Summary
Metaphor: Refantaziois almost here, and for fans of Atlus it’s like Christmas has come. However, there are a lot of players out there who have no idea what the expect fromMetaphor: Refantazio, or what design principles it’s based on. These games can be big monsters, so it’s good to be able to have some foundation to work from.
Whether it’s the past games from Atlus themselves or games that will help players understand whereMetaphor: Refantaziolikely draws inspiration from, there are loads of opportunities to whet the JRPG appetite before the big game arrives.
For those who are entirely uninitiated in modern JRPGs and don’t know where to start ahead ofMetaphor: Refantazio,Fire Emblem: Three Housesis a brilliant place to start. As the most modern entry in theFire Emblemseries, the game presents modern and polished gameplay with all the narrative tenets that make modern JRPGs great.
Most of all,Fire Emblem: Three Housesfeatures a robustromance system for the player among the many different characters. Anyone who has played an Atlus game knows just how integral romances can be throughout the lengthy games, soThree Housesis an ideal place to first explore that kind of gameplay.
Before all other JRPGs, theDragon Questgames are perhaps the most important franchise of them all. With an absolutely rabid fanbase in native Japan, theDragon Questfranchise has run on for decades and demonstrated a clear indicator of the state of the industry with each of its entries, evolving alongside the JRPG genre itself
Despite being the eleventh entry in the franchise,Dragon Quest 11is perhaps the easiest place to get into the franchise. Its graphics are updated to a beautiful modern standard,the JRPG combat mechanics are perfected, and it isn’t locked to old generation hardware, enabling the most amount of new players. To get a bellwether of where the JRPG genre is at, playDragon Quest 11.
WhereDragon Quest 11may be the best example of the traditional JRPG brought to the modern day, players who want to get intoMetaphor: Refantazioshould absolutely playNier: Automataif they want to see how experimental modern JRPGs can get when they take the notion. Single-handedly launching the Nier franchise from obscurity to stardom,Nier: Automatais a ruthlessly intelligent game that always is one step ahead of the player, telling one of the greatest modern stories in gamingwhile breaking all the JRPG tropes it can.
It would be hard to imagine how modern JRPGs wouldn’t be influenced byNier: Automataconsidering its incredible popularity. For a look at how JRPG storytelling and gameplay are leaning simultaneously towards the cerebral and the visceral, there is no better game to play thanNier: Automata.
If gamers know Atlus for anything, it’s probably the Persona franchise, but some may not know that Persona is actually an offshoot of the older Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Where Persona is usually set in a school of some sort, Shin Megami Tensei premises can be wildly different and usually go far more fantastical, and often darker too.
Such is the case withShin Megami Tensei 5which takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo where God has literally died, and all the angels and demons are fighting over the ruins for dominion. It’san absolutely wild narrative with incredible branching paths, but it’s also Atlus at its mechanical peak which no doubt will influence the combat system ofMetaphor: Refantazio.
As if it could be anything else. While Atlus was well-beloved by JRPG fans before the release of this game,Persona 5catapulted them into stardom and game dev royalty.Persona 5is the purest manifestation of the Persona franchise, with incredible social link mechanics,a slew of brilliant palaces(the game’s term for dungeons), a twisting and emotional story, and enough dialogue to fill War and Peace three times over.
Not only isPersona 5the best version of the Persona franchise, but it’s also probably the best entry point. More than any other game, the art style, mechanics, and storytelling style will no doubt have a massive impact on howMetaphor: Refantazioplays out.
