Metaphor: ReFantazio Combat Gameplay Explained

Metaphor: ReFantazio, Katsura Hashino's Studio Zero's newest and most ambitious title yet with Atlus, boasts a lot of new and exciting innovations from the game's travel in the Gauntlet Runners, an engaging plat, an interesting fantasy world, and so much more. But instead what I want to talk about today are the game's Archetype's (which serve as a job system) and its combat system as a whole. While on the surface it appears to be very similar to the combat system found within the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei titles, upon further inspection it is much deeper and more nuanced than we ever could have hoped. So I'm going to explain everything about the combat and archetype systems from Archetype stats, weapon stats, loadouts, action combat, squad-based combat, to even what the crystals and the moon at the top of the screen are meant to do.
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[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I’m currently in the process of making more Metaphor content! Is there anything you’d want to see covered on the channel?

[@Lonewulf321]

I don’t care as long as we get more metaphor content. Which might be tough given we don’t have much

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

@@Lonewulf321 Oh, I have some ideas in mind. 👀

[@RionAgrias]

How depressed your average Persona "fan" is because there's no Hulkenburg romance. Just Kidding...

[@Lonewulf321]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT 👀👀👀

[@xiniti8185]

Thanks for making this video. This seems to have adopted the Press Turn system from the SMT games along with aspects of its little sibling, the One More system.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I’m glad you liked it! And so what this is telling me is that I need to stop dragging my feet and play SMT so that I can experience yet another example of Atlus having peak turn-based mechanics. I can do that. 😂🫡

[@FSVR54]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT Another? Press-turn is the only example

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

@@FSVR54 I personally love the One More System!

[@FSVR54]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT I mean it's good...I like it too. But the press-turn is even better imo. Which SMT are you looking to dive in first by the way?

[@jesterzubrata]

I wish every member and mc have unique archetype only for themself like mc king archertype other member got it after lv 8 bond or somethin

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I could totally see that being cool! But I like the flexibility of everyone having access to the majority of the archetypes.

[@oneeyed4127]

I haven’t seen ppl stacking buffs or debuffs. U can stack up to 3 debuffs or buffs. I love this mechanic

[@BarnzTT]

Does your character from the demo carry over to the official released game? I just do not want to sink in so much into the demo only to start all over again.

[@Lonewulf321]

Yeah, Great video. Yes the battles are using the press turn battle system from SMT3 Nocturn and onward. It’s interesting though, because they are combining it with the modern day Persona battle system which has a defense stat and (SMT 3 and 4 don’t actually have a defense stat). Interestingly enough, MAG 94 magnetite is used in older SMT games. You needed it to summon demons, and it decreased as you walked around. If you ran out, your demons would be sent back to the COMP and you couldn’t use them. I wonder what it means here! Add that with they have some items from Etrian Odyssey (Ariadne thread) means they are mix matching ideas from all of their RPGs. This truly is a 35th anniversary game.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I’m glad you enjoyed! I’ll be honest, I’ve never played an SMT game before so it would make sense that I wasn’t used to the press turn combat system! So thanks for letting me know! But I think the fact that they’re integrating some of the most defining elements from so many of their other games does mean that Metaphor won’t just be a new IP but celebration of Atlus as a whole. I’m very excited to see more!

[@Lonewulf321]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT yeah I figured, but you understand the system perfectly! I would recommend giving SMT 3, 4, or 5 a chance before the game! They are great!

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

@@Lonewulf321 I’m definitely picking up SMTV when Vengeance comes out and I’m sure once I get into it I’ll want to go back through the library!

[@Lonewulf321]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT me too!

[@tbnwontpop8857]

I mean Nocturne does have a defense stat in the form of Vitality, which increases HP. Only IV doesn't have any sort of custom defense stat in level ups, but it does have armor that you can buy which does increase your defense.

[@Jylstin]

This video made me 1 million times more hyped and excited for Metaphor, now I just wanna know more to the systems 😂

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I’m glad! I think this game will be something special so I’m incredibly excited!

[@Oisc.]

