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[Gonzito]

IMO this is very true for most JRPGs. I wish they’d learn to show and not tell. Don’t treat the audience like idiots, don’t make the characters point out obvious shit and externalize every little thought in their heads.

TBH I think Metaphor is better than average in this regard.

This is also why I’m glad that not every line in the game is voiced. I don’t want to listen to paragraphs worth of spoken dialog every time my character takes a shit.

Yeah, actually compared to Persona this is much better paced, it feels more like a game rather than a visual novel so they have improved a bit. But still, sometimes is like you said, they treat players like idiots by repeating and explaining things that have happened as if I was a child or something, there is no need for it and I really wish more developers would try a more straight approach when writing these jrpg games

Nonetheless I am enjoying the game very much and I finding the writing really solid, I like that the game has mature and adult themes. So far I am happy and I understand the praise of the reviews

 

[Team Andromeda]

Loving this game

 

[Grildon Tundy]

The explication of every little thing is something that happens in Persona, too. I just figured it was part of Japanese culture to leave absolutely nothing to assumption and to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Kojima does this, too. Then again, FROM does the opposite, so I dunno.

 

[Hrk69]

Oh, it's a WISDOM tooth

 

[Nankatsu]

Necromancer with irish accent

 

[Danjin44]

Necromancer with irish accent

I personally liked it especially the part he got all pissed off because we used Louis painting as shield.

 

[Velurian]

Celtic/Irish/Welsh mythology is very rich and has a pretty interesting take on the underworld.
Tolkien among many others have drawn from it.
It would be cool to have a true Irish "old testament" character with appropriate lore and abilities.

 

[Nankatsu]

King is to be chosen based on people's will.

Atlus: Yeah, let's call the MC Will.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

King is to be chosen based on people's will.

Atlus: Yeah, let's call the MC Will.

Wow that’s almost as deep as Fayt Leingod from Star Ocean 3

 

[Klosshufvud]

Bited and bought. So there is no HP/MP refill in dungeons? Just stick to Mage for that passive MP regain?

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Bited and bought. So there is no HP/MP refill in dungeons? Just stick to Mage for that passive MP regain?

Not that I know of.

You can find and buy MP-restoring items, but I think they're mainly intended for boss fights where you'll use your whole MP bar before the fight is over.

Didn't realize mage had MP regain. I'll have to check that out.

 

[Danjin44]

Didn't realize mage had MP regain. I'll have to check that out.

Every time you use action combat to stun enemies you regain MP, Healer class does same thing with HP.

 

[Hrk69]

Bited and bought. So there is no HP/MP refill in dungeons? Just stick to Mage for that passive MP regain?

Eventually switch to thief and get that sweet STEAL MAGIC during combat for a small refill

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Who else is a big fan of actually being able to see the progress of your Royal Virtues when you're in between levels? In Persona, you see you get +3pts towards Charisma or whatever, but your meter doesn't change. So unless you're tracking it yourself, you don't really know how close you are to leveling up, making it hard to prioritize which attribute you should go for next.

 

[Danjin44]

Who else is a big fan of actually being able to see the progress of your Royal Virtues when you're in between levels? In Persona, you see you get +3pts towards Charisma or whatever, but your meter doesn't change. So unless you're tracking it yourself, you don't really know how close you are to leveling up, making it hard to prioritize which attribute you should go for next.

YES! Huge improvement over how Persona does it.

 

[Nankatsu]

Neuras is such a cool character. It's a mix of Dr. Robtonik with One Piece's Caeser, but on the good side, and I love it.

 

[Danjin44]

Neuras is such a cool character. It's a mix of Dr. Robtonik with One Piece's Ceaser, but on the good side, and I love it.

His voice acting is really well done too.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Anyone know if you can return to dragon in the mines if you skipped the item and fight?

 

[Danjin44]

Anyone know if you can return to dragon in the mines if you skipped the item and fight?

I skip the fight on demo but I didn't transfer my demo saves so in the full game I fight him....but imagine you later on can return to pervious dungeon you been before.

