Metaphor: ReFantazio was a turn-based RPG that I showed up for on day one when it came to PlayStation 5 (among other platforms) just over two years ago. It’s a long, long RPG, but it comes with some engaging progression systems that turn familiar Atlus ones on their head. The endearing cast work towards taking down a diabolical villain, but with enough grinding, perseverance, and a little luck, you may be able to reach the end of this fairly challenging game. Having already seen the story through before, I was particularly interested to see how Metaphor looked and ran on Switch 2.

While I didn’t have a chance to test out the eShop demo for Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2, I am happy to report that the full version has options for Performance, Balanced, and Quality modes. The default Balanced option retains the fluctuating framerate reported in the demo, but Performance mode appears to be much more stable and offers a more comparable experience to the PS5 version. Even while playing in Handheld you have the choice of the same three options, with the caveat that the fps and resolution are going to take a hit. Still I found the stability in Performance mode to be good enough so as not to have a major impact on my experience. It was also a very welcome sight to see the look of the anime cutscenes and turn-based battles, in addition to the brief load times, as positives of the Switch 2 version.

Metaphor: ReFantazio tells the story of a kingdom named Euchronia and its slumbering prince and subsequent contest for its throne after the death of the king. At its heart is a dastardly villain, Louis, who murder’s the king and stages the aforementioned contest. Throughout the adventure, you explore dungeons, unlock and empower job classes called Archetypes, and form bonds with other characters in the same way you foster Social Links in the Persona games. To put a find point on it, I really loved the Archetype system and the way new ones are unlocked in a similar fashion to job classes from games like Final Fantasy Tactics. Moreover, the world is fairly vast, with multiple regions that each have their own stories to tell, but through it all the main character works to curry favor with the populace so as to win the Tournament of the Throne and thus control of Euchronia.

A number of features of the battle system culminate in a satisfying strategic experience. Returning here is the tried-and-true Press Turn system of many SMT titles, but there’s also a front and back row mechanic for when you want to sacrifice some of your damage dealing potential for a bit more defence. Like in some of the recent Trails RPGs, you can attack enemies while running around a dungeon to either defeat them instantly or weaken them so as to gain an adventure when combat starts. A bit later in the game, if party members have the right Archetypes equipped, they can perform joint attacks called Synthesis skills. Because you can’t swap Archetypes during combat, like you can with demons in SMT, there’s a bit less flexibility and a bit more pre-planning needed, especially ahead of the challenging boss encounters.

If you’re an RPG fan who’s especially fond of the offerings that come from Atlus, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a dead simple recommendation. While the story might not be for everyone, the excellent combat and novel Archetype progression system are worth the price of admission for folks whose love of all things turn-based burns bright. Applying a fantasy coat of paint to the demon realms of SMT and the real world settings of Persona works wonders, and it’s a welcome sight to see Atlus step outside of their sequel tradition and try something new. The Switch 2 version makes for a worthy ship on which to take this voyage, with options to adjust the experience based on your preference for performance or graphical fidelity. You might be here for a long time, but Metaphor is like a familiar friend LARP-ing in a high fantasy world.