Atlus revealed another info drop for the upcoming RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, the new IP from a new team headed by veterans of the Persona series.
This month’s info drop shares more info about the story and the unique fantasy world that was created from scratch for this title. There’s a new story trailer with no-context cutscenes, a mix of in-game ones alongside 2D animated scenes. And there’s a 23-minute “Atlus Exclusive” showcase which goes deeper into the early game story beats- maybe too deep, enough for the showcase to have a spoiler warning.
The new trailer and showcase also reveals new characters, including party members. Junah, the blond, tall lady pulling a kabedon on the protagonist, is one of the newly-revealed party members. Metaphor has no romance routes unlike Persona, but rest assured there are some fanservice still, it looks like.
On another note, the protagonist is seen to talk in the trailer. And not just limited to battle grunts, which is a fascinating development considering Persona 3 onwards the protagonist has a voice actor but only for the occasional barks during combat.
Metaphor: ReFantazio New Details On Lore and Characters
There are some more interesting new info of Metaphor: ReFantazio, in particular about lore and companions. Here’s a cliff notes of some of those info nuggets that are not plot-related (no story spoilers).
- The grotesque monsters in the world of Metaphor are called “Humans”. “Human” designs are inspired by the work of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch.
- Fashion design of clothing is inspired by “Swinging London” fashion prevalent in the 1960s (also known as “Swinging Sixties”)
- The magic of the world of Metaphor is powered by the “particles of anxiety” (magla) created from people’s “feelings of anxiety”. Magla is collected and used as a power source.
- Companion (party members, followers) bonds also tied to an archetype, like how in Persona social links/confidants are tied to a Persona Arcana.
- More – Seeker Archetype
- Strohl – Warrior Archetype
- Hulkenberg – Knight Archetype
- Heismay – Thief Archetype
- Nueras – Gunner Archetype
- Junah – Masked Dancer Archetype
- There’s an in-game Compendium (Codex) to read up on the lore
Previous Metaphor: ReFantazio showcases provides deep dives on the Archetype class/job system and an overview of the gameplay structure.
Metaphor: ReFantazio releases on October 11 for the PS4, PS5, PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) and Xbox Series X|S.