Regardless of the quality of Metaphor: ReFantazio, the project was started as a way for its developer, Studio Zero, to create a third JRPG franchise of its own, to stand alongside Shin Megami Tensei, and Persona - two series the studio worked on.
]]>I write about games for a living (lucky me, right?) and as much of a dream as that is, it has some downsides. If you can believe it. One of them is that I often don’t find games very stimulating or motivating. When you need to play something that’s not exactly to your taste as often as once a week to ensure you’re covering it correctly, you often find yourself engaging ‘work’ brain, rather than ‘fun’ brain. Pumping 50 hours into CoD in a week can be rough when you also need to spend a lot of the 9-to-5 editing, running meetings, generating reports, or yelling to colleagues about Google’s baffling new Core Update.
]]>One of our favourite games of the year is thankfully part of the Black Friday offerings on Amazon this year. The launch edition of Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS5) is available for $49.99 over the weekend.
]]>Metaphor ReFantazio’s Junah Follower bond is, ostensibly, about getting Junah ready for a big performance, but there’s a lot more going on than just that. It explores some of the Nidia’s personal problems and the tribe’s unique characteristics that put them in a gray space under Sanctism’s social structure. Starting it takes more effort than usual, but it’s worth the gruelling dungeon you have to get through.
]]>Metaphor ReFantazio’s Brigitta Follower bond explores the darker side of Grand Trad and the Sanctist Church from a different perspective. Brigitta’s Follower bond is one of Metaphor’s darker side stories – which, considering Alonzo exists, is saying something – but it’s worth seeing through if only for the battle benefits you get.
]]>Seeing Metaphor ReFantazio’s Heismay Follower bond through to the end takes you to the heart of not just the eugief thief’s own problems, but the issues his entire village faces. It’s dense and fraught with emotional trauma, though unlike some other Follower bonds, Heismay has more options that give you more MAG.
]]>Completing Metaphor ReFantazio's More Follower bond gives you the double bonus of MAG and lots of Imagination. More's Follower bond works differently from everyone else's, but the basic idea of chatting with More and picking the right answers is the same.
]]>Advancing Metaphor ReFantazio's Hulkenberg bond helps the tormented ex-knight come to terms with her challenging past and forge a path for a better future. You won't have to rank up a ridiculous number of Royal Virtues for this one, but you will have to hit the road a lot.
]]>Metaphor ReFantazio’s Strohl Follower bond digs deeper into the young noble’s tumultuous quest for answers after humans destroy his family home. It’s gentle as Metaphor’s Follower bonds go, with fewer strict requirements than most, though you’ll still need to focus on raising one specific Royal Virtue to reach the end.
]]>I beat Metaphor Refantazio in under a week. Not for work, not on some arbitrary deadline, but because the game has some bite to it. The story? Amazing. The presentation? Absurd. But, more than anything, it's a game that treats you like an adult. It gives you enough freedom to play through the game the way you like, sure, but it doesn't stop you from charging headfirst into tricky situations either. It's a beautiful thing.
]]>Deciding on the best Metaphor ReFantazio Archetypes might seem like a vain endeavor, after Atlus said each of the RPG’s classes is balanced to work in any circumstance, but some Archetypes are, without a doubt, more useful than others. Metaphor ReFantazio’s Royal Archetypes are the best. That’s unsurprising, considering they’re the ultimate forms of each party member’s Archetype lineage, so we’re not even going to bother listing them. Instead, we’ve laid out just over half a dozen Archetypes and their advanced lineages that have something special to offer, either particularly strong skills, an impressive range of ability types that free up your party’s Inherited Skill slots, or essential moves that exploit important weaknesses.
]]>You’ll need Metaphor ReFantazio’s Blessed Water and Graced Water to purify equipment at a church, and you definitely want to purify weapons and armor. The process is costly, but it increases the item’s stats and, sometimes, even adds powerful extra effects – elemental imbuement, for example, a chance to dodge certain attacks, or even reduced money costs for Merchant skills. The trouble is that Metaphor tells you nothing about where to get those essential materials.
