Even ignoring the story, music, and QoL (which I'm excited for), the combat is just delicious. Squad fights are your typical SMT/P turn based fights, but once you get high enough level, places like the Tradia Desert (where you could see dozens of enemies wandering in groups) will quickly become Dynasty Warrior games. Metaphor feels less like it's "part of" a genre, and more like it's claimed every aspect of the genre for itself.
As a fan of Final Fantasy since 1996, and in love with remake/rebirth and soon to be the third..... yeah, I wholeheartedly agree that this will be the best JRPG in quite some time.
@@carbagehealth FF XII was good... Not THAT good, but good enough to be called a Final Fantasy. Specially the Zodiac Age (I'm just beat again some mounts ago). But yes... FFXVI is not a Final Fantasy... Is not a JRPG... Indeed... Is not even a Role game.
I recommend you check out Falcom and their portfolio, specifically Trails Through Daybreak did some of these quality of life systems, seamless transitions from field to battle, deep system mechanics, quality localization and voice direction in spades. Not certain you'd throw the "redefining jrpgs" title over to Atlus when it feels like Falcom has been going strong with their library for as long as Atlus has and probably even longer. I believe Metaphor will be a great game but not sure I see it as redefining as your title claims
Expedition 33 will actually be genre defining imo but they’re still building on a battle system that was already done in lost odyssey, don’t get me wrong I’m hyped for metaphor but it is a mashup of persona smt dds and other smt titles I do agree that the world building is one of my favorite parts so far though so far
I swear It really seems like it, the Metaphor demo was insanely good and truly genre defining. Eiyuden Chronicles did come close to being peak but the game was obviously rushed due to the creator falling ill and eventually passing away may he rest in peace. And there was also Unicorn Overlord which is also a superb jrpg although more of a real time tactics/tower defense blend. That said I think Metaphor has most JRPGS beat.. I am honestly blown away but the sheer amount of quality, detail and content.
Im happy I ain’t not the only one who recognize Caleb’s voice. Hope he gets to talk more without us needing to pick or alternate the dialogue a bit from the option. I couldn’t stop making jokes of how the two people (like main cast) with American accents get the prejudice. 💀
I like the on field action combat too, though its been done in Trails of Daybreak for a few years too. Metaphor did successfully integrate it into the P5 formula though. Imho a great addition
By the way, I can recommend you trying out Trails through Daybreak, judging from what you enjoyed from this review, you'll have quite a good time with this game
I am so into the story already its crazy lol. I was ready to hate on it tbh because of all the initial reviews but I am totally sold. Will be a day 1 buyer for sure as that’s my birthday 😎 Please Atlus let the rest of this game be just as good as the first demo!!!
I've been into a JRPG binge for the last couple months returning to this genrge I had been far for a few years. After playing Metaphor Re-Fantasio demo I started Final Fantasy XIII bacause it was in my Backlog and If it was as bad as people say, I would at least trash with property. I IMEDIATELY missed this feature from MRF. God this is a Quality of Life feature that HAS to be implemented in the next games of the genre.
Loved the demo. Also, I think all the things you said are stuff I enjoyed A LOT, but I think that the biggest thing about the game is that it evolved the ATLUS formula from a Monster Collector (like Pokemon) to something new, an "archetype" collector, where the new "monsters" aren't collected through battle but instead by cultivating relationships, which is something I've never seen before and I think it is what all their previous titles were hinting at, Metaphor being the TRUE ATLUS EXPERIENCE.
If you like Persona you’ll love it, if you weren’t a fan of persona but liked their world design and concepts then you’ll love it. I personally only played persona 3 reload and wasn’t a huge fan but this demo of Metaphor has me hooked.
