We now have a release date (October 11, 2024), and a bunch more screenshots and art to share, which you can find below. This all comes hot on the heels of an extended livestream and trailer, so we're certainly being inundated with information right now.
So what are some of the interesting things that are being promised in this game? Here are some of my thoughts:
1) The "Fast & Squad" system sounds interesting. According to Atlus you'll be able to switch between real-time action and turn-based combat, with the real-time component giving players a different way to fight and, interestingly, this system seems to be designed to make progress faster. You know how in turn-based RPGs grinding can be a drag once you get to the point where enemies are a cakewalk and pose no threat to your party? Well, the "Fast" system lets you deal with those enemies directly, and with tougher enemies, you still need to fight your way through in a more traditional turn-based manner.
2) The Persona bonding benefits are back. Coming from the Persona creative team, the Persona heritage is strong in this game. Here you'll form bonds with allies, and doing so will awaken their heroic "personas," called Archetypes, which then allows the ally to fight in battle. Archetypes have classes and you'll apparently have a lot of control to customise parties to your play style.
And, yes, the allies will have their own little side stories to follow, too. It's all very Persona.
3) There's a time limit. This can be a controversial decision in JRPGs. The Atelier series, for example, basically dropped time limits because people said that they got stressed out by them. With Metaphor, Atlus seems to be driving towards a time limit that will also force you to do side quests.
See, those side quests are where you'll find the best loot, and you'll need that to make progress through the main story. As long as this is balanced to promote tension rather than panic, then it could be an interesting spin – and the Persona games had time limits of their own, remember, so it's not like this team lacks for a track record in this regard.
4) It's communist (don't worry, it's probably not). One of the key themes within the game, Atlus says, is that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening and discrimination based on socio-economic position is widespread. Sure sounds like a world ripe for revolution to me!
Of course, the Persona games are all focused on stories of injustice and rebellions against the status quo, so this again is not new for the team. However, the fact you'll be traveling the world this time, rather than just a small few districts of a city, may just lend itself to more substantial insights into these themes and some epic quests to do something about them.
It should come as no surprise that the game is sounding like a remix of many of the ideas of Persona. It has the same director, character designer and composer, after all. However, the new setting is a significant divergence, and the scope of the game is vastly different. Having the opportunity to work on something fresh should be good for the creatives, and they're adding some awesome new talent, including Kazuma Koda (NieR: Automata) and Ikuto Yamashita (Neon Genesis Evangelion) to the mix.
Metaphor: ReFantazio looks like it has every chance of striking that balance between the heritage of a great series and a vision for a new property. I'm fully expecting this game to be huge when it lands on October 11.
