Atlus' cult RPG series Persona has evolved over the years from being a cool underground RPG series in Japan to one of the biggest franchises in the modern gaming world. But with Metaphor: ReFantazio, it's clear that the developers behind Persona want to take themselves to new heights. Replacing the modern-day Japanese high school setting with a pure fantasy world filled with long-eared knights and bat-like ninjas, Atlus' Studio Zero has created an incredible and timely story of political strife and demagoguery.
After the death of the King, the United Kingdom of Euchronia, divided by racial prejudice among its citizens, begins the process of making its first popular choice, setting off a grand intercontinental adventure. Anyone familiar with the Persona series will find familiar features in this game. Players spend their time crawling through harsh dungeons filled with terrifying monsters, and spend their free moments building relationships with various party members and country dwellers.
But where the Persona games used these quiet moments to reaffirm the virtues of youthful friendships, Metaphor uses them to tackle more perplexing questions. What defines the duty of a knight, or the responsibilities of those born into wealth? Can one escape the pains of racism and is religious tolerance a foolish endeavor? These are not easy questions to address, but they are clearly asked throughout Metaphor's 70 hours of playtime.
