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[Little Mac]

Just completed the demo. Shouldn’t have gone into the room. Thought I could just load my save and continue playing but no. Regardless, It was my first experience with a modern Atlus rpg and I really enjoyed it.

I’m curious how it compares to P3 Reload and P5 Royal, both of which I never played before. For the people who know, should I just buy P3 Reload (40% off currently on PSN) or P5 Royal now or wait 2 weeks and pick up Metaphor?

 

[SF Kosmo]

That mostly represents “our world” more than being part of Persona world.

It's a little weird how they keep talking about it as a world without discrimination though.

 

[Danjin44]

It's a little weird how they keep talking about it as a world without discrimination though.

Well thats the thing they dont know, our world is their fantasy.

They think if all people look the same without horns, animal and elf ears, there wouldn't be any discrimination.

 

[Yoshichan]

Been playing this every night and grinding big time, Hard and on PC.
Very good experience with it. I’ve been going through it at a snails pace. A section a night I guess?
17 hours in.

those are the numbers i enjoy seeing!

 

[Dirk Benedict]

those are the numbers i enjoy seeing!

Yeah. The ui is extremely slick. Still, this feels like alternate dimension Persona, but it still stands out on its own. Need to play through the entire game.

 

[struggler_guts]

Playing the demo I completely understand why they didn’t include romance, the tone just doesn’t fit for it.

Yeah, aint nobody got time for that!

At 7 hours and about to enter the boss room! Also made a save file at the start of the 3 days so I can go back and see what else the town has to offer!

 

[mkacc]

Game is fun, and the demo left me wanting for more.
Having said that... the game feels really dated. Dungeons should not be filled with loading screens every 100 steps, character design is top notch but I hate how everything looks, not sure if its the really blurry low res textures or the the constant shit floating in front of the camera as someone said it. There's too much on the screen at any given time whenever you are running through the city.
Definitely doesn't feel like "next gen"...
I will wait for a sale

 

[KXVXII9X]

I like what I’ve played so far…. But fuck this game looks dated.

Running through castles or hallways that are bigger than life itself looks odd in this day and age. Feels like it it started on switch.

I had a similar impression. Unfortunate, since I was looking forward to this title. I will probably buy on sale down the line.

 

[SF Kosmo]

I like what I’ve played so far…. But fuck this game looks dated.

Running through castles or hallways that are bigger than life itself looks odd in this day and age. Feels like it it started on switch.

Oh I guess some of you are new to Atlus.

Atlus always develops for the low end and ports up , and tend to be super late adopters to new generations. Persona 4 came out on PS2 years after PS3 was already out. They actually didn't develop an RPG for the PS3/360 Gen until 11 years after the PS3 came out(!).

So yeah, does it look like a hi-res PS4 game? Yeah, that's because it is.

 

[Raven117]

Where should we be putting level up points?

It’s starting to click a bit more with me, but its first impression isn’t as strong as P5 to me.

P5 just oozed coolness. This doesn’t.

 

[Danjin44]

Where should we be putting level up points?

Depends on what class you want give to MC, mage or physical attacker.

It’s starting to click a bit more with me, but its first impression isn’t as strong as P5 to me.

P5 just oozed coolness. This doesn’t.

I like P5 but I would say my biggest issue with that game is way too easy even hardest difficulty and not only Royal didn't fix that but made even more easier.

Metaphor in other hand has more bite thanks to to its press turn and job system and enemies hit pretty hard in harder difficulty.

I would even say the tone of Metaphor feel much more mature and darker than P5 despite having T rating and character act rationally more than P5 casts do.

 

[Raven117]

Depends on what class you want give to MC, mage or physical attacker.

I like P5 but I would say my biggest issue with that game is way too easy even hardest difficulty and not only Royal didn't fix that but made even more easier.

Metaphor in other hand has more bite thanks to to its press turn and job system and enemies hit pretty hard in harder difficulty.

I would even say the tone of Metaphor feel much more mature and darker than P5 despite having T rating and character act rationally more than P5 casts do.

Haven’t gotten to the darker part yet it seems.

I do like the battle system.

I just miss that jazz soundtrack. Gawd that was just s-tier. All the pacing issues with p5 aside. I could just chill with that music while the text rolled by. This, while good… isn’t there yet for me.

I guess since I saw that trailer so many years ago now… I just wish this was closer to that in vibe.