It’s possible, but at least with the demo, I don’t consider it a game that defines the genre, although it might define future Atlus games. Falcom, with the Trails saga, has been using this hybrid system for years, and it is much better implemented than in Metaphor. In Trails, there are even bosses that vary between turn-based combat and field combat, but that's not all. This saga is known for its incredible world-building. Every character has a past, family, friends, and goals. The protagonists have personality and development, and each NPC has personality and development, each with their own story that unfolds over time. If Metaphor makes more of an impact, it will be because Atlus is currently more famous than Falcom. I'm not saying that Falcom are the only ones good at these aspects, but I think they have more points in relation to what’s argued in the video. PS: I don't want to sound too negative, I'm hyped for this game, and I'm sure it will be amazing xdd (and sorry for my bad english i'm not good at writing in this language).
Like the others also said, i found is not really a genre defining JRPG. Saying that i the title is a bit forceful >D The key features is that the game offers a more in-depth customization, like allowing party to swap Archetypes and probably respec in the full game. Which doesn't have in P5 Vanilla, for example
I’m on my second play through of the demo, loving this game so far. Great characters, great voice acting, and the combat is fun. I just hope it sells well giving it’s 2024 and all.
Hey, the first MODERN game to have this combat is actually Trails Trough Daybreak, from the trails series (the BEST JRPG series out there) So yeah, not genre defining
It's unfortunate that I've heard daybreak 2 suffers from "middle book syndrome" where its a lot of character work and world building but not many huge story beats. I think obviously that will pay off once the third daybreak comes out for sure... and it's got a really strong start as the first one is a breath of fresh air with von as a MC. I really hope it doesn't end up getting overly bloated like cold steel 4. Cold steel 3 was incredible.
Well I have to admit, Metaphor Refantazio is unintentionally or intentionally the first true AAAA game in existence. His is one of the greatest examples of a AAAA game and a template of what a AAAA game should be like in terms of impact.
@@rexthewolf3149 like the ambition with this game is so much that calling it a AAA would be a understatement,. The demo has 4 hours (A DEMO) Which is comparable so legitimate games.
@@ShadowKing59-q1v Even on a technical level the this game has less going on that even gta5 and I don’t even like 5 that much. AAAA is a marketing term.
I don't know if I would say Metaphor is redefining JRPGs as a whole, but it is redefining the JRPGs produced by Atlus as a whole, and I do think it will set a new benchmark that surpasses Persona 5.
As a whole, Metaphor has the potential to be best JRPG of all time and potential candidate for GOTY. It's THAT good. This is the peak of JRPGs Atlus has made, and Atlus was already near the top of JRPGs if not on it. Digital Devil Saga + Persona + SMT all combined to perfection, they somehow mixed alcohol, oil and water and made panacea
I'm gonna be honest. I like the game but this game visually is a mess. Graphics being low quality is one thing but the framedrop and no aliasing hurt.Sometimes it hurts my eyes looking at it. I wasn't feeling the story until the funeral. Which was really cool btw. Hopefully it continues to get better. The real time combat seems rather shallow and not really a selling point. The music is great tho. I think the game will be solid but I don't see a genre defining title here.
Seems like a pc problem. On ps5 the game is flawless but the game is not genre defining cus it might become the best jrpg ever but it does not do anything new just refining the Atlus style and mechanics. I would say the demo made this my favourite jrpg alone cus if it keeps this up it can beat persona 5 royal which is insane to think about.
Well I hope they fix up the pc port then. I'm sure overtime the game will get better. Right now after finishing the demo it just like a notch or two lower P5R or SMTVV
@@sals6 Honestly it feels like a preference thing- those who dont like persona that much are liking this game and those who are super into the highschool theme with romance etc are probably starving for p6 instead of this. For me Metaphore is top tier - i played twice the demo and the second run was 13 hour long so October 11 i am READY
Same for me. I love the fantasy setting and the romance options and school setting in persona never appealed to me. The demo of metaphor was excellent.
