Today Atlus hosted a big livestream to introduce the high fantasy JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio following the latest reveal at The Game Awards.
During the broadcast (which you can watch in full on YouTube), we learned more about the setting, which is the United Kingdom of Euchronia, founded as a confederation of united nations by a heroic king and ruled over the centuries by a strong royal lineage that inherited powerful magic.
Unfortunately, over the year, it has become corrupted and torn by inequality and discrimination. Not only are dangerous animals running rampant in the vast countryside, but mysterious monsters named “Ningen” have also made their appearance.
Due to that, the population has no safe place to go outside of the cities. The assassination of the ruling king and a death curse placed upon the prince bring further chaos to the kingdom, now without a ruler.
Incidentally, “Ningen” is the Japanese word for “human,” even if here it’s written in the Katakana syllabic alphabet like it was a foreign word. Quite obviously, this has meaning.
The kingdom is inhabited by eight races. The Clemar Tribe has distinctive horns and average physical abilities. They occupy important positions in the royal family and the government and are often seen as the most important race in the kingdom, which is something they unconsciously take for granted.
The Roussainte Tribe have long, prominent ears and excellent physical abilities, so they’re often soldiers, holding relevant positions in the military. Many are quite warlike and obsessed with victory and defeat, seeking to determine superiority and inferiority in every field.
The Ishkia Tribe is characterized by elegant wings in various parts of their bodies. They are often more intelligent than other tribes and hold positions of intellectual prominence, like scholars or clergy. They’re also often rich. They’re admired for their beauty but hated because they tend to look down on others.
The Rogu Tribe is long-lived, with some individuals living twice as long as the other races. They also age in a unique way, as they appear old for the majority of their lifetime. They often take prominent positions where seniority is important and their culture places great value in passing on knowledge and legacy.
The Nidia Tribe is characterized by large eyes and their colors. They don’t have other outstanding traits, but they’re said to be very social and adaptable, adept at winning over the people’s hearts. However, this is often seen as a negative, with many seeing them as untrustworthy or eccentric.
The Paripas Tribe has animal-like ears and tails. They have superior physical abilities and very “physical” sensibilities, which makes them hedonistic. They are lively and love to party. They are cheerful and don’t care for small details, but this often leads them to act rashly without thinking much.
They are bad at politics and are often looked down upon by other races.
The Eugief Tribe has bat-like wings and ears. Due to their appearance which is very different from that of humanoids, they’re seen as creepy and discriminated against. They are often poor and suffer from low status despite being generally mild-mannered and helpful. They’re pretty bad at making decisions, always second-guessing them out of concern.
The Mutsutari Tribe have a third eye on their forehead and they’re seen as eerie due to their unique masks and traditional costumes. They adhere to their own unique faith that differs from the canonical religion, so they’re often persecuted as infidels. They’re also quite mysterious.
Next, we hear about the Ningen, and we see two of their species, “Homo Golureo” and “Homo Awades.”
They’re unidentified creatures with grotesque appearances that don’t resemble any animal or other race. They have large amounts of “Magura” running amok within their bodies and attack everyone indiscriminately.
Despite their ferocious nature that shows no hint of intelligence, their ecology remains a mystery, and they can use magic so advanced that it is beyond the capabilities of the members of the eight races. On top of that, they’re very strong, with some of the larger ones capable of destroying entire armies.
Moving on to the beginning of the story, we find the hero, a boy of the Elda Tribe. They’re a minority seen as tainted by other races. He goes on a journey with the fairy Galica to lift the death curse that is consuming the prince.
The only way to break it is to kill the sorcerer who cast it. During his journey, the boy will meet many people, form bonds with them, and eventually discover the true nature of the Kingdom. His journey starts with a major incident that shakes the entire country to its foundations.
After the King’s assassination, an unexpected spell is invoked during his funeral, as the sky echoes with the voice of the dead King.
“On the Tenth Month’s Day of Heroes the one who will have gathered the most trust from the people will become the next king.”
In exchange for his own life, the King had prepared a grand spell that would compel everyone in the kingdom to compete for the throne in a sort of general election. To accomplish his mission, the hero decides to join the competition.
We also get an introduction to the main characters. While the details on them were shared a few days ago by Sega, today we get to see new images.
Next, we talk about the game mechanics. Combat is a major evolution over Persona 5‘s mechanics, combining both action and turns. While the main mechanics are turn-based, you can defeat lower-ranked enemies on the field with action-based attacks if you so wish.
On top of that, all party members can be customized, letting you create the party you prefer.
Daily Life mechanics are also back and further evolved. Players can experience realistic everyday activities including deciding what to do at various moments of the day during their travels. They can travel the world between different cities and locations using an armored mobile base.
We also get an extensive video with more footage and developer commentary from director Katsura Hashino, character designer Shigenori Soejima, and composer Shoji Meguro, who provide more details about the world and characters, on top of their development philosophy.
Hashino-san mentions that he didn’t want players to waste too much time fighting against weak enemies. Instead, they can spend more time enjoying the story, customizing their characters, and planning their travels.
Players can choose freely which enemies can be fought directly on the field with action-based attacks, and which enemies are powerful enough that they require being fought in a turn-based battle.
The main hero can skate on his sword and travel on an armored mobile base (of which we see the original artwork by Neon Genesis Evangelion mecha designer Ikuto Yamashita). The developers also showcase environmental concept art by Koda Kazuma of NieR: Automata fame.
Meguro-sensei mentions that the Persona games never had such large live recordings, so he believes that the score this time around is really elaborate. It represents the worldview of the game with a lot of diversity, with a foundation in religious music that reflects the different faiths and beliefs in the world.
Metaphor: ReFantazio will launch for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in fall 2024.
If you’d like to see more of this interesting JRPG, you can check out the reveal trailer from the Xbox showcase back in June and another video with developer commentary.