]]>Leveling up Metaphor ReFantazio Royal Virtues is one of the most important things you can do in Atlus’ new RPG outside exploring dungeons and not missing pivotal deadlines. Royal Virtues are Metaphor’s version of Persona’s social stats, and like in Persona, you have to reach certain milestones with these stats before you can start or further relationships with specific characters. In Metaphor, these Follower relationships are what help you unlock Archetypes, so advancing them as quickly as possible – and, by extension, raising your Royal Virtues quickly – is a very good idea.
]]>Atlus is clearly on to a winner with Metaphor: ReFantazio, as the game is now the developer's fastest selling game ever.
]]>Raising wisdom fast in Metaphor ReFantazio unlocks a new Follower, a quirky Archetype, and access to a challenging bounty that rewards you with Courage and a unique Igniter. You need to hit Wisdom rank 2 to accept Brigitta’s proposal and take all this on, but the trouble is that, so early in Metaphor, your options for raising Wisdom are rather limited.
]]>Getting the hang of Metaphor ReFantazio’s inherited skills is crucial to making it through some of the RPG’s more challenging fights, and it expects you to make smart use of it as early as the first dungeon. Skill inheritance is a pricey process, so think carefully before you make any big decisions. More won’t give you your MAG back if you make a choice you end up regretting.
]]>How to unlock the Gunner in Metaphor ReFantazio is something you’ll want to do as soon as you can, both to expand your combat abilities and to keep pressing forward with More’s quests and Follower rank. The Gunner is tucked away behind a side quest that might be tempting to complete later to save time, though the status ailments its abilities cause make getting through Martira’s dungeons much easier.
]]>Unlocking every Metaphor ReFantazio Archetype is quite the process, but it's essential for keeping up with the RPG's later fights. Basic Archetypes only serve you for so long, so it's a smart idea to plan ahead and work toward unlocking a class' advanced lineage nodes by ranking up specific Follower relationships and hitting level milestones with basic Archetype prerequisites.
]]>Have you ever seen ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ by Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch? It’s a messed up little curio of a piece, painted across three panels and representing the breadth of humanity’s foibles, from the Garden of Eden to a frigid hellscape of our own making. Created in the early 1500s, the work was controversial; it depicted potentially blasphemous ideas about humanity, and projected a bleak sense of doom - not the pious optimism of other religious works of the era.
]]>Metaphor: ReFantazio isn't even out yet, but players have already discovered the game's PC version has a bit of a performance problem.
]]>Persona 5 was a ridiculously long game, and it looks like the next title from the devs behind it, Metaphor: ReFantazio, will take up just as much of your time.
]]>Racism, classism, poverty, religious fundamentalism. Public executions. The opening hour of Metaphor ReFantazio has it all. And it’s a statement of intent. This game is all about ‘anxiety’, per producer Junichi Yoshizawa. In-game text within the first 90 minutes wants to drive this home, thoroughly. “Anxiety breeds the world's cruelest monsters”, reads one text box. “Anxiety breeds dissent among the tribes”, explains an early NPC. It's saying the quiet bits out loud, there's no room for subtext here.
]]>Atlus games have something of a reputation for being very, very hard. Veterans of the series might recall such ‘skill check bosses’ as Matador in Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, or the Minotaur in Shin Megami Tensei 4 on the 3DS. Each of these foes act as early-game walls that many players ran aground against, terminating a save file and making people rethink their RPG choices.
]]>Xbox’s Summer Games Fest showcase was a banger that brought back the classic E3 vibes - but of all the games featured in the broadcast, one new title caught my eye - the slick-looking role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
]]>In my humble opinion, the mark of a good game is one that lets you obsess over food. If I can wander into a fantasy RPG and start salivating over the food assets, hearing the phantom voice of Anthony Bordain in my head as I go and sit with the locals in their caff of choice and chow down on some scrumptious-looking brunch, I’m going to have far more patience for the hours of grinding I’ll likely need to do to get into the meat of the experience.