@@fseiba6718Flawless? That's odd. The framerate is all over the place during exploration, both in towns and dungeons. It goes in and out of VRR range way too often. My monitor can show me the framerate in real time, so it's just not anecdotal. PS5 1440p, VRR-enabled. Do you perhaps have different settings on your PS5? Or, have you skipped the last 3 updates? Maybe one of those is the reason.
The game is good so far. I wouldn’t say genre defining. I doubt I’ll like the characters anywhere close to the ff7 characters. For me personally, Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa and Vincent are hard to beat.
That battle system does nothing new to the genre. Falcom's Kuro no Kiseki (Trails Through Daybreak) did exactly that hybrid battle system approach in 2021. Refantazio basically copies it.
Look deeper and past the “omg medieval persona.” You will find there’s a lot of QOL features we haven’t seen yet and a lot of Old Atlus JRPG features that have never been seen in a main stream game like this.
@@SirKnov-ph4yj no. I like action rpgs. Not standing around cycling through menues. Turn based is for people who have terrible reflexes and can’t think fast or on the fly.
Let's be serious here i loved the demo but "genre defining"?? It's literally medevil persona even has the day system. It will be wonderful but they could have labeled this persona 6 and it would have worked.
Let’s be honest. If they labeled it persona 6 lots of fans would have been disappointed they ditched the school setting, invented new lore, a fantasy world, changed the persona system, took away the romance options, lack of dream palaces etc. It would not have worked.
@ForTheViolence can you guys stop trying to act like this game doesn't borrow heavily from the Persona and SMT series? Sure it has some of it's own original ideas, but it's easy to see why people would call this "medieval Persona"
@@wood1066 We aren’t acting like that. You can borrow elements from games and still stand on your own as a unique product. Your constant need to compare every single JRPG to persona is not productive. You have also only seen a small blip of available archetypes. There’s elements here from more JRPGs than just persona. This game does ALOT of different things from persona.
It did absolutely nothing for me, the main character especially turned me off, just not sure I want to put up with another dude main character from this creator even if he isn't as much of a blank self insert as others in the persona games.
The game is fine but the performance is s***. Why this game that looks like persona 5 but runs worse than persona 5? I want to play this on my steam deck as I find this kind of games are best played on a handheld. But good Lord it runs like an ass. I don't want to play it on my main gaming rig which has a 7900 XTX and a 34 inch qd oled monitor, because this game doesn't even support ultrawide.
Releasing a 6 hour demo screams confidence. And it's not unfounded! I haven't been this excited about a game since Metroid dread
Even ignoring the story, music, and QoL (which I'm excited for), the combat is just delicious.
Squad fights are your typical SMT/P turn based fights, but once you get high enough level, places like the Tradia Desert (where you could see dozens of enemies wandering in groups) will quickly become Dynasty Warrior games.
Metaphor feels less like it's "part of" a genre, and more like it's claimed every aspect of the genre for itself.
"Claimed every aspect od the genre for itself" -- couldnt've said it better! The game seems a glorious cocktail of experiences for sure.
If you are a Final Fantasy fan... This is the best JRPG of the las 20 Years...
I'm not joking...
As a fan of Final Fantasy since 1996, and in love with remake/rebirth and soon to be the third..... yeah, I wholeheartedly agree that this will be the best JRPG in quite some time.
@@carbagehealth come on. FF12 is great as well. Great story and gameplay customization. ff13 is when it starts going down.
The archetype/job system really reminds me of ff5
@@carbagehealth
FF XII was good... Not THAT good, but good enough to be called a Final Fantasy.
Specially the Zodiac Age (I'm just beat again some mounts ago).
But yes... FFXVI is not a Final Fantasy... Is not a JRPG... Indeed... Is not even a Role game.
I recommend you check out Falcom and their portfolio, specifically Trails Through Daybreak did some of these quality of life systems, seamless transitions from field to battle, deep system mechanics, quality localization and voice direction in spades.
