Metaphor: ReFantazio reviewDeveloper: AtlusPublisher: SegaPlatform: Played on PS5Availability: Out 11th October on PS5 and PS4, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Steam)
What’s the true meaning of fantasy? Often it’s synonymous with magic, fairies, and dragons; tales of heroism and drama; vast, elaborate worlds that defy the impossible. Metaphor: ReFantazio gives us all of this, but Atlus goes deeper too. What is the real purpose of a fantasy story? Is it a metaphor for our own world? And what if a fantasy story centred on, of all things, a magical election?
In its 35-year history of developing games, Atlus has become renowned for its Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series. Now, it’s moved away from teen drama in real-life Japan to offer a sprawling high fantasy adventure that evolves its formula, in what the studio calls a “culmination of our RPGs”. Really, Metaphor: ReFantazio is the culmination of the genre as a whole. It’s a quintessential Japanese RPG, inspired by the past but with Atlus’ distinct style, cementing the developer as the pre-eminent producer of the genre alongside Square Enix and its celebrated Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games. The result is an enchanting, thought-provoking fantasy that’s epic in every conceivable way: grand in scope and operatic in drama; a poetic, heroic tale; and incredibly long.
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Politics has often featured in Atlus games, but perhaps never quite so overtly. The narrative of Metaphor: ReFantazio centres on a magical election: following the death of the king, a tournament is held to decide the next ruler of the kingdom. Yet Euchronia is a world of disparate peoples – cat people, horned people, elvish people, and the like – with a mix of opposing ideologies. Can this kingdom truly be united? What responsibility does the king’s power bring? And while anyone can compete in the tournament from a lowly common man to a formidable high priest, is the likelihood of winning really equitable?