]]>There's now a premium, extended version of this podcast that you can get as a VG247 paid subscriber - check out our Support Us page for more info. Doing so helps ensure that we can keep making the show! But don't worry if that's not for you, the main show will always be free.
]]>With Amazon Prime Day 2024 now live, fans of the Persona series have reason to celebrate as Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Tactica are on sale. Additionally, the remake of Persona 3, Persona 3 Reload, is available at a significant discount. These epic JRPGs offer some of the best value in gaming, often providing over 100 hours of gameplay. If you aren’t familiar with this blockbuster franchise, let me share why Persona should be on your Amazon Prime Day shopping list.
]]>Back in 2002, Iron Maiden released one of their now numerous ‘greatest hits’ albums, Edward the Great. Kicking off with Run to the Hills and ending with the iconic Rock in Rio version of Fear of the Dark, the album was my first taste of Maiden’s extensive back catalogue. It was hypnotic to me, delicious, heady, over-the-top, camp. Believe it or not, I got the exact same feeling from Atlus’ upcoming RPG, Metaphor ReFantazio, when I played it at Gamescom Latam this week. Let me explain.
]]>What if Persona had you shift into jobs, instead of summoning Stand-like beings to fight for you? That's pretty much the setup that Metaphor: ReFantazio puts to you. The upcoming role-playing game (developed by Studio Zero and published by Atlus) comes from alumni of the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series, and is the publisher's first wholly entirely original game since the studio's establishment in 2016.
]]>If you've got a hunger top find the next big RPG that might blow you away, then you've absolutely got to mark your calendar for the upcoming Metaphor: ReFantasio development livestream. Dedicated to the upcoming ATLAS game, it'll be the first in-depth dive into the title since its reveal.
]]>It seems like remakes of the first two Persona games could be on the way, though they might not be outright remakes.
]]>Persona 3 Reload fans desperately want the female protagonist added into the game, but its producer says that would be too expensive.
]]>While Atlus fans are still waiting on an actual announcement, leakers are currently claiming that Persona 6 will launch across multiple platforms.
]]>I’ve decided the axe-wielding muscle man and tiny swamp witch are besties. How could you not?
]]>If you're desperate to get your hands on Unicorn Overlord, there's some great news for you: a demo has just been announced at today's Nintendo Direct!
]]>It introduced one of the most interesting RPG battle systems outside the ‘golden era’ of Final Fantasy games. It had a soundtrack by Shoji Meguro inspired by both rock and metal from the 1980s, and hardcore dance and techno from the 90s. It had a mature, nihilistic story that drew from Gnosticism, Buddhism and other world philosophies. It presented cel-shaded graphics with style and confidence, and committed wholly to a minimalistic art style that has barely aged a day. It was the first Shin Megami Tensei (or MegaTen) game to release in Europe, and it remains one of the best games I’ve ever played.
]]>As soon as I saw the trailer for Unicorn Overlord back in September 2023, I knew it was a Vanillaware game. It was the food, you see; the studio behind the sublime 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has a specific eye for food – Ghibli-esque in its detail – and as soon as a massive meal fit for an army appeared on the screen, I could see Vanillaware’s fingerprints all over it.
]]>The start of the year has been pretty stacked with big JRPGs like Persona 3 Reload and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but surprisingly, it's Granblue Fantasy: Relink that's coming out on top.
]]>Who knows if it will stick to this, but Atlus currently has zero intentions to release a Royal or Golden-type version of Persona 3 Reload.
]]>Having already managed to become a millionaire by the game’s second chapter, a Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth player has now completed their 53 hour-long mission to buy a pair of incredibly expensive golden underpants using just the cash they’ve made by playing mahjong.
