![Metaphor ReFantazio Romance](https://images.pushsquare.com/3ca2e30ae0aef/metaphor-refantazio-romance.900x.jpg)
Atlus' upcoming RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio, seems built around systems that wouldn't feel out of place in the developer's Persona series. It's got turn-based battles that hinge on striking enemy weaknesses, it's got warrior spirits that you can summon in combat, and — most crucially to this article — it's got a bonding system where you can hang out with key characters, learning more about them in the process.
Unlike the Persona games, however, the bonding system stops there. As it turns out, you won't be able to take things a step further and romance your favourite waifus — a revelation that's sure to disappoint those who are already madly in love with Hulkenberg, the party's red-haired, elven knight.
Indeed, the lack of romance was noted during a recent question and answer session, as reported by Siliconera. Atlus went on to reiterate that you'll still be able to forge deep friendships with your allies, and that additional narratives will be told through substories. What's more, getting to know the surrounding cast will unlock new archetypes — which are basically the game's character classes.
In the Persona games, romance isn't a requirement — it's really just a way to personalise your playthrough. But still, it's a little surprising that Metaphor won't be pursuing such a thing, especially when it tends to generate so much conversation!
Did you expect romance to be a part of Metaphor? Feel free to cancel your pre-order in the comments section below.
[source youtube.com, via siliconera.com]
Comments 40
I’m not gonna lie, I just went from “don’t care” to “this could be special.” Sounds more like final fantasy tactics meets persona meets fire emblem. We’ll see.
That’s hug shame. I love that part of Persona. I’m surosied as the romance would definitely help generate interest. I wouldn’t be surprised if a definitive edition added it.
Not too fussed, doesn't stop me from enjoying other non Persona Atlus games.
That won't stop the artists from doing what they do best.
Guess we have to wait until Persona 6 to get our romance fix.
And for that reason, it's just a no from me dog...
No to romance but yes to friends.
Only friends just friends.
That's what friends are for!
All for one and one for all.
Kind of a bummer but let’s be real: Persona romances are about as bare bones as you can get. Not the end of the world here
Eh, not a huge loss. Romances in Persona aren't a massive factor in the game anyway, you basically only get a couple of extra nice moments with a character. Definitely not a deal breaker
Wait wait wait...this is an eastern fantasy rpg where you play as students, but with powers!? And a relationship building system??? CAN THEY DO THAT?!?!?
@tselliot You ain't an actual fan of the series then. SMT has plenty of games without stupid shipping.
This is actually good news and makes me a lot more interested. The romances in Persona games are quite frankly *****.
I can't get a girlfriend in this game? Finally a realistic Atlus game
I've always found romances in these types of games to be so poorly written that they actually devalue the relationships, rather than the other way around. See also: games like Judgement etc.
Give me a canon romance with actual depth and story implications any day of the week, or at max a choice between two meaningful paths or something like that.
Can I hug the precious elf girl at least?
I'm sure there are plenty situations where romance is "in the air" so to speak. I'm still skeptical of the calender system. I'll definitely wait a few days into the release to see if the gameplay systems suit me.
So long as the romance options are not entirely open I will not miss their absence. It feels so archaic and yester-year to only be able to romance your opposite-sex NPC friends.
That took me by surprise for sure. Especially since the characters we have seen look more matured than your usual high school buddies in Persona. I was actually expecting them to double down on the romance in Metaphor but I guess not.
Still very excited for the game though!
Good, no more waifu wars online.
Hopefully this allows the devs to give the MC actual character and love interest.
Can't date the elf? 0/10!!!
Jokes aside. I was still going to play it romance or not.
I never really bothered with the dating part, was more focused on improving skills and attributes.
Devastating news. Still, can't wait to play
Thats fine by me.i didn't though about romance until then.metaphor refantazio looks interesting either way.word up son
They're saving the romance for the Re-Election Edition released 18 months down the line.
I haven't tried the persona games, but this one seems pretty awesome to me. Never really cared about romance options in games.
@Jaz007 @Mintie LOL you two are right on point. That's the first thing I thought when I saw the headline. Any time Atlus tells us something isn't in the game, they're just grooming us for the DLC that adds it, or the full price re-release that makes you replay the whole game to see the new content. Every single time!
Just as an aside about this game.