Also even if you do fight him you dont kill him, you just chase it off. I think you might later on fight him for real but much more powered up.

 

[Arsic]

I’m about to land on Virga island. Rank 20 for the crown.

The game story really does a good job placing bread crumbs and wondering what’s really going on in this world.

I also love this race is akin to the best jojos arc of steel ball run.

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

I appreciate that using Steal in this game actually has worth, it's usually a waste of a turn in most RPG's that have it. Heismay got me all kinds of tasty loot in last night's session equipped with the ring that greatly improved Steal success, I have agility boosting gear on him too. The game will also tell you if the enemy doesn't have any rare items to steal so you don't needlessly waste another turn, good stuff

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Bited and bought. So there is no HP/MP refill in dungeons? Just stick to Mage for that passive MP regain?

MP becomes pretty high as your characters level. I rarely even use MP restore items at this point. Also, some archetypes have very efficient healing spells. One archetype has a spell that costs 2mp (outside of battle) and heals a teammate to full in one or two casts.

The calendar also seems very forgiving, so leaving a dungeon to return later is no big deal. It also gives you a chance to identify items and such.

 

[Klosshufvud]

MP becomes pretty high as your characters level. I rarely even use MP restore items at this point. Also, some archetypes have very efficient healing spells. One archetype has a spell that costs 2mp (outside of battle) and heals a teammate to full in one or two casts.

The calendar also seems very forgiving, so leaving a dungeon to return later is no big deal. It also gives you a chance to identify items and such.

Alright. For now I'll just use my mage cheese strat in the Cathedral but good that it eases up a bit. I'm not used to this calender thing so every retreat from a dungeon feels like a big bummer to me. But maybe I'm just overthinking it.

 

[Joel Was Right]

DF were quite damning with their assessment of the game's visuals in a recent video. The lack of AA is definitely evident in the demo, at least. Interestingly enough, they commented that the game runs better at 1080p. Why are games built on seemingly 'old' tech (or low budget) struggling to run on next-gen consoles? I have Forbidden West in front of me on Performance Mode and cannot understand why some JRPGs struggle.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I'm not used to this calender thing so every retreat from a dungeon feels like a big bummer to me. But maybe I'm just overthinking it.

I suspect the game is designed around player potentially leaving at every safe room. Don’t overthink it.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

You might have a bug or something, because that's not normal. Seen someone on reddit mentioning a similar thing, btw.

Spoiler: some mild spoilers

In case anyone else was wondering, I was able to continue increasing follower ranks after completing the next story dungeon. It appears there are some points in the game where you can’t increase your rank with some followers.

 

[Topher]

Some of the dang gold beetle's are not showing up where they are supposed to.

 

[Danjin44]

God I’m absolutely obsess over this game. On surface the mechanics similar to Persona but the make some really smart changes that actually makes much more impactful and fun.

I thought after Persona 5 there is no room to improve this structure but I guess Hashino slapped my face and proved me wrong.

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

To play on PC or Console. That is the question now.

I would definitely recommend getting this on PC just for mods, and even more if you have an Nvidia GPU.

Instead of pushing the render scale above 100% to clean up jaggies, you can just add FXAA via the Nvidia control panel. Additionally, you can use RTX HDR with this game.

For mods, Lyall's fix is pretty essential - ultrawide support, disabling motion blur while dashing, skip intro logos and cutscenes, bump up LODs, increase shadow resolutions, etc.

Can't see any reason to get this on console unless that's your only option or you're running a potato PC.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Eight hours in and I'm almost done with the Prolouge. I went through my first proper Dungeon and got to the roof to confront the Necromancer. Beat him and saved afterwards

Planning on doing a gaming session tommrow

This game is fantastic

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

God I’m absolutely obsess over this game. On surface the mechanics similar to Persona but the make some really smart changes that actually makes much more impactful and fun.

I thought after Persona 5 there is no room to improve this structure but I guess Hashino slapped my face and proved me wrong.

