If this is your GOTY, you'd probably be hard-pressed to like anything else afterward. It seems the longer the Japanese developers work on their games, the further they outgrow all the older trends, and seemingly introduce ones that have pushed the envelope so far.
Say you're a Shin Megami Tensei fan, you can't say no to this. For a Persona fan, this will be an interesting debate to have. Even for a new IP, it stands taller than most Atlus games. I kid you not, this is definitely it. If not, people to this day still needs to start playing better games. It is leagues different from anything I played than any of theirs I've ever played.
Part of its charm comes from the superb presentation, stellar combat and tactics gameplay, and a deep lore and character rich storytelling experience that'll have you talking for the days to come. The good times have finally come around guys. Now let me tell you why.
A new entire world introduced by Katsura Hashino, director of Persona 5 with no link to either that or SMT. Here, a king was assassinated, his son slowly dying from a poison thorn curse. Yet you see the kingdom he has led in tethers. There are tribes of different races, and they don't like each other.
I'm talking basically stuff that are grounded, Game of Thrones material, where the poor and weaker races are looked down upon in the game world, especially by the rich in the capital of Euchronia. Everybody is competitive, constantly trying to survive against challenges, issues both socio-economical, and socio-political. The protagonist is the weakest one, tasked to save the prince.
If you loved the style, dense storytelling from P5, man you're in for a hell of a ride. The introduction here slowly phases out, you see in a broader sense the world itself, like inside the city absolute sucks, but outside is filled with worms, wild creatures, and worse, mutant humans.
My character literally ran away from a gang ambush on his caravan, running straight towards the capital just a distant view away. Important way to set up the visceral undertakings of my and co's journey. The first thing he does coming to town, is joining the military, realizing that they're cowards and you and your newfound runaway noble friend are fodders.
First dungeon you're sent to, first stage to clear, there's no point assuming that you're familiar with Persona, you'll figure things out. Fighting enemies involves clearing them from roaming mode, just a basic attack and dodge will do, their poise goes down, and then they're stunned. This is where you engage in the squad tactics. Take my advice if you're playing this, learn how to use half turns. Anything else outside archetypes, and synergized attacks are pretty basic.
At first, you have skills, and then archetype abilities, becoming available once you fight your first giant human enemy. And yeah, Archetypes are Metaphor's own Personas. But they can be unlocked and switched by each party members, as well as ranking them up for more newer abilities.
I do have one big grievance, and that it takes super long to flesh everything out. Including having access to 4 active party members in-game. Yet didn't exactly feel like my time was wasted, like everything else this game does in the first 20hrs is already blowing my mind away. I couldn't wait till they pull the real curtains with the gameplay and main story later.
Throughout the capital early on, you'll meet various characters of different backgrounds and personalities, most of these people I've talked to have so character depth and nuance, often times glued to the screen when engaging in dialogue. Especially with this lady.
She seems shrewd, highly wary, and distant, but once I did her dungeon mission, she starts opening up. In fact, despite her shop policies, she has no prejudices against any other tribes. Hell, she out of the blue gives me pocket money, and a puppy dog to take care of. It's well distinguished between supporting characters, party members, and the NPCs to a grounded level.
Right, so back to the combat. Dungeons and bounty hunting are often side content endeavors, sometimes errands comes for the main quest. The whole point of doing so is to increase fame so that I could, well, win the popularity contest and become king.
And remember what I said about half turns, that happens whenever I pass my turn or hit an enemy weakness/critical damage them. But the opposite could happen if I say, miss an attack or parried. Turns are like currency, if you can keep your turn going, you'll definitely win. But it's super tricky to get the hang of. There's also the fact that if I win a battle unscathed, I get bonus rewards each fight.
There's so much to trudge through, like Archetypes are available, but they can also evolve, requiring an increase in supporter relations, rank, and spending MAG. Which is earned through monster slaying. I can also inherit other Archetype skills to my current one, making it easier to use elemental ones against enemy weaknesses. Ok, all of this sounds similar to Persona or SMT, that's because it is. I'd also be remiss if I said playing this game in one playthrough will be enough.
Wait, there's more. Enough busy stuff like helping errands with the townspeople, increasing your royal virtues, bonding with followers which is important for the Archetypes, and more to give later. I also realized the party roster isn't as big as prior Atlus games, but maybe that's good for now. Like, can you imagine farming for MAG, and the other stuff above?
And yet I do it, because it's so easy to get invested in this game with the quality so far up there. You won't find any tactics game that offers challenging, fun, and addictive gameplay loop elsewhere like this. After playing 16hrs, I still thought it was a short runtime to talk about this.
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As for the story, mind-blowing stuff, there's so much political intrigue and plot twists, it will make your head spin faster than anything in 999 or those terrible YA books. Hell, the main question to ponder is what does it take to not have bias and be friendly towards people in such a cruel world?
One that mirrors ours, and you'll obviously find out why, and kind of courage, gumption one needs to make all of that happen. Certainly someone I'll have to spend 60-70hrs with.
It's never simple to hate a villain, even if their actions make anyone believe they're doomed. But for badassery, all the points goes here. There aren't many video games you play where they significant fundamental shifts on established formulas, and have such stellar presentation to go with.
Though I've said before, they've stretched the intro a little too far, I really wanted that 4th member. Gallica, the fairy that follows me is likeable as a character, but in-game she chatters kind of a lot. Like I've drowned her noise playing for hours, but still gets to me. Yet as RPGS go, you won't just like this game, you'll love the crap out of it. Even its in-game buy/sell economy is noteworthy.
Oh wait, did I say 16hrs? I died a couple of times or did save scums. Maybe it's 18hrs. I did all that in 2 days time. That's how much this game really sucked me in. Honestly, it's worth every dollar price. It's definitely going to compete for GOTY, and might even win.