It’s wonderful making a JRPG that combines turn-based battles with free-roaming combat. One has to wonder if these two mechanics will return in the upcoming Persona 6. Picture yourself facing off against Shadows that you know how to defeat in one fell swoop and a turn-based battle will prove tiresome. This free-roaming combat will fit nicely with Persona 6. Whether or not it will get passed down is anyone’s guess. With very little information we have gathered,Persona 6 feels enigmatic and Atlus has yet to disclose any details about the title.

[@Bomb6A9Head]

I'm not a big fan of the game itself, but if the combat is very customizable and ng+ will carry over the unlocked classes from the getgo, I'll play it

[@zairedann2498]

I'm excited but at the same time scared the archetypes looks promising but for it just sounds complicated I just could be stupid

[@mysticcorn7059]

Love your videos dude, you'll always have a supporter here. I'm beyond hype for Metaphor and October cannot come soon enough, one thing I'm particularly interested in is the Protagonists' tribe. They are known for possessing "Heretical" magic, but so far our protag is the only example of this. Perhaps this power is rare within the tribe? It's unlocked by facing one's anxieties, so it makes sense that the elites of this society make it so that they have as hard a time rising up as possible given that they're aware of it. There are so many questions I can't wait to have answered this coming October lol

[@Lusankya2]

I think the archetypes are not automatically unlocked for everyone, you probably need to learn them in the akademeia. E.g. in the showcase when they switched archetypes for the MC he couldn't choose Knight, even though Hulkenberg already had the class.

[@NarfLarf]

Crystal usage during combat is cool, kinda reminds me of Wakfu points a little.

[@seekohler]

Great info and video!

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

Thank you so much that means a lot! I really enjoy your Metaphor videos, you never leave any stone unturned!!

[@AdApT3Rx]

Awesome video 🎉😊

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@قهقاع]

تم 😊

[@explodeinto2]

I just checked and it seems like physical skills also cost MP and not HP. I'm guessing physical skills might not be as powerful as they are in persona (I haven't played smt so I don't know if it's the same for those games).

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

You’re right! I definitely misread MP as HP when I was watching the trailers and just ran with it!

[@Lonewulf321]

SMT is mixed, sometimes phys skills cost mp, sometimes hp

[@Lonewulf321]

Brawlers skill cost HP actually. Check the section where they change everyone's class to brawler.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

@@Lonewulf321 I knew I had seen HP somewhere! This definitely made me feel less insane.

[@Lonewulf321]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT yeah! I was rewatching the video and I saw it there!

[@tdk2343]

Looks like they took the field combat idea from Kuro no Kiseki

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

It definitely looks similar!

[@john_7000]

They didn't take it, metaphor is been on development since 2019 probably before trails through daybreak, just because trails through daybreak came first doesn't mean it did it first

[@raiku6518]

After spoiling so much of the game, my hype is gone, sorry not gonna buy

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I mean that’s your choice!

[@sheercold26]

Dumb

[@raiku6518]

@@sheercold26 a game dev who shows too much of the game to the point of spoiling it is the dumb one here

[@stupid3814]

I mean.. you can just dont watch them

[@HyouVizer]

playing it for 100s of hours I was so use to hearing it, not realizing at first: FF14 music 😮 10:35 press turn system basically, very common in shin megami tensei games. 11:35 Passing on a turn would most likely use half of a crystal. While landing a critical hit or weakness dmg type is gaining half a crystal as an extra turn. If attack is repelled, the user's party losts all their turn crystals. If an attack is nulled, then possibly lose 2 turn crystals. Thats usually how press turn system works, and these same rules apply for both your party and the enemies. Its one of my fav JRPG turn based combat systems, very glad ReFantazio is using it. 14:05 i'd assume "MAG" would be for unlocking Architype class individual skills.

[@ThoughtBubbleYT]

I feel like FFXIV music fits Metaphor incredibly well. Especially Ishgard! And me not having played SMT really showed in this video. LOL Guess I’ll have to fix that!

[@HyouVizer]

@@ThoughtBubbleYT it really does fit haha. SMT games I'd recommend tho you'll need PS2 emulator for this one, Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2, two halves of a whole game, slightly similar class system as ReFantazio. And upcoming re-release Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance which adds much needed proper fully fleshed out story and characterizations lacking from original version. It Will be on playstation, xbox, pc, not just Switch.