When we have seen trailers for this game they have always been emblazoned with the Xbox logo and have not had any PlayStation branding. We do know, however, that it is not an Xbox exclusive. So I went over to PureXbox just to see what the buzz was over there about this game as it's being marketed by Microsoft (I guess). What did I find you ask, two articles with 16 total comments between the two of them? In contrast, this site has 10 articles with dozens of comments on each.
Don't know what to do with this info but I thought I would share.
@NEStalgia @Mintie @Jaz007
From what I have seen with the SMT/Persona community as a newly minted member, fans of this series stand in line with fists full of cash saying "YASS DADDY" as Atlus edges us (can I say that here) with DLC and rereleases.
@NEStalgia the term you used, grooming, is probably the most accurate word for this...lol...
honestly? im glad they took this route, there a lot of life sim that can be done on a fantasy setting, and like other people already said, it will probably avoid waifu wars making the fanbase pay more attention to cooler stuff
@MikeOrator it took me exactly two Persona releases to get wise and stop going in balls deep at the first opportunity
@MikeOrator I did that until the PS5 version of P5, and would’ve gotten a CE of P3 if it weren’t for the fact that I’m waiting for the game to finished.
I would have even night P5 CE PS5 Is Dave data transferred over, but they were too lazy for that even.
@Jaz007
I wasn't trying to point fingers or call anyone out. It's like any other fandom when the owner of an IP can sense the hunger for a continuous stream of content. I LOVE getting different and special editions with built-up content so I am absolutely part of the problem with so-called Developer Greed.
@Mintie @MikeOrator I like how the thread for how Metaphor has no dating has turned into all comments becoming sexual metaphors about Atlus.
@MikeOrator I don't think SMT/Persona fans are so much eager to part with cash for every re-release. I think it's more like like being prostitutes. It's a dehumanizing, degrading task, but we know if we endure it, there's an at least acceptable payoff at the end.
LOL regarding Xbox, I think...Pure isn't the best representation of the platform. It didn't exist for years, and when it relaunched mostly became a gathering of Push and NL members who also play XB. So with these multiplat games the conversation just tends to go to the more popular site.
Plus, of course Japanese games fans tend to be...well...old...and therefore more established with the brands on PS/Nin, so it's always an uphill climb for them. People like to show how little Japanese games sell on XB, but a market has to be built from somewhere, and especially with Atlus games, the marketing deals, GP deals, I think they're really trying to fix that. The fact that more and more Japanese games release on the platform says that there's a definite positive to the sales. I'm really curious how FFXIV is doing. The free month is just ending now, so actual sales won't start rolling in until next month. I think MS knows they're not going to get a bunch of established SMT fans to jump ship from Nin/PS to XB for the same games, but I think they're trying to get younger new players to settle in with these brands with them. Smart business. But the kiddies don't hang out on dinosaur forums like this when there's Tik Tok (for now.....) and Instagram right there...we don't hear from them here.
@NEStalgia
I wasn't trying to be derogatory in any way to either site. These sites have their fans and the crossover is real. I observed that Xbox, as hard as they try, has an uphill battle for attracting JRPG enthusiasts.
@MikeOrator Yeah. I think the problem they face is less about "trying to attract JRPG enthusiasts" so much as "most JRPG series are old, and most fans of those series already have a platform they're on , so it's not possible to move them over." The game then becomes about making sure those games are present on their platform so that not having them available doesn't prevent someone from switching over for other reasons, and to try to appeal to the younger, next generation of fans of that genre before they establish into another platform.
I think MS is now at the point they recognize they lost the old gamers, and the "young" gamers gravitating toward PS aren't really into most games they're just looking for an HD platform to play Fortnite on, so there's an opportunity to try to snag some of those younger gamers into the bigger gaming market while they're still deciding what they like. If the rumored handheld is real (and it probably is) I think they might have a solid chance to make a play for the Switch market at a time when Sony kind of stepped away from that competition and be the "edgy" competitor the way Sega used to be. If aiming at Nintendo, they definitely need to keep the Japanese games coming, even if sales are low!
Not a deal breaker. I still down for day one.
That's too bad but I'm sure the game will still be very good.
Will wait for the inevitable re-release expanded edition then.
1 year later metaphor refantazio ***** editon:30 hours of new content, Adds romance, Adding One character thats been shoe horned into the story,full price(starting at 70usd)
If atlus thought me anything its to not buy their games at launch if i value my wallet
Even better!
It'll be good for once to have no whinging about 'why can't I romance xyz instead of zyx'
Game looks great
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...