Not certain you'd throw the "redefining jrpgs" title over to Atlus when it feels like Falcom has been going strong with their library for as long as Atlus has and probably even longer. I believe Metaphor will be a great game but not sure I see it as redefining as your title claims
Expedition 33 will actually be genre defining imo but they’re still building on a battle system that was already done in lost odyssey, don’t get me wrong I’m hyped for metaphor but it is a mashup of persona smt dds and other smt titles I do agree that the world building is one of my favorite parts so far though so far
I swear It really seems like it, the Metaphor demo was insanely good and truly genre defining. Eiyuden Chronicles did come close to being peak but the game was obviously rushed due to the creator falling ill and eventually passing away may he rest in peace. And there was also Unicorn Overlord which is also a superb jrpg although more of a real time tactics/tower defense blend. That said I think Metaphor has most JRPGS beat.. I am honestly blown away but the sheer amount of quality, detail and content.
Im happy I ain’t not the only one who recognize Caleb’s voice. Hope he gets to talk more without us needing to pick or alternate the dialogue a bit from the option.
I couldn’t stop making jokes of how the two people (like main cast) with American accents get the prejudice. 💀
Strol's voice sounds similar to protags voice when he says "awaken!' Do u think
I like the on field action combat too, though its been done in Trails of Daybreak for a few years too. Metaphor did successfully integrate it into the P5 formula though. Imho a great addition
By the way, I can recommend you trying out Trails through Daybreak, judging from what you enjoyed from this review, you'll have quite a good time with this game
I am so into the story already its crazy lol. I was ready to hate on it tbh because of all the initial reviews but I am totally sold. Will be a day 1 buyer for sure as that’s my birthday 😎 Please Atlus let the rest of this game be just as good as the first demo!!!
I've been into a JRPG binge for the last couple months returning to this genrge I had been far for a few years. After playing Metaphor Re-Fantasio demo I started Final Fantasy XIII bacause it was in my Backlog and If it was as bad as people say, I would at least trash with property. I IMEDIATELY missed this feature from MRF. God this is a Quality of Life feature that HAS to be implemented in the next games of the genre.
Loved the demo. Also, I think all the things you said are stuff I enjoyed A LOT, but I think that the biggest thing about the game is that it evolved the ATLUS formula from a Monster Collector (like Pokemon) to something new, an "archetype" collector, where the new "monsters" aren't collected through battle but instead by cultivating relationships, which is something I've never seen before and I think it is what all their previous titles were hinting at, Metaphor being the TRUE ATLUS EXPERIENCE.
4 years into this console gen we finally got a true next gen rpg
That also comes to past-gen, so not so much a truły next-gen game ;)
I like the art style but this has nothing close to next generation graphics
but its also on PS4 lol
i think exhibition 33 won't be on ps4 from looking at the graphcis
@@DoctorCarth my comment was about the systems scale and ambition of the game, not the graphics which is what most people mean by next gen
If you like Persona you’ll love it, if you weren’t a fan of persona but liked their world design and concepts then you’ll love it. I personally only played persona 3 reload and wasn’t a huge fan but this demo of Metaphor has me hooked.
It’s possible, but at least with the demo, I don’t consider it a game that defines the genre, although it might define future Atlus games.
Falcom, with the Trails saga, has been using this hybrid system for years, and it is much better implemented than in Metaphor. In Trails, there are even bosses that vary between turn-based combat and field combat, but that's not all. This saga is known for its incredible world-building. Every character has a past, family, friends, and goals. The protagonists have personality and development, and each NPC has personality and development, each with their own story that unfolds over time.
If Metaphor makes more of an impact, it will be because Atlus is currently more famous than Falcom. I'm not saying that Falcom are the only ones good at these aspects, but I think they have more points in relation to what’s argued in the video.
PS: I don't want to sound too negative, I'm hyped for this game, and I'm sure it will be amazing xdd (and sorry for my bad english i'm not good at writing in this language).
