ReFantazio: Continuing the Legacy of Persona’s Handheld Success

Atlus’ Persona franchise, predominantly known as a console series, also has a notable handheld history. Well-received portable versions of Persona 3 and Persona 4 exist, along with Persona 5 Royal on the Nintendo Switch. The new fantasy JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio is developed by the same team behind these popular Persona titles. Although Metaphor is set in a different universe, it retains many core elements of the Persona games, making it an excellent option for handheld gaming.

Metaphor: ReFantazio shares significant similarities with Persona. The game’s user interface is exceptionally flashy. Players engage in conversations with allies and enhance bonds with them. As days progress, players can explore extensive dungeons and spend time with companions before a critical deadline. The main characters undergo epic transformations, during which they dramatically extract an organ from their body as a mysterious voice speaks in archaic language. The game closely resembles Persona to the extent that it can be mistakenly referred to as such.

The qualities that make Persona games great portable titles also hold for Metaphor. Battles are brief, allowing players to complete several encounters and clear dungeon floors quickly. A single in-game day’s activities provide a sense of progress. Some game sections involve lengthy text, but progressing through these can mimic reading exciting chapters in a captivating book.

The game is played on the Steam Deck and is listed as Playable on Steam, though performance can be inconsistent, particularly in town areas due to high activity and numerous characters. To manage performance, the game was capped at 30fps, despite its capability to run at higher frame rates, to avoid fluctuating rates.

Nevertheless, Metaphor does not demand flawless performance as real-time attacks in dungeons are not significantly affected by frame rate dips. All battles are turn-based, so minor frame drops have a negligible impact.

Despite some performance issues, the flexibility of playing Metaphor anywhere is highly valued. The game is played regularly before sleeping, during weekends while a new baby naps, and even on business trips for quick sessions during spare time.

Lastly, like the Persona series, Metaphor is extensive in content. A game spanning dozens of hours becomes much more manageable with the ability to play at any convenient time and location.

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