Atlus video games have one thing of a popularity for being very, very laborious. Veterans of the collection would possibly recall such ‘ability test bosses’ as Matador in Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, or the Minotaur in Shin Megami Tensei 4 on the 3DS. Every of those foes act as early-game partitions that many gamers ran aground towards, terminating a save file and making individuals rethink their RPG selections.
The video games, from there on, don’t get a lot simpler, both. The MegaTen collection and the Persona collection are each house to some fairly robust battles that may simply undermine even a seasoned RPG participant in the event that they haven’t been taking note of the fussier mechanics of the sport they’re enjoying.
After all, issues have gotten a little bit simpler recently – the re-release of Shin Megami Tensei 5 had an non-obligatory ‘Security Issue’ obtain that principally allowed you to deal 10x extra injury from the off. And the Persona video games have been getting simpler and simpler since 3, with Persona 5 significantly being a stroll within the park for gamers that know their SRPGs from their JRPGs (if you happen to nonetheless wish to name ‘em that).
It appears like Atlus is eager to drag on all areas of its expertise with its upcoming Metaphor ReFantazio launch, although. The sport – the developer’s first model new RPG in generations – appears like Shin Megami Tensei doing its finest Closing Fantasy impression (not a nasty factor), however with one key distinction: there are a number of problem choices in the beginning of the sport.
I clocked just a few varied modes within the recreation. The ‘Storyteller mode’ problem will assumedly be like Security in SMT5; permitting you to expertise the narrative with out actually having to fret about getting your proverbial arse handed to you in fight.
Then Straightforward/Regular/Onerous will likely be your typical triptych of difficulties in video games: variations on a typical expertise that may have you ever get hit tougher, deal out much less injury, and have to make use of the superb ‘Press Flip’ system so as to overcome even probably the most customary mob encounters. I needed to transfer the problem within the demo down from Onerous to Regular so as to progress within the time we got; Onerous enemies soaked up extra injury and appeared to focus on occasion weaknesses extra. That’s an anecdotal expertise in the meanwhile, however I’ve reached out to Sega PR to attempt to glean extra in regards to the variations within the varied modes.
There’s one other mode, although, that caught my eye. It was grayed out and unselectable for the demo. It’s known as ‘Regicide’. If you happen to’re unfamiliar with the phrase (and clearly not a Halo participant, subsequently), it means “the motion of killing a king”. It’s unclear whether or not it will simply make enemies extra spongy and liable to kill you in a single go, or if there are extra significant variations within the recreation (like new bosses, and so forth).
Both means, it’s excellent news for gamers that wish to actually expertise that rock laborious ‘oh my god, how the hell am I even purported to beat that?’ vibe Atlus has change into identified for over the previous few console generations. I’m at the least going to present ‘Regicide’ a go once I boot up the sport, even when I solely make it just a few hours earlier than giving in and turning it down. It’s genuine, proper?
Atlus has been fairly ingenious with its strategy to problem modes up to now. My favourite instance of its creativity with problem comes from Shin Megami Tensei: Satan Survivor: Overclocked, during which you had to make use of factors earned by finishing achievements within the base recreation to ‘buy’ New Recreation+ options within the new mode.
Will we see one more mode added to the sport while you clear the title for the primary time (very like we did in SMT5:V with ‘Godborn’ mode?) It stays to be seen. For now, at the least, I’m happy to see Atlus catering to the extra informal crowd it attracted with Persona, and the horrible RPG masochists like myself in a single fell swoop. It provides me confidence that the developer is aware of precisely what it’s received on this recreation, which – as I say in my preview – actually is one thing particular.
Metaphor: ReFantazio launches October 11, 2024 for Xbox Collection X/S, Microsoft Home windows, PlayStation 4/5 and Steam.
This piece was written based mostly on gameplay and displays given throughout a particular preview occasion for the sport in New York, USA. Journey and lodging for VG247 was supplied by Sega during the occasion.