thief, and Seeker (the all-rounder job in battle). After stripping away the ‘other world’ scenario, the steampunk and modern elements, much of Metaphor: ReFantazio is still about exploring dungeons and fighting monsters. There will be bounties you can pick up at a recruitment center, weapon shops, taverns to pick up gossip, etc.
Atlus has built Metaphor: ReFantazio’s world with a day and night system, but thankfully, you do have something to help you get around. The Gauntlet Runner is a mobile base that your party uses to travel, and to return to after every quest.
Battles are turn based, but they have implemented a real time attack system, which certainly sounds like Final Fantasy’s ATB or Paper Mario’s Action Commands. We likely won’t know how it exactly works until the gameplay previews come out. Obviously, Studio Zero had those systems in mind and came up with something that closely fits their own design.
This preview is only a taste, but Studio Zero describes its party system as flexible and strategic, so players will enjoy figuring out the many layers of this onion in their path to mastering it. With a release date and other details now out, it’s finally time to get properly excited about this new RPG from the makers of Persona.
Metaphor: ReFantazio will be releasing on October 11, 2024. The game is releasing on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows, on Steam and the Microsoft Store.