 

[near]

Downloaded the demo on PS4 yesterday and played it for a bit. Load times felt like I was playing on PS2, so frequent and long. Voice acting is really good, writing felt good, and everything else Atlus is known for is top notch like the music and art direction. It won't be a day one for me only because I'm going to wait for the PS5 Pro to arrive in November and play it on that. I'm still very much excited to play this.

 

[Synless]

Oh I guess some of you are new to Atlus.

Atlus always develops for the low end and ports up , and tend to be super late adopters to new generations. Persona 4 came out on PS2 years after PS3 was already out. They actually didn't develop an RPG for the PS3/360 Gen until 11 years after the PS3 came out(!).

So yeah, does it look like a hi-res PS4 game? Yeah, that's because it is.

New? I’ve been playing their games since PS1.

No, what I expected was a current gen game with all the money they have made to at least look somewhat modern.

 

[Bojji]

They are really pushing that VRR window in this game

I don't think it uses LFC despite 120Hz refresh rate. Tried it with VRR turned off and it's TRAGIC, it's another type of Elden Ring situation where PS4 version on PS5 will be smoother than native one.

From technical perspective it's garbage, PC version is CPU limited as fuck so not that much better.

I wouldn't recommend PS5 version for people with 60Hz displays without VRR, it's stuttering all the time.

 

[adamsapple]

They are really pushing that VRR window in this game

I don't think it uses LFC despite 120Hz refresh rate. Tried it with VRR turned off and it's TRAGIC, it's another type of Elden Ring situation where PS4 version on PS5 will be smoother than native one.

From technical perspective it's garbage, PC version is CPU limited as fuck so not that much better.

I wouldn't recommend PS5 version for people with 60Hz displays without VRR, it's stuttering all the time.

Playing both the demos back to back on the same monitor, the version feels even more stuttery than the PS5 one.

Which is unusual in most cases as LFC usually covers that stutter, so I'm kinda inclined to agree with you that something in the makeup is broken and it feels like the LFC might not actually be working here.

Either way, it's bizarre the performance level for a cross-gen game that looks like a PS4 game from 2015/6.

Still a day 1, of course, but something that's worth pointing out.

 

[Shifty1897]

After playing P3 Reload last night, I was reminded of how everything in Metaphor just feels like a half step backward. Graphics, music, UI design, all good but not Persona level. P3 Reload has such a clean image quality and visual cohesiveness.

 

[Shifty1897]

Just completed the demo. Shouldn’t have gone into the room. Thought I could just load my save and continue playing but no. Regardless, It was my first experience with a modern Atlus rpg and I really enjoyed it.

I’m curious how it compares to P3 Reload and P5 Royal, both of which I never played before. For the people who know, should I just buy P3 Reload (40% off currently on PSN) or P5 Royal now or wait 2 weeks and pick up Metaphor?

Based off the demo, hold off on Metaphor and pick up P3 Reload or P5 Royal. P3R has more hip hop music, a darker tone, and the party is more formed through happenstance than through actual friendship. P5R is more jazz music, a little more lighthearted than P3R, and you'll feel the game's bigger budget, all the characters feel a little bit more like a friend group than a class assigned group project. All the Persona games have slower starts, it will be an hour or two before you see the first "real" dungeon in the games.

 

[SF Kosmo]

No, what I expected was a current gen game with all the money they have made to at least look somewhat modern.

Never. That's not what they do.

This game does have some impressive production values in terms of the anime cutscenes and the sheer scope of it, but Atlus is never going to push cutting edge technology.

It was nice to see them experimenting with Unreal Engine with SMT5 but even then they targeted Switch as the base platform and kind of lazily scaled up from there.

 

[Nankatsu]

Finished the demo.

World setting and some of the presentation are top notch here. Story seems interesting too, feels to me like an Attack on Titan meets Game of Thrones.

But I gotta say I was expecting a bigger leap from the Persona franchise, specially in terms of gameplay.

Unless things are really thigh and closed in this demo, game seems a bit more challenging and thats it. They switched the Personas for Archetypes, which are classes basically, and by doing that the game seems more shallow?

Still, my pre-order is done but I do hope the gameplay goes more crazy than this.

 

[Thief1987]

So yeah, does it look like a hi-res PS4 game? Yeah, that's because it is.

It's a hi-res PS3 game though. It's the same P5 engine with barely any improvements to it.

 

[amigastar]

I like the graphics, to me they look good enough.

 

[near]

It's a hi-res PS3 game though. It's the same P5 engine with barely any improvements to it.

