Persona has always been Shin Megami Tensei for babies. That’s a bit mean, but it’s true that the majority of modern Atlus fans were introduced to this beloved JRPG series through the hugely successful spin-off.
While still challenging, Persona was ultimately more stylish and approachable with its distinct high school setting that combined navigating life as a teenager with diving into dungeons and confronting your inner demons. The characters were memorable, the aesthetics were gorgeous, and the gameplay systems were reminiscent of, but entirely unique from, SMT.
Persona was once a subtitle to Shin Megami Tensei, but over the years it has eclipsed Atlus’ original series in its cultural impact, to the point where SMT has become an underground hit that only once in a blue moon receives a brand-new entry. The fifth instalment came around a few years ago - enhanced earlier this year with Vengeance - and was everything I wanted a modern revival to be. It was bleak, unforgiving, and surprisingly old school in its design.
Fans loved it, but many Persona fans were taken aback. If you died in battle, even thanks to a careless mistake, it was straight back to the main menu, while the expectation to grind and gain experience, recruit monsters, and make sure you were geared to tackle any and all encounters was paramount.
I adored how simple and difficult it wanted to be, combined with its harrowing narrative where the end of the world comes in the blink of an eye and quickly becomes a state of normalcy. Shin Megami Tensei 5 is excellent, and curious folks can also enjoy the recent remaster of Nocturne if they’re after an older but equally worthwhile entry.
Now along comes Metaphor: ReFantazio, a new series developed by Atlus and directed by Katsura Hashino, who fans will know as the creative force behind Personas 3-5 and so many other modern classics. It’s pitched as a fantastical blockbuster that aims to set itself apart from Persona and Shin Megami Tensei while simultaneously building upon all of their distinctive hallmarks. If you watch gameplay footage from a distance, it is easy to see how it builds upon both of those properties in its presentation, combat, and social mechanics.
Upon its reveal, however, it was unclear what side of the fence it would land on. The setting is a clear departure from Persona’s perpetual attachment to high school, but mechanically, it expands on everything we’ve come to associate with it. Social Links return but without going for a romantic approach and with far more mechanical implementation, while the battles are more streamlined, incorporate real-time elements, and feel better to interact with here than they ever did in Persona 5 or Royal. Many of my friends and fellow critics have talked about how the formula is so much better that going back to older games is going to be hard.
But the intrigue associated with its narrative is so Shin Megami Tensei. Persona titles have settled into a strange cadence of getting to know your high school friends, figuring out how entry to the metaverse is achieved, and gelling with how exactly each entry wants to take on the same formula. Though incredible, they’ve become predictable, while Metaphor: ReFantazio is embracing Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy where players need to familiarise themselves with a new world with new characters and an experience that is entirely fresh. In a gaming world where the familiar and safe are so commonplace, this sort of thing should be welcomed.
For years, it has felt like encouraging Persona fans to give Shin Megami Tensei a chance is a losing battle, or they jump into it with carefree abandon only to fundamentally misunderstand it. It isn’t like Persona, and never will be, but Metaphor: ReFantazio finds itself smack bang in the middle of this comparison and is infinitely stronger for it.
It introduces Persona fans to a setting that isn’t stubbornly attached to attending high school, but a lush fantasy society that isn’t afraid to get weird and challenge our preconceptions. It gets dark, personal, and so political in its messaging that Persona feels worlds away at certain points. That’s Shin Megami Tensei to a degree, but with gameplay systems that are approachable in ways those games mostly aren’t.
Metaphor takes Persona’s foundations and makes a smart decision to implant that immersive experience into a world that could not be further from our own. If this is a gateway into Shin Megami Tensei for casual Persona fans I’ll be thrilled, but even if it’s not, Metaphor: ReFantazio still represents an evolution that Atlus has sorely needed.
5.0/5
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a brand-new fantasy RPG from the director of Persona 5, Katsura Hashino. In it, you must fight for the throne of a kingdom, and save the world in the process.
