Metaphor: ReFantaziois one of the most ambitious new IPs created by veteran game studio Atlus, incorporating elements of its other major RPG franchises while giving it a distinctive high fantasy twist with elements like thebizarre “human” monsters. If there were one thing that Metaphor: ReFantazio has in common with its contemporaries in Atlus' lineup, though, it’s that after you play it, you often suffer an insatiable craving for another game just like it.
Metaphor: ReFantazio: Every Archetype, Ranked
All are viable, but they aren’t created equal.
No matter how dense of a game it is, and Metaphor is an exceptionally dense one, you just can’t help but want more of that blend of turn-based combat and character bonding. Luckily, thanks to the industry trends that Atlus itself has helped to establish, there is no shortage of titles that scratch the same or similar itches.
10Persona 5 Royal
Balance High School Life With Phantom Thief Duties
Persona 5 Royal
WHERE TO PLAY
It’s not controversial to say that Metaphor shares a lot of its DNA with thePersonafranchise, particularly the modern trilogy of Persona 3, 4, and 5. If you’re hankering for more of that same flavor, it only makes sense to go looking for it from one of the most well-received entries in the series,Persona 5 Royal.
Persona 5 Royal utilizes a similar high-tempo turn-based combat system that focuses on sussing out an enemy’s weakness to stun them and set up massive team attacks. All of this is placed against a contemporary fantasy story set in modern-day Tokyo, wherein you’ll bond with the other members of your Phantom Thief organization (not unlikethe bonds in Metaphor) to improve your skills and summon more powerful Personas.
9Shin Megami Tensei V
Like Pokemon, But With Bloodthirsty Demons
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Before it became its own thing, the Persona franchise was originally a spin-off of Atlus’Shin Megami Tenseifranchise, the most recent entry of which is Shin Megami Tensei V. Like Persona, several of Shin Megami Tensei’s design sensibilities have been passed onto Metaphor, albeit with a greater focus on combat coordination.
Shin Megami Tensei introduced the same Press Turn combat system used in Metaphor, wherein striking enemy weaknesses grants you additional turns to act. Additionally, rather than a traditional party, you raise up a stable of Demons to fight by your side, learning new skills from them as they grow and fusing them into stronger forms.
8Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Teach And Bond With The Next Generation Of Warlords
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
If we’re specifically talking about large-scale RPGs with an emphasis on social elements, while leaving out Persona games, then the next most similar franchise to Metaphor would beFire Emblem, particularlyFire Emblem: Three Houses.
Rather than Metaphor’s traditional turn-based battles withcharacters in a set formation, Three Houses opts for tactical battles, having you place and command units on the battlefield to coordinate and entrap your foes. Outside the battlefield, there’s an entire military academy of charming folks you can meet and greet, both to boost their efficacy in combat and just to get to know their lovely personalities.
7Yakuza: Like A Dragon
The Magical Adventure Of A Middle-Aged Warrior
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
Who says only teenagers with attitude can be RPG protagonists? Not Ichiban Kasuga, hero ofYakuza: Like a Dragon. He may be a humble yakuza member in modern-day Japan, but a little imagination works wonders.
Through the lens of Ichiban’s RPG-addled brain, ordinary street fights become bizarre brawls between combatants slinging wild supernatural abilities. Much like Metaphor’sArchetype system, Yakuza: Like a Dragon utilizes a job system, allowing you tolevel your skillsand craft a build that suits your combat preferences. The game blends the fantastical and the realistic in a fascinating way.
6Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Rule The Battlefield Of The Entertainment Industry
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
Occasionally, when two franchises cross over, the end product can be something similar, yet wholly distinct from both. This is exactly what happened when Shin Megami Tensei crossed over with Fire Emblem to createTokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, a contemporary fantasy presented through the lens of idol and entertainment culture.
Metaphor: ReFantazio: Every Party Member, Ranked
A diverse bunch, each vital in their own right to take down Louis, but which one is the best of all?
While the premise is a bit niche, it’s got what you’re looking for from Metaphor’s stable, including turn-based combat and party bonding. Exploiting enemy weaknesses allows your party members to perform automatic follow-up attacks, while fun sub-stories help you get to know your fellow performers and unlock powerful new attacks and abilities.
5The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel
A Fantasy Adventure Set In An Academy
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Another long-running RPG franchise is Falcom’sLegend of Heroesseries, the most similar of which to Metaphor would definitely be one of its most prominent entries, Trails of Cold Steel. Trails of Cold Steel shares Metaphor’s greater emphasis on the threat of looming war and class divides in its fantasy setting, though it’s also set in an academy, which helps to keep things a little more contained.
Like Metaphor, Trails of Cold Steel uses a calendar system, divvying up your free time to chat with your classmates and explore dungeons between a couple of broad time slots. Chatting with those classmates ties into the game’s Link system, with your closer friends more readily coming to your rescue in combat with heals and defense.
4Eternights
Find Love, Save The World
Eternights
It takes some major development power to make a game on the scale of Metaphor, but if you’d prefer something a little more fast-paced, Eternights is a nice, lighter substitute. Set in a frightening take on the modern era, with humans spontaneously transforming into monsters, you’re one of the few remaining survivors in search of a way to get things back to normal.
Unlike Metaphor, Eternights is an action-RPG instead of a turn-based one, having you cut a swath through dungeons in pursuit of loot and answers. Instead of dungeon-crawling, you can also bond with and potentially find love with your few confidants. Whatever you do, though, you’d better get it done before the in-game deadline if you want to keep your skin.
3Octopath Traveler 2
Eight Heroes, Eight Tales To Tell
Octopath Traveler 2
Metaphor employs a beautiful, painting-like aesthetic in its graphics, whileOctopath Traveler 2replaces the character models with smaller, yet still quite expressive, pixel models. Don’t be fooled by the simpler graphics, though, because this RPG is just as beefy as any other.
Octopath Traveler 2 places you in control of eight different adventurers, traveling around the world to chase dreams and right wrongs. The game features another appearance by the classic Job system for customizing your party, though one edge this game has over its predecessor is that character stories will occasionally intersect in self-contained side stories, all coalescing at the end in a massive web of intrigue. You’ll find yourself caring for everybody, just as you do in Atlus' latest hit.
2NEO: The World Ends With You
Style Is Strength On The Streets Of Shibuya
NEO: The World Ends with You
If you like the bonding aspect of Metaphor, nothing says bonding with your friends like going out shopping in the stylish city of Shibuya. There’s plenty of that friend-making goodness you’re looking for inNEO: The World Ends with You, backed by unique physic combat against the mysterious Noise on the city streets.
By doing fun stuff with your party, such as shopping for new threads and eating at trendy restaurants, you expand your Social Network and earn Friendship Points. These points can be used to equip more abilities at once and chain them together, unlock new shop stock, and more.
1Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age
A Classic Tale Of A Hero Of Light
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Of course, we can’t talk about large-scale RPGs without mentioning one of the biggest series in the genre’s history. The latest mainline entry in this storied series isDragon Quest XI. Both this game and Metaphor have similarities in their themes, both being about a search for a missing royal. In Dragon Quest XI, of course, you are that missing royal.
Dragon Quest XI is another classic globe-trotting adventure, wherein you’ll visit a variety of locations, grow your skills, and take on wacky monsters designed by the late, great Akira Toriyama. While party bonding is less of a focus here, there are sidequests you may complete to learn more about them and unlock upgrades for them. Investing in your party is always worthwhile.
Metaphor: ReFantazio: 15 Essential Beginner Tips
If you want to get your head around archetypes, Akedemia, and this game’s complex aristocracy, then check out this beginner’s guide.
