Over the years, from the land of the Rising Sun, countless JRPG titles have reached us, the so-called “Japanese-style role-playing games”: unlike distinctly Western ones, both in character design and settings, these titles are easily recognizable for their much more extended gameplay, ever-present and highly layered dialogue, as well as epic storylines in which saving the world is only the beginning.
Quando Mister Ashino Katsura gave life to the Persona saga, which has now reached a dazzling fifth chapter for next-generation consoles, a new standard was set that Metaphor ReFantazio, coming out on October 11, 2024also for PlayStation and Xbox, will ride with the ardor and fighting spirit comparable to a Link astride his steed in search of Zelda. Only, instead of the princess of Hyrule, the new announced masterpiece from Atlus seeks, with not even all that veiled ambition, to reach excellence.
Persona featured an ensemble story in which typical turn-based RPG sections alternated with dungeon-like labyrinths full of treasures and enemies that, as the game progressed, became increasingly challenging, and others in which the city and the school were explored in a sort of free roaming mode, where talking with friends and classmates and going to the arcade or to the local venues of the reference city even made it possible to unlock new side quests, useful as well as rewarding.
Con Metaphor
ReFantazio, the Atlus team, which has already entertained us with Catherine and
the Etrian saga (a must for every dungeon crawler fan,
trust me!), Ashino and his team want to raise the bar and the premises
seem to prove them right. First of all, the story so far: the plot details
tell of a kingdom, Euchronia, thrown into turmoil the moment the king
is mysteriously killed: making things worse is also a sort of
curse cast on the prince, and it is clear that the situation could not be
more desperate.
The only possible response to this crisis seems to be
to take part in some kind of tournament for the throne, and this is where
the protagonist and his companion Gallica come into play, a fairy whose features
could be called delightful only as an understatement.
The programmers talk about hours and hours of gameplay, so many that, according to rumors, this title is one of the longest-lasting of all time. The presence of countless dungeons in the main story rivals the multitude of battle arenas scattered everywhere when we deviate from the main path to venture into the jungle of side quests designed for our entertainment. With graphics that wink at the classic cel-shading style in a modern version. The light and shadow effects are magnificent, and the fantasy setting in the background unfolds into a whole series of ideas that hybridize the fantastic and the technological, putting on display a creation with a thousand faces.
Tutto
splendidamente interesting, in short.
Va da sé che the intentions of the
developers aim high, but above all far: the vision that permeates
Metaphor is that of a title that makes the most of lessons learned in the past and
launches itself toward the future of role-playing games, setting a new benchmark.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
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