This is simply not true. Try the demo on PS4. Then compare with PS5 and PC.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I like the graphics, to me they look good enough.

Yeah the game looks good to me. Tech wise its kinda crap but I think it's compensated with the art direction.

 

[Exentryk]

Played this for a few hours and the demo just keeps going, so stopped after the King's funeral scenes.

Pros:

• Character graphics
• UI
• Story and Cutscenes
• Voice Acting

Cons:

• Pacing
• Too restrictive (barely any exploration, just towns, dungeons, cutscenes)
• Background graphics are last last gen
• Simplistic Combat (like only having 3-4 moves each character is so boring). Even after you unlock all spells, it's very basic moves anyway like elemental magic, physical damage, buff, etc. No interesting moves.
• Unable to change Mechs during dungeons. Have to go to Akedemia every time.
• Unnecessary action-hits to start combat - Just make an Action RPG?
• Music (it's so weird and really annoying)
• High focus on dungeon crawling (no mp recovery or hp recovery even when resting in those rest rooms, etc)
• Style over function in UI (why not show buffs/debuffs next to HP/MP? Why have the need to go click the status button for that? You could still have both. UI also can be little too busy and makes things harder to parse.)

I didn't like Persona 5 from a little I tried it, and I knew from seeing the initial trailers of this that I wouldn't like this either. Good to have the demo for confirmation. Just not my cup of tea, but I can see the game has some quality. So hope you all enjoy.

P.S: Look at these background graphics from PS2 era:

 

[KXVXII9X]

Oh I guess some of you are new to Atlus.

Atlus always develops for the low end and ports up , and tend to be super late adopters to new generations. Persona 4 came out on PS2 years after PS3 was already out. They actually didn't develop an RPG for the PS3/360 Gen until 11 years after the PS3 came out(!).

So yeah, does it look like a hi-res PS4 game? Yeah, that's because it is.

I mean... It barely looks better than Ni No Kuni and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 which are PS3 level graphics. It doesn't look much better than Persona 5, which is also a PS3 game. It looks more like a High Res PS3 game. It isn't the end of the world. It reminds me of Fire Emblem Three Houses with a somewhat inconsistent and messy presentation but great game otherwise. I'm very familiar with Atlus's choice not to develop high end graphics. I think Vanillaware's Unicorn Overlord executed the economical approach much better. It is highly polished with a timeless style. Metaphor has great art, but it is held back tech and animation wise.

 

[Little Mac]

Based off the demo, hold off on Metaphor and pick up P3 Reload or P5 Royal. P3R has more hip hop music, a darker tone, and the party is more formed through happenstance than through actual friendship. P5R is more jazz music, a little more lighthearted than P3R, and you'll feel the game's bigger budget, all the characters feel a little bit more like a friend group than a class assigned group project. All the Persona games have slower starts, it will be an hour or two before you see the first "real" dungeon in the games.

Of the two which one would you pick? P3R looks cleaner in the graphic department and it’s currently 40% off. P5R has the higher reviews and seems to be regarded as the best. Metaphor’s combat and archetype progress and build options hooked me. I’m looking for more of that.

 

[Arsic]

Is there a way at the end of the demo to get monsters to respawn so you can grind?

I wanted to max out all my archetypes but when I reloaded the dungeon at the end the only thing there was just the dogs you can one shot.

 

[Little Mac]

Is there a way at the end of the demo to get monsters to respawn so you can grind?

I wanted to max out all my archetypes but when I reloaded the dungeon at the end the only thing there was just the dogs you can one shot.

I’m in the same boat I think. Thought I could reload my last save just before the white clad fight, leave the dungeon and explore more of the city to do side stuff and grind, but I’m trapped in the dungeon it seems. Demo ends after the fight and if you warp to the entrance to leave the dungeon the demo ends too.

 

[Shifty1897]

Of the two which one would you pick? P3R looks cleaner in the graphic department and it’s currently 40% off. P5R has the higher reviews and seems to be regarded as the best. Metaphor’s combat and archetype progress and build options hooked me. I’m looking for more of that.

IMO P5R is the better game, but that's comparing a 9.5/10 to a 10/10.

 

[acidagfc]

Of the two which one would you pick? P3R looks cleaner in the graphic department and it’s currently 40% off. P5R has the higher reviews and seems to be regarded as the best. Metaphor’s combat and archetype progress and build options hooked me. I’m looking for more of that.