That he did

 

[TintoConCasera]

Loving the characters, sure is cool to have more mature leads for once even if there's still room for comedy from time to time.

What I'm not digging 100% is the combat. It felt much better to me in SMT V, here I find myself lacking options quite often due to not being able to change archetypes midfight, plus that thing about rewinding time is super cheap and plain bad designed, since it lets you find out the enemies weaknesses, rewind and then play from scratch while already knowing those weaknesses.

It's still pretty fun mind you, but imo they could have done a better job.

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

Ahhh, that new town smell! Checking the shops for powerful new gear, talking to every NPC, exploring all the sights and sounds on offer, this is gaming comfort food. Finally found someone who wants all those Gold Beetles I've been diligently collecting, got an ultra powerful accessory for my troubles, good times. Also stole a powerful pair of gloves for Brawler in a "boss battle" preceding my arrival here (outclasses what can be bought at the new shop), don't sleep on Steal!

 

[Topher]

I got too cocky and had my ass handed to me in the Abandoned Tomb repeatedly by the big boss in the chest. Had to go back and reevaluate my archetypes. Finally found a combination that worked. One archetype in particular was needed to beat this guy...merchant. The thing being covered in gold and gems was obviously a hint.

This is the stuff I love about this game.

 

[Topher]

Loving the characters, sure is cool to have more mature leads for once even if there's still room for comedy from time to time.

What I'm not digging 100% is the combat. It felt much better to me in SMT V, here I find myself lacking options quite often due to not being able to change archetypes midfight, plus that thing about rewinding time is super cheap and plain bad designed, since it lets you find out the enemies weaknesses, rewind and then play from scratch while already knowing those weaknesses.

It's still pretty fun mind you, but imo they could have done a better job.

I don't think I've come across the time rewind thing yet. When is that introduced?

 

[TintoConCasera]

I don't think I've come across the time rewind thing yet. When is that introduced?

At the very start of the game lel.

Just press the left thumbstick during your turn.

 

[Topher]

At the very start of the game lel.

Just press the left thumbstick during your turn.

Not sure how I missed that, but yeah.....that's pretty cheesy.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Not sure how I missed that, but yeah.....that's pretty cheesy.

I think I've only used it like once when I fucked up an engagement and got jumped by an overleveld enemy in the Abandoned Tomb you were mentioning earlier in this thread. IMO it's not that big of a deal since the game auto-saves like crazy anyway... so without it you'd lose like 3-4 min of progress max.

 

[Topher]

I think I've only used it like once when I fucked up an engagement and got jumped by an overleveld enemy in the Abandoned Tomb you were mentioning earlier in this thread. IMO it's not that big of a deal since the game auto-saves like crazy anyway... so without it you'd lose like 3-4 min of progress max.

That's true. And the game is pretty good about giving you one of those cat save spots before bosses so you can go back and reconfigure in Akademia. Rewinding will only help you so much in those instances.

 

[SF Kosmo]

So I made it out of the first big city you get to, around 13 hours in, and I definitely feel like it's got its hooks in me now. It feels like an evolution of the Persona gameplay loop without just being a retread.

When this game was announced I totally wrote it off as one of Atlus' "B" games, like Soul Hackers 2 or Tokyo Mirage Sessions, like a game that was gonna be good and Atlus-y, but a step behind the SMT and Persona lineup. Just because that's kind of always how it's been.

But Metaphor feels like it could be a legit third tentpole for the Atlus, which is exciting. Given that SMT5 was also a commercial breakthrough that sold in the millions, Atlus now has three of the biggest JRPG series now.

But still, sometimes is like you said, they treat players like idiots by repeating and explaining things that have happened as if I was a child or something, there is no need for it and I really wish more developers would try a more straight approach when writing these jrpg games

This is a convention of almost all story driven Japanese games. Like they know people skip through dialog so they hammer it over and over to make sure you got it. Metaphor is no worse an offender than any other modern JRPG or visual novel.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Loved the scene in which they drag Heismay out of the cave by making a ton of noise. It's 100% "japanese humor" yet I couldn't hold my laugh when Hulkenberg starts shitting on Gallica for all the noise she makes with her wings.