]]>When you read that a movie is being ‘remade’, you know what it means. But in games, the concept of a remake is far less concrete. Gaming remakes can run the gamut in terms of scope, ambition, and even intention. Honestly, thinking about the differences in approach between the remakes of Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy 7, GoldenEye and Mario RPG practically gives me a headache.
]]>SEGA has released some new information on the upcoming tactical RPG Unicorn Overlord from Atlus and Vanillaware.
]]>Xbox has taken the cover off the next batch of titles coming to Game Pass as January draws to a close and we kick on into February (don’t worry the speed at which time moves scares me too).
]]>Looking back, 2023 was a year jam-packed full of outstanding games. If you wanted to try them all out, it got very expensive, very quickly. That is unless you were a Game Pass subscriber. It turns out in 2023, Game Pass as a service hosted just over $5,000 worth of games, but how many of those did you actually play?
]]>This year, I took my first step into the world of Persona. As someone who is into horror, with a great interest in visual novels and turn-based battling, you’d think I’d have made the plunge sooner, but no. The Persona games have sat in my ever-expanding backlog for a while now, and once Persona 4 Golden made its way to the Nintendo Switch earlier this year, I decided that it was time.
]]>What would it be like to see the reality of a utopia manifest in front of you, only to be undercut and washed away before your eyes? What would you do if the perfect world you imagined began to fade away as you stood, paralyzed, unable to do anything?
]]>SEGA has declared its intention to release a 'super game' by March 2026, as seen in a recent SEGA Sammy business report. This is included in its plan to become a "Global Leading Contents Provider" by 2030. But what exactly does a super game mean?
]]>Persona 3 Portable is getting a physical edition from Limited Run Games, and there's even a collector's edition that comes with the game's signature Evoker.
]]>The September lineup of PlayStation Plus games for the Premium and Extra tiers has leaked.
]]>The Wii U was a strange console. The wild success of the original Wii was never going to be an easy act to follow, but it’s pretty plain to see how this oddball console was the foundation of Nintendo’s latest bit of hardware, the Switch.
]]>Attention all Persona 5 fans - you can now purchase a new pair of candles themed on Ryuji and Haru courtesy of Wick & Skull. This is part of an official collaboration between the Los Angeles based candle company, ATLUS, and SEGA. You might want to be quick though, as they are selling fast.
]]>Released all the way back in 2011, there was a version of the Nintendo 3DS for everyone. Whether it was the slick and serious 3DS XL - which was a gorgeous piece of tech at the time - or the joyfully pick-up-and-play 2DS, the console marked an incredible and accessible generation of great games.
]]>When you’re dealing with a hybrid console, the best Switch games have to be just as brilliant on the bus home from work as they are on a 65 inch OLED.
]]>The best story-based games are ageless. While gameplay can become clunky with the passing of time, an enthralling narrative is just as gripping whether it came out in 2004 or 2024.
]]>If you were hoping that Persona 3 Reload would include content added in later versions of the game, you'll be disappointed to hear it's just a remake of the original game.
]]>It looks like some footage from a potential Persona 3 remake and Jet Set Radio reboot have leaked online.
]]>You're reading that right, Persona 5 is being released again, this time as a mobile and PC game, though it stars a new cast of characters.
]]>Getting the best Persona 3 ending is refreshingly easy compared to later games in the RPG series, since it hinges on making just one decision.
]]>Getting the Persona 4 Golden ending you want is a tricky blend of planning ahead and carefully choosing the correct sequence of dialogue options at a key moment.
]]>Getting the classroom and exam answers right in Persona 3 is a handy way to boost your charm and get a few other nice bonuses in Atlus’ RPG.
]]>Getting all the classroom answers right in Persona 4 Golden boosts your stats, makes you popular, and even earns you a fat cash reward if you ace your exams.
]]>Atlus has confirmed you'll be able to stream Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden, but oddly you do have to include a spoiler warning.