P5R is a better overall package. The story is great, the characters are much better fleshed out, dungeons are MUCH more varied. It has a slower start though, but IMO it also lleads to a better story payoff.

P4G is also great, although will feel dated compared to P5R/P3R.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I'm sure it'll be a solid jrpg, but as others have said it's basically a PS3 engine game that they're charging $70 for. I'll wait for a sale.

 

[th4tguy]

Love the demo and the art but it blows my mind how much cleaner p3:r looks compared to this.

 

[Danjin44]

Love the demo and the art but it blows my mind how much cleaner p3:r looks compared to this.

P3R is much smaller game compare to Metaphor. In P3R there is one city divided to multiple section and each section is not big. Most NPC in the game has no face and you can’t interact with them.

 

[RobRSG]

For those struggling with PC performance, there’s a patch from the creator of Special K that fixes everything… It even has a standalone version.

Metaphor: ReFantazio :: Steam Community

steamcommunity.com

Works really well.

 

[hyperbertha]

Truth be told, Metaphor: Re Fantazio looks like just another generic RPG that’s been done a thousand times before.
Honestly, there’s nothing groundbreaking in the gameplay or story that we haven’t seen already.
Innovation? Not really—feels more like a safe, uninspired fantasy setting.
Seriously, it feels like another flashy trailer to lure fans with empty promises.

People hyped for this are bound to be disappointed when it launches.
Obviously, there’s no depth or uniqueness to set it apart.
Style-wise, it’s painfully mediocre.
The fanbase is delusional if they think this is a game-changer.

It’s almost laughable how much this resembles every other JRPG.
So, at the end of the day, it’s just bait.

Don’t expect anything fresh here.
After all, it’s a formula that’s been beaten to death.
Nobody will be talking about this a month after release.
Just another one to add to the list of forgettable games.
It’s baffling that anyone’s still excited for it.
Nothing new under the sun, just recycled ideas.

By the time it comes out, the hype will have faded.
And honestly, it’s going to be dead on arrival.
I don’t see how this can make an impact.
This game is clearly destined for the bargain bin.

 

[cireza]

Of the two which one would you pick? P3R looks cleaner in the graphic department and it’s currently 40% off. P5R has the higher reviews and seems to be regarded as the best. Metaphor’s combat and archetype progress and build options hooked me. I’m looking for more of that.

How much do you enjoy the most repetitive gameplay loop to ever exist in RPGs ? Because Persona games are exactly this. Especially P3R. After a few floors you have seen it all. And the social activities are super boring. Random guys with existential problems lol...

 

[Nydius]

I need to get this out of the way upfront, the "creative choice" to have detritus floating all over the screen at all times is one of the worst artistic decisions I've seen in my nearly 40 years of hardcore gaming. Let's all put our love of Atlus/Persona team aside and call a duck a duck; this is an ugly fucking duck. Yes, it's Magla, ever present throughout the world, cool visual of it being sucked up by machines in Grand Trad, we don't need to see it schizophrenically thrown all over the screen at all times, Jesus Christ. At best it's distracting, at worst it *ruins* the atmosphere, tone it down or give me an option to turn it off completely (won't happen).

This ties into a greater problem of "visual noise", the game is simply way too busy. Persona games have style for days but they never felt overwrought the way this often does. I don't need spastic, twitching text boxes, the beautiful character portraits are more than enough, less is often more.

Thank you for putting into words what I was feeling but couldn’t figure out how to explain. I only just got through the cave but the constant “visual noise” is really getting to me. I love the various styles of both Persona and SMT but this feels like “let’s take the Persona menus and turn them to eleven!”

Between the crazy menus, all the Magla floating across the screen, the busy UI, and just the way everything moves, generally, I was left wondering if this is what it feels like to have ADHD.

I’m enjoying the game overall, overplayed fantasy tropes aside, but I think the visual design would make it difficult for me to sit down and play for prolonged periods. Let alone 100+h.

Will probably wait for either a sale or the inevitable revision version.

 

[CrimsonSquall]

• Simplistic Combat (like only having 3-4 moves each character is so boring). Even after you unlock all spells, it's very basic moves anyway like elemental magic, physical damage, buff, etc. No interesting moves.
• Unable to change Mechs during dungeons. Have to go to Akedemia every time.

Characters unlock moves per the archetype. and u can mix n match them when u learn them.

U can change archetypes in the equipment section of the main menu so u dont have to travel to Akademia each time

 

[GymWolf]

Finished the demo.

