Metaphor: ReFantazio Deserves Its Own Persona Dancing

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Following its Game of the Year nomination at The Game Awards 2024 and numerous awards from other ceremonies, it’s clear that Metaphor: ReFantazio was among the most celebrated games of the previous year. With a strong connection to the Persona series, Metaphor: ReFantazio generated significant buzz prior to its launch. As it continues to bask in its success, it might be beneficial for it to borrow another strength from the Persona series.

The character or persona often shares common themes across various games, including a vast collection of spin-off titles. However, it’s important to note that not all spin-off series are equally productive. Some have just one game, while others boast multiple entries. Given the strength of one particularly successful Persona spin-off, it seems fitting to draw inspiration from this highly productive spin-off series in our own work.

Metaphor: ReFantazio and Persona Dancing Could be a Match Made in Heaven

Persona Dancing is the Franchise’s Premier Spin-Off

Several newer offshoots of the Persona franchise haven’t had the opportunity to fully delve into every aspect of the series so far. For instance, Tactica hasn’t gone beyond Persona 5, even though it debuted before the launch of Persona 3 Reload. Interestingly, the Persona Arena series is yet to release a game with characters from Persona 5, despite being active for longer than titles such as Tactica. It appears that the Persona Dancing series stands out in this respect, as it seems to be the only one that has fully explored the universe of Persona 5 thus far.

Starting from the third installment, the contemporary Persona series is typically recognized for what it offers. The dancing spin-off, Persona Dancing, was initially introduced through Persona 4: Dancing All Night in 2015. Two years later, in 2018, both Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight were launched simultaneously.

Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Soundtrack was a Major Hit

Despite not being an official installment in the Shin Megami Tensei series, Metaphor: ReFantazio adopted numerous combat mechanics from its predecessors. As the award season approached, the game’s storyline garnered significant acclaim. Similar to Persona and other Atlus games, Metaphor: ReFantazio’s soundtrack stood out as one of its most memorable aspects.

At The Game Awards 2024, ReFantazio was nominated for Best Score and Music but just missed out on winning the award to Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. With such a stellar soundtrack, it would be great to see Metaphor get its own rhythm game spin-off. Although both Metaphor’s music enjoys a similar level of praise as Persona’s tunes, it’s important to note that the allure of these soundtracks isn’t identical.

Metaphor Dancing Would be a Risk Worth Taking

The “Persona” series is known for its catchy melodies, whereas the soundtrack of “Metaphor” tends to lean towards opera-like compositions. Music in the “Persona” series suits its modern, stylized environment well, incorporating influences from hip-hop and jazz. On the other hand, “Metaphor’s” fantasy backdrop is complemented by its more majestic sound. However, even with its distinct approach, a dancing game based on “Metaphor” could potentially be engaging.

The “Persona Dancing” series has successfully transformed songs that might seem unusual for a rhythm game, with some of these remixes becoming notorious. What makes “Persona Dancing” stand out isn’t just its music, but also the chance for engaging character interactions. Characters in the game perform unique duets together, and an added bonus is that each game’s story remains consistent within the series. While the music may present a challenge, the characters from “Metaphor: ReFantazio” could undoubtedly excel in this area.

The story told by Metaphor in its earlier version was praised greatly due to its captivating ensemble of characters. In the game Metaphor: ReFantazio, a character like Louis might seem too grave for dancing. Yet, this contradiction serves to highlight the game’s potential. Persona Dancing has achieved fame not only from the catchy tunes in its soundtrack but also from the amusement of watching Tohru Adachi dance. With such promise, Metaphor: ReFantazio certainly has the ability to match this success, so Atlus should definitely take advantage of the moment while it’s hot.

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2025-02-09 21:34