]]>The PS2 is one of the best-selling consoles of all time, and with good reason. Not only was it a convenient DVD player just as the format was taking off, but its incredible library of fantastic PS2 games raised the bar in almost every way from the original PlayStation.
]]>The Persona 5 Royal Iwai Confidant makes gun combat more useful than usual, giving you a chance to deal extra damage when your SP is low and even inflict status ailments without using a Persona skill. Iwai’s Confidant functions a bit differently from others, with a steep stat barrier that blocks you from starting, even though the Confidant unlocks early in the game.
]]>Spending time on the Persona 5 Royal Strength Confidant is your ticket to some powerful new Personas and methods to buff your party. Caroline and Justine set you with several fusion tasks for each rank, some of which require you to reach a certain level before you can complete them.
]]>The Persona 5 Royal Shinya Confidant unlocks a selection of handy gun abilities that makes Palaces much easier, but you don't have much time to work on it. Shinya's Confidant opens up late in the game, so unless you aim for the true ending, you only hav a few months to work on it. Make sure to give Shinya his favorite gifts to help decrease the time it tanks to reach a new Confidant rank, most of which are suitable for the budget of a humble supernatural high schooler such as yourself.
]]>Maxing out the Persona 5 Royal Haru Confidant is one of the RPG’s tougher social challenges. Haru is the last permanent party member you recruit, and one of the highest stat requirements in the game blocks you from progressing past the Empress Confidant’s earlier stages. Make sure to plan ahead if you want to reap the benefits of cultivating your relationship with Haru – namely, the opportunity to plant seeds that sprout into restorative vegetables - and bring Haru gifts to speed the process up.
]]>The Persona 5 Royal Futaba Confidant offers some of the most useful extra abilities in the game, so even if you aren’t keen on helping Futaba grow as a person, it’s in your best interest to spend time with her anyway – and give Futaba the gifts she likes to help deepen that relationship faster.
]]>Reaching the Persona 5 Royal true ending means making the right choices at the right time, planning your activities carefully, and meeting some strict deadlines. It takes a bit of effort, but the reward is more than just seeing some new ending scenes.
]]>He may join late, but spending time raising the Persona 5 Royal Akechi Confidant is vital if you want to reach the true ending. Akechi’s Confidant has some new components in Royal, so if you played the original, don’t expect the same strategies to work – namely, you actually have to engage in the relationship, since the Justice Confidant won’t level up on its own.
]]>Investing time into the Persona 5 Royal Sojiro Confidant is about more than just making a nice cup of coffee. The skills you unlock while deepening your relationship with Sojiro are vital for keeping Joker and the rest of the party fighting fit during the long slog through some of the RPG’s more difficult Palaces.
]]>Maxing out the Persona 5 Royal Maruki Confidant is essential not just for unlocking the game’s true ending, but for accessing some of the best Confidant abilities as well. Maruki, the Councillor, gives Joker a chance to power up his attacks and restore SP, the latter of which is especially handy when you want to finish a Palace quickly without leaving to stock up on items.
]]>You need to max out the Persona 5 Royal Faith Confidant, Kasumi’s Confidant, if you want to unlock the third semester and reach the game’s true ending. It also unlocks some of the best abilities in the game.
]]>Boosting the Ryuji Confidant in Persona 5 Royal goes beyond just learning more about the school rebel. It unlocks a range of abilities for your vulgar companion and even a handy exploration ability that makes exploring Mementos much easier. Unlike other Confidants, such as Ann's Confidant, you don’t need to meet any stat requirements to progress with Ryuji, making this one of the easier relationships to max out.
]]>Focusing on the Persona 5 Royal Ann Confidant is essential if you want to boost your relationship with Ann – and see a unique romantic scene later in the game – but there’s more than just friendship at stake. In Persona’s usual fashion, a set of gameplay perks comes with raising your Confidant level.
