ReFantazio rebalances the calendar system of the Persona series

Before its release Metaphor: ReFantaziomuch of the discussion surrounding the title focused on how the game would differ from director Katsura Hashino's previous work on persona the franchise. As the first original project from Hashino's new development division Studio Zero, most expected that Metaphor: ReFantazio would have at least some elements in common with persona franchise, and those expectations ended up being grounded in reality. Rather than rest on its laurels as a fantasy re-skin personahowever, Metaphor: ReFantazio reimagines and reinvents many of the series' signature elements, including the Calendar system that has been the franchise's framework since Persona 3.

Starting with Persona 3the basic gameplay loop of the game persona the franchise was guided by the Calendar system. Both a guide to help players manage their time and a driving force behind the day-to-day lives of the protagonist and their allies, the Calendar system is a double-edged sword. While there are plenty of players who love the guidance and structure the system provides, there are some who find themselves giving up on the franchise based on feelings of being under the gun or missing certain elements that the Calendar system mandates. While still ubiquitous in Metaphor: ReFantaziothe game intelligently rebalances it in the player's favor.

Final Fantasy 16 Clive Rosfield with the Metaphor ReFantazio menu screen

Metaphor: ReFantazio proves that one of Final Fantasy 16's best features is here to stay

Atlus' Metaphor: ReFantazio takes one of Final Fantasy 16's best features and weaves it into the game for a more accessible experience.

In terms of how the Calendar system works Metaphor: ReFantazioshould be immediately familiar to fans persona series. Most days begin with the protagonist and their allies discussing strategy before giving way to the first of two player-controlled segments where they are free to pursue any available activities. On special days, with story-based segments or predetermined deadlines, the player has specific and set destinations to visit or missions to complete, giving players a useful guide to when major plot points will occur and providing a certain incentive to ensure that the party is sufficiently fueled until those dates.

Where Metaphor it branches from persona The series, however, lies in the generous amount of time it gives players to complete activities between major story missions, often weeks or even an entire month. Additionally, major dungeons can be completed in stages and returned to at a later date, just like in personabut smaller dungeons for bounties and other side quests usually only take a single day to visit and explore. Similarly, if players focus on using a day to build bonds with allies or strengthen royal virtues, they can make significant progress in a single day and still not feel like they missed out on something important because of how necessary both are activităţi. towards the development of the archetypal tree.

After their absence from Persona 5weather events that took into account Persona 4His Calendar system makes a comeback in Metaphor: ReFantazio. Not only do these different weather events add a welcome layer of strategy to pre-dungeon planning that extends beyond devising party composition and archetype selection, but they also balance out the extra time. Metaphor offers players by adding a risk/reward mechanism. On bad weather days, enemies take more damage and players do not gain extra turns for exploiting their weaknesses in battle. The trade off is that the party gains a lot more experience.

With more player time and the addition of weather events, players have more freedom in where they choose to go and when they choose to do it. If the characters are not up to taking on a particularly challenging set of enemies with extra health and no extra turns, the player can simply choose to spend the day strengthening Royal Bonds and Virtues, returning to the adventure later when the weather permits , without feeling. as if forced to make a difficult sacrifice. Metaphor eliminates FOMO somewhat persona series with the implementation of the Calendar system and is therefore a more accessible experience.