But Metaphor feels like it could be a legit third tentpole for the Atlus

Man I really hope that happens, having one of their main franchises being set in medieval fantasy while also having a mature cast sounds really good and a nice departure from their other games.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Man I really hope that happens, having one of their main franchises being set in medieval fantasy while also having a mature cast sounds really good and a nice departure from their other games.

I never really thought about it but they do sort of represent a past, present, and future. Medieval, contemporary, and post apocalyptic.

 

[SaniOYOYOY]

Reach the halfway point (I assume) of the dragon temple.
Game is god-tier good.

Elden ring tier easily

 

[SaniOYOYOY]

So I am going to keep this vague, but I just finished the Island dungeon... man wtf was with that difficulty spike? It came outa nowhere, and then I get to the boss room and its a fucking cake walk compared to the rest of the the damn dungeon I just went through. Why the hell did the designer suddenly decide that having a single safe room for like 7 floors is a good idea in tandem with stacking halls with essentially prior boss reskins.

I use double faker on mc and heinsmay, then do the 2x 0 mana almighty combo skill.

I only reached halfway point, but mana wise im okay, and strohl at the back is at full mana

 

[Arsic]

Dragon isle dungeon was fucked.

I figured let me do it first since one of the quests is on a timer there.

Little did I know this place was like 20 stories, one safe room in it all, human bosses from earlier as regular mobs, and you basically need every element always because the variety of enemies means you need all spells.

I managed to do it all in one trip without backing out and using all my mana items to make it work. And that final boss …

When I got the new main character she was level 42, and my highest was 39. So I beat this place under leveled as fuck. Had to start skipping humans. Mana dumps.

Now I’ve got like one and a half months in game time to do whatever I want lol.

 

[sigmaZ]

IMO this is very true for most JRPGs. I wish they’d learn to show and not tell. Don’t treat the audience like idiots, don’t make the characters point out obvious shit and externalize every little thought in their heads.

TBH I think Metaphor is better than average in this regard.

This is also why I’m glad that not every line in the game is voiced. I don’t want to listen to paragraphs worth of spoken dialog every time my character takes a shit.

Yeah. I don't feel it's anywhere near as bad as FF16 NPCs and other recent games like Xenoblade.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Hmm, looks like the Twitter embed doesn't work.

 

[Danjin44]

What I'm not digging 100% is the combat. It felt much better to me in SMT V, here I find myself lacking options quite often due to not being able to change archetypes midfight, plus that thing about rewinding time is super cheap and plain bad designed, since it lets you find out the enemies weaknesses, rewind and then play from scratch while already knowing those weaknesses.

That’s because Archtypes are not Demons/Persona, they are job classes and to me makes it more important how you want set up your party members before difficult fight. If go on in with inefficient party set up you then can’t just fix that with rewind.

 

[TintoConCasera]

That’s because Archtypes are not Demons/Persona, they are job classes and to me makes it more important how you want set up your party members before difficult fight. If go on in with inefficient party set up you then can’t just fix that with rewind.

Yeah but sometimes there's now way to know what's coming and so it's not possible to prepare for that.

I like tho that they replaced the spyglass from SMT with informants from which you can learn about enemies weaknesess, it's cool and fits the setting pretty well.

 

[Danjin44]

Yeah but sometimes there's now way to know what's coming and so it's not possible to prepare for that.

I like tho that they replaced the spyglass from SMT with informants from which you can learn about enemies weaknesess, it's cool and fits the setting pretty well.

Informant is exactly way to prepare for upcoming fight and helps you set up your party and honestly I felt more natural than using Spyglass in SMTV (which later on you can get infinite spyglass which you don’t even have to spend money to get one).

Also in Metaphor there is no items like Dampener in SMTV to cover up your party’s weakness….so good preparation before going to dungeon is key and honestly I fucking love that.