]]>If you’re a fan of Japanese RPGs but somehow aren’t a PlayStation user - which does appear to be a contradiction of terms, admittedly - this week marks a momentous occasion. Persona 5 Royal, the enhanced re-release of a 2016 game of the year contender, is finally on non-PlayStation platforms.
]]>The line-up of October Game Pass games has just been revealed! Released via an official blog post on the official Xbox website, you can download a variety of exciting (and Halloween appropriate in some cases) games as early as right this minute, including a few really big hitters you’ll want to download while you have the chance.
]]>While it's not a new video game announcement, Atlus has announced that Persona 5 Royal is getting a card game adaptation.
]]>Atlus has announced release dates for the Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 remasters.
]]>How good would it be to see your mute Persona 3 protagonist shoot themself in the head with a special summoning gun, and have a fully powered-up Orpheus Telos appear in a blaze of unstoppable vengence?
]]>It's been a great year for Atlus: per its most recent financial statement (for the period ending March 31), we learned that the sales of games released from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 were above and beyond what the developer was expecting.
]]>Joker’s no longer just about spin-offs and Smash on the Switch, as Nintendo fans will soon finally get their wish - Persona 5 Royal is coming to Switch this October.
]]>Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable are all making their way to Xbox platforms.
]]>Sega has just released its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, and on top of reporting some great revenue for the past year, the publisher also notes that it'll have a focus on releasing more remakes and remasters going forward.
]]>13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim – brought to you from the developers behind Odin Sphere and Dragon’s Crown – is coming to PS4 and PS5 via the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game catalogue on Tuesday, September 19.
]]>It’s time the devils had their due. Persona Central (thanks Destructoid) reported that, according to a statement released from Atlus via Japanese games mag Famitsu, Shin Megami Tensei 5 has sold over 800,000 copies since launch. That’s pretty good for a series that didn’t arrive outside of Japan until its third entry for the PS2 in 2003.
]]>The latest game from 2D animation specialist Vanillaware and publisher Atlus – 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim – is coming to Nintendo Switch on April 12, 2022.
]]>If you want to play Atlus' latest mega-hard RPG, Shin Megami Tensei 5, but don't own a Nintendo Switch, you may be in luck: dataminers have delved into the godless depths of the Nintendo Switch game’s files and uncovered a trove of details that refer to “target platforms” that are listed as Switch, PS4, and Windows PC.
]]>November 2021 is a big month for video games, with CoD Vanguard, Battlefield 2042, Forza Horizon 5, and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Pokemon Shining Pearl all releasing.
]]>Atlus has announced that it will be sharing information on several projects that it currently has in the works later this year, in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Persona series.
]]>Atlus announced that 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has surpassed 200,000 copies sold in Japan (via Gematsu). Note that this includes both physical and digital sales. Given that it was initially reported in March that the PS4 adventure/tactics game hybrid sold 400,000 worldwide, this latest sales figure shows just how much steam the game is building both at home and abroad.
]]>We might be expecting a flood of new Persona announcements for the series’ 25th anniversary.
]]>Shin Megami Tensei 5 finally got a release date and gameplay details back at E3 2021, and now the doors have been opened to a drip-feed of info about the game.
]]>Shin Megami Tensei 5 got a release date and alongside some new gameplay details at today's E3 2021 Nintendo Direct.
]]>Shin Megami Tensei 5 release date and gameplay details have leaked, with new information suggesting that the game will be landing on Nintendo Switch later this year.
]]>While I’d argue it wasn’t quite as good as the PS1 or SNES, it’s fair to say that the PlayStation 2 was a killer console for Japanese RPGs.
]]>This will be the game's debut on PC.
]]>Persona 5 Strikers gets a new story trailer that shows off some of the characters you'll be meeting in your new adventure.
]]>Persona 5 Strikers reviews have landed.
]]>Here's a new Persona 5 Strikers trailer showing off combat abilities.
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