When it comes to ATLUS I truly do consider them to the pinnacle of modern day JRPGs, and I play quite a bit of them to make such a claim! Modern Day RPGs all throw truly commendable acts of creative fruitfulness to make their genre feel original whilst familiar, sometimes coming up with truly original spins on the basics, othertimes depending a bit too heavily on gimmick systems that don't quite achieve everything the developers want it to do for a full video game length's worth- which is why I don't begrudge it when a studio like ATLUS finds a niche and kind of just develops that, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel over and over. On it's surface ATLUS just presents the 'weakness hunt' gameplay loop, but it takes just a little bit of familiarity with really any one of their games to know that system is really just the basis for a largely foundational RPG slice they've explored exhaustively.
Though I consider them always improving, in terms of the core of the game and how ATLUS handles their RPG elements I really did think they were close to hitting something of a wall- what for the past twenty odd years of doing this. Persona 5 pretty much rewrote the trajectory of the company and how they worked- honing in on presentation and style- cranking up playability and accessibility. Persona 3 Reload really hammered down on that sensation of 'we've hit our peak', what with a lot of design concepts borrowed from 5 in UX speed and personability- as well as gameplay variety like Theurgies and Shift attacks that were introduced new into the remake. Which is probably why 'gameplay' was the last place I expected to be surprised by when it came to Metaphor ReFanazio.
What blows me away with Metaphor is all the number of what that the team essentially took what wasn't objectively broken and works on it anyway because the team simply can. Because that team feels some insatiable urge to challenge their own boundaries whether they feel their backs rubbing up against the wall or not- (Can you imagine Ubisoft ever feeling something like that? Passion for their craft? Neither can I.) The Persona formula wasn't broken, activities in the daytime and hunting in the nightime- the classic superhero dichotomy- and I very much expect that to return for Persona 6 and I would be happy to engage with it again when it does- but despite being very drawn from the same mould as Persona, with some Shin Megami Tensei mixed into the pot for good measure, ReFantazio takes the formula further.
Now we have a narrative based around forward momentum, where the team is on a world wide adventure and visiting new lands- activities are visited between day long trips spanning them out to feel like treks- the environments change, the routine feels dynamic. Of course, this is natural evolution upon the Roadtrip concept for Persona 5 that was originally scrapped, which would have seen returning locations across the franchise as well as at least one old character reintroduced as a potential companion. Metaphor takes that idea to a new world and fresh genre spin, proving their ideas relied on solid bones and not nostalgic gimmicks like some assumed.
One thing I love about Fantazio is the renewed take on making challenging and unique boss encounters, specifically for side content. Odd wisdom led to trial and error gameplay where typically you'd be thrown into a battle, figure it's peculiarities through trial and error and then reload a save before the fight and prepare- or just grind through the mechanics. Fantazio totally leap frogs this antiquated system with a new swathe of creatively designed boss mechanics and an intractability with the world. Now you can visit an informant before you ever even leave for the hunt, who teach you about vulnerabilities and potential 'no no's. (Such as equipping a certain class that automatically rages the enemy.) Then you have NPCs throughout the dungeon, some for flavour and some for a last few special clues- such as not picking off all the adds least it makes the chief unkillable. Prep time actually feels purposeful and directed, and mechanics are fun to learn and engage with- rather than the reward to figure out after knocking up against a brick wall.
Of course little can ever be said of an ATLUS game without bringing up the Music at this point- and I'll agree that this was the toughest sell going in. Previously ATLUS have been so good at mixing contemporary music into their world with stupidly talented artists perfectly conjuring unforgettable soundscapes that marry beautifully with the themes and mood of the game. Bringing us into the Fantasy realm would rob them of the ability to use the contemporary believably, just ask Final Fantasy's bizarre Linkin Park song in 'Stranger to Paradise'- weird. But when it came to being more traditionally orchestral and bombastic ATLUS never loses their unique edge which marks them so very different to their contemporaries in a field you'd expect to me mined dry.
Everyone is going on about the obvious thus far, the throat singing mumble rapper who accompanies the advantage and regular fighting themes- and that is because he is great. Outside of the context it might be hard to figure out why he works so very well but when you're in that moment, facing down the twisted monstrous 'humans' of this world, listening to the deep throaty drone racing alongside your heart- it's impossible not to feel the moment! But even beyond that I want to spread my praise. The background tracks for many of the dungeons you visit on your journey are unique and gorgeous to listen to. Whether it's the haunted broken arias of the Sandworm cave or the ringing cries of the castle dungeon track- the music is absolutely unforgettable once again- I can scarcely believe they pulled it off!
ReFantazio had such an act to follow considering the franchise it spawned from and I think we've all seen similar titles of it's type struggle and fail to capture the magic of their parent franchises. Bethesda's Starfield is a good game, but nothing in the face of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls- but I suppose that was never going to be the case with ATLUS, was it? They managed to effectively spin off SMT into a more successful franchise- and now they're spinning off Persona and SMT into something possibly greater than that. (I'll see how the story builds and improves before labelling any victories or successors just yet.) And I am so happy to see the unreachable ceiling that ATLUS shoots for. Good god, I need to play more right now!
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