Like the others also said, i found is not really a genre defining JRPG. Saying that i the title is a bit forceful >D
The key features is that the game offers a more in-depth customization, like allowing party to swap Archetypes and probably respec in the full game. Which doesn't have in P5 Vanilla, for example
That specific transition animation @3:30 I’ve seen only in trailers, does it change in every battle?
3:06 You know, if you're not "sprinting" when you hit a "green" enemy, you can still engage it the regular way.
I’m hearing that the game is taking a more serious approach than previous games in the genre.
I’m on my second play through of the demo, loving this game so far. Great characters, great voice acting, and the combat is fun. I just hope it sells well giving it’s 2024 and all.
Trails through daybreak did this combat system frist! How is this the first
I was going to say the same thing. It's a great system, but Trails did it first
Hey, the first MODERN game to have this combat is actually Trails Trough Daybreak, from the trails series (the BEST JRPG series out there)
So yeah, not genre defining
I literally just posted something like this! I know how are they saying its the first
Daybreak’s my first Kiseki game and after 70 hours so far, it’s a new favourite. I NEEDED it on release after checking out that demo
Persona clears
It's unfortunate that I've heard daybreak 2 suffers from "middle book syndrome" where its a lot of character work and world building but not many huge story beats. I think obviously that will pay off once the third daybreak comes out for sure... and it's got a really strong start as the first one is a breath of fresh air with von as a MC. I really hope it doesn't end up getting overly bloated like cold steel 4. Cold steel 3 was incredible.
Gallica is the best, she is an instant classic character.
9:26 People have modded the demo !
Persona 4 golden also has an insta kill function…
it's a good game, but genre defining is a big stretch.
Well I have to admit, Metaphor Refantazio is unintentionally or intentionally the first true AAAA game in existence. His is one of the greatest examples of a AAAA game and a template of what a AAAA game should be like in terms of impact.
It doesnt have any impact as of right now
WTF does that even mean.
@@rexthewolf3149 like the ambition with this game is so much that calling it a AAA would be a understatement,. The demo has 4 hours (A DEMO) Which is comparable so legitimate games.
@@ShadowKing59-q1v Atlus putting out long demos is not a new thing, the 3ds etria odyssey games had lengthy demos.
@@ShadowKing59-q1v Even on a technical level the this game has less going on that even gta5 and I don’t even like 5 that much. AAAA is a marketing term.
I don't know if I would say Metaphor is redefining JRPGs as a whole, but it is redefining the JRPGs produced by Atlus as a whole, and I do think it will set a new benchmark that surpasses Persona 5.
As a whole, Metaphor has the potential to be best JRPG of all time and potential candidate for GOTY.
It's THAT good.
This is the peak of JRPGs Atlus has made, and Atlus was already near the top of JRPGs if not on it.
Digital Devil Saga + Persona + SMT all combined to perfection, they somehow mixed alcohol, oil and water and made panacea
@user-zl1vf4me1p I'm excited for the game too.. but definitely won't be the greatest jrpg of all time lol
@@broken07x why definetly not? It's better than FF7 and all of atlus' previous games at least, if we are not rating based on nostalgia.
The animations are so distracting and gave me a headache ui looks pretty tho
It's identical to persona. So if you like that you like this. I don't like it lol
I'm gonna be honest. I like the game but this game visually is a mess. Graphics being low quality is one thing but the framedrop and no aliasing hurt.Sometimes it hurts my eyes looking at it. I wasn't feeling the story until the funeral. Which was really cool btw. Hopefully it continues to get better. The real time combat seems rather shallow and not really a selling point. The music is great tho. I think the game will be solid but I don't see a genre defining title here.
Seems like a pc problem.
On ps5 the game is flawless but the game is not genre defining cus it might become the best jrpg ever but it does not do anything new just refining the Atlus style and mechanics.
I would say the demo made this my favourite jrpg alone cus if it keeps this up it can beat persona 5 royal which is insane to think about.
