So let’s go for 14 minutes of comments to better understand the nature of the world imagined by Atlus. A world tinged with fantasy although ultimately quite far from the initial illustrations of the one that was initially called Project Re Fantasy. The protagonist undertakes a journey to lift the deadly curse that weighs on his childhood friend, the Prince of Euchronia. To do this, he will have to participate in the tournament for the throne, a sort of great popularity contest, in other words an election. And you don’t even need to collect 500 signatures or be of noble blood because here everyone can claim the throne.
This great test will require forming alliances with companions from eight tribes that populate the world. Not easy for a protagonist who himself comes from a people considered “impure” by the state religion and who will therefore not fail to be discriminated against by the entire kingdom. However, he will quickly be able to count on the support of Gallica, a fairy who will be his main guide, before meeting other allies from different tribes such as the aristocrat Strohl and the protector Hulkenberg, who accompany the hero on the new main illustration of the game.
Katsura Hashino explains that the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio is imbued with magic but not everyone is able to use it without the right equipment. “ Magic is a kind of power that is believed to arise from a person’s imagination, but this art has been lost over time. Today, magic is subject to more restrictions. In other words, people have become dependent on the magical tools of the world. That said, main characters are capable of transforming their own bodies into weapons, what we call Archetypes. »
In familiar territory or in unknown territory?
Unlike the Persona games where the characters do not have much time to get away from their high school, the notion of travel will be more important in Metaphor: ReFantazio. Not without getting rid of the time management constraints that Persona players know well. “ I think one of the main attractions of this game is that it takes the calendar system of the Persona series and adapts it in a way that fits perfectly with the storyline of this work and the travel system that we created . Travel is a common concept in games, and most of the time you can travel as much as you want without any time constraints. But just like in our modern lives, the time allotted for traveling through the world of Metaphor is limited. »
To gain popularity, the player will have to fight many battles. Here again, Metaphor: ReFantazio does not completely move away from a Persona since we find the basics of a turn-based system. The novelty, however, is that it will be possible to get rid of low-level enemies directly in real time like in an action-RPG. “ This is not a split two-part system where some enemies can only be fought in turn-based battles and others must be defeated in real-time. We really wanted to let the player make that decision and give them the opportunity to choose at any time. »
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