World setting and some of the presentation are top notch here. Story seems interesting too, feels to me like an Attack on Titan meets Game of Thrones.

But I gotta say I was expecting a bigger leap from the Persona franchise, specially in terms of gameplay.

Unless things are really thigh and closed in this demo, game seems a bit more challenging and thats it. They switched the Personas for Archetypes, which are classes basically, and by doing that the game seems more shallow?

Still, my pre-order is done but I do hope the gameplay goes more crazy than this.

What part of the story remind you of attack on titan?

 

[Kataploom]

I'll be waiting some translations check before playing it, there are some red flags on X regarding the possible "creative freedom" the same mf might take over it

 

[Danjin44]

What part of the story remind you of attack on titan?

When Louis dropped the dead “human” monsters in front of people.

 

[GymWolf]

When Louis dropped the dead “human” monsters in front of people.

I haven't played the demo yet.

 

[Danjin44]

I haven't played the demo yet.

I believe you saw the screenshot of dead monster in front of the crowed of people.

 

[Oberstein]

Wow, the opinions are very divided. Either you hate it or you love it. I haven't yet played the demo (which I'll be doing on PC), but the technical elements often come up in the flaws.

And honestly, I think there's a consensus on this subject: it's dated and unfortunately won't evolve any further.

On the other hand, when it comes to the story and the art direction, we hear everything and its opposite. It's hard to hear anything coherent. I'll have to find the time to get into it, it intrigues me...

 

[GymWolf]

I believe you saw the screen shot of dead monster in front of the crowed of of people.

Oh yeah, i forgot about that.

 

[Exentryk]

Characters unlock moves per the archetype. and u can mix n match them when u learn them.

U can change archetypes in the equipment section of the main menu so u dont have to travel to Akademia each time

Yes I know you can mix and match. But it's still very simplistic abilities.

You can't unlock new archetypes in the menu. Have to go to Akedemia.

 

[Danjin44]

Yes I know you can mix and match. But it's still very simplistic abilities.

You can't unlock new archetypes in the menu. Have to go to Akedemia.

Demo is just prologue, later on you get more advance spells and skills, you can promote classes to advance classes.

Are you expecting unlock everything from get go?

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

4.5 hours into the demo and I finished the first real dungeon in the Prologue (e.g. The Nord Mines).

Pros:
+ Excellent world-building
+ Great character design
+ Good writing
+ Excellent English voice acting
+ Similar combat to Persona 5, with some changes (I still prefer Shin Megami Tensei’s press turn battle system)
+ The Archetypes (Personas) I've unlocked so far are pretty cool
+ Nice anime cutscenes
+ Dope OST

Cons:
- The UI is a bit too busy during action (it keeps moving around and doesn't stay still, lol)
- The performance is a tad disappointing considering the game is not that great looking (Persona 3 Reload looks and runs better)
- The first dungeon was kinda boring, but maybe that's because it was set in the mines.

 

[Bojji]

Truth be told, Metaphor: Re Fantazio looks like just another generic RPG that’s been done a thousand times before.
Honestly, there’s nothing groundbreaking in the gameplay or story that we haven’t seen already.
Innovation? Not really—feels more like a safe, uninspired fantasy setting.
Seriously, it feels like another flashy trailer to lure fans with empty promises.

People hyped for this are bound to be disappointed when it launches.
Obviously, there’s no depth or uniqueness to set it apart.
Style-wise, it’s painfully mediocre.
The fanbase is delusional if they think this is a game-changer.

It’s almost laughable how much this resembles every other JRPG.
So, at the end of the day, it’s just bait.

Don’t expect anything fresh here.
After all, it’s a formula that’s been beaten to death.
Nobody will be talking about this a month after release.
Just another one to add to the list of forgettable games.
It’s baffling that anyone’s still excited for it.
Nothing new under the sun, just recycled ideas.

By the time it comes out, the hype will have faded.
And honestly, it’s going to be dead on arrival.
I don’t see how this can make an impact.
This game is clearly destined for the bargain bin.

I agree that that it never should have reached price it has for what it offers on tech perspectvie. Making PS3 level game is much cheaper than PS5 and even PS4 level assets. Atlus loves cash grabs like that.

On the other hand their RPGs are IMO still top tier so even average game from them is still one of the best. I'm playing Soul Hackers 2 now and it's great, of course it got less love than Persona or SMT5 but still is one of the best jRPGs available right now (I also love that entire cast is adult and store is more mature than in most other games).