Well I hope they fix up the pc port then. I'm sure overtime the game will get better. Right now after finishing the demo it just like a notch or two lower P5R or SMTVV
@@sals6 Honestly it feels like a preference thing- those who dont like persona that much are liking this game and those who are super into the highschool theme with romance etc are probably starving for p6 instead of this.
For me Metaphore is top tier - i played twice the demo and the second run was 13 hour long so October 11 i am READY
Same for me. I love the fantasy setting and the romance options and school setting in persona never appealed to me. The demo of metaphor was excellent.
@@fseiba6718Flawless? That's odd. The framerate is all over the place during exploration, both in towns and dungeons. It goes in and out of VRR range way too often. My monitor can show me the framerate in real time, so it's just not anecdotal.
PS5 1440p, VRR-enabled. Do you perhaps have different settings on your PS5? Or, have you skipped the last 3 updates? Maybe one of those is the reason.
The game is good so far. I wouldn’t say genre defining. I doubt I’ll like the characters anywhere close to the ff7 characters. For me personally, Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa and Vincent are hard to beat.
That battle system does nothing new to the genre. Falcom's Kuro no Kiseki (Trails Through Daybreak) did exactly that hybrid battle system approach in 2021. Refantazio basically copies it.
i don't think its genre defining bro
Look deeper and past the “omg medieval persona.” You will find there’s a lot of QOL features we haven’t seen yet and a lot of Old Atlus JRPG features that have never been seen in a main stream game like this.
@@ForTheViolence i mean sure but what metaphor does have has already been done in other rpgs
@@mwapemusonda205Such as?
Standard clickbait title not a serious statement
It has a lot of new features and ideas going on. I could definitely see Persona and SMT and other JRPG’s taking a lot from this game going forward.
As soon as I heard “TURN BASED” I checked out. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Might I recommend Hello Kitty Island Adventure? I think it will be much more to your liking.
@@SirKnov-ph4yj no. I like action rpgs. Not standing around cycling through menues. Turn based is for people who have terrible reflexes and can’t think fast or on the fly.
Good game but redefining rpgs? Naaaa.
Let's be serious here i loved the demo but "genre defining"?? It's literally medevil persona even has the day system. It will be wonderful but they could have labeled this persona 6 and it would have worked.
Let’s be honest. If they labeled it persona 6 lots of fans would have been disappointed they ditched the school setting, invented new lore, a fantasy world, changed the persona system, took away the romance options, lack of dream palaces etc. It would not have worked.
Here we go with the “medevil persona” comments. Another IGN SMTV reviewer in the flesh.
@ForTheViolence can you guys stop trying to act like this game doesn't borrow heavily from the Persona and SMT series? Sure it has some of it's own original ideas, but it's easy to see why people would call this "medieval Persona"
@@ForTheViolenceAre they wrong though. From what I’ve seen it looks like SMT with a twist. And that’s perfectly fine.
@@wood1066 We aren’t acting like that. You can borrow elements from games and still stand on your own as a unique product. Your constant need to compare every single JRPG to persona is not productive. You have also only seen a small blip of available archetypes. There’s elements here from more JRPGs than just persona. This game does ALOT of different things from persona.
It did absolutely nothing for me, the main character especially turned me off, just not sure I want to put up with another dude main character from this creator even if he isn't as much of a blank self insert as others in the persona games.
Lol literally copies paste from older games, but the game is good
The game is fine but the performance is s***. Why this game that looks like persona 5 but runs worse than persona 5? I want to play this on my steam deck as I find this kind of games are best played on a handheld. But good Lord it runs like an ass.
I don't want to play it on my main gaming rig which has a 7900 XTX and a 34 inch qd oled monitor, because this game doesn't even support ultrawide.
Before I pre ordered it I looked on reddit and most people said it runs best on ps5. I have a 4070 super and even with my rig it runs better on my ps5