FINALLY FINISHED METAPHOR REFANTAZIO

IT'S NOT A REVIEW IT'S RAMBLING

it's good. it's solid. but it didn't leave as much of an impression on me... maybe because after a few proper jrpgs and all of them being atlus cookery i am kinda getting used to them... or maybe because, as tumblr pointed out, it's so good that there aren't low parts that you constantly think about and run in circles trying to figure out how they could've been better?.... i dunno. i definetely enjoyed metaphor in a more... even way? like yeah sure there were peaks in those twists and turns and hype moments but they weren't as high of peaks and especially there were no lows to compare those peaks to unlike in p4/p5

the cast is absolutely golden tho. i mean i do not get a couple of things that people like in eupha and basilio, but also that's on me, as i and didn't finish their social links. but they're nice characters. major thing tho: junah makes me want to change my approach to rise one i replay p4g again. two playthroughs and i completely ignored the teenage idol... and i am so SO smitten with strohl omg. "oh what great friends he is with the protagonist" vs "oh friends they are)))" i loveloveLOVE when the trust runs so deep you can't really name it. metaphor solidified my love for first teammates done by atlus. hulkenberg is an absolute treasure. i love her serious moments and her goofy moments. really, atlus did her goof so well i am stunned........ 

for non-team social links: THEY WENT ALL IN!!!! banger after banger!!! you needed to see my stupid smile when catherina showed up.... okay my smile wasn't stupid but i loved her. and the part about brigitta's dog surviving in the end....

and a special shout out goes out to the GOAT batlin. i am in the camp wanting for him to have a social link, but by the end i kinda guess that it would sour his character a bit... c'mon... he's a cryer for crying out loud, he delivers news, our interference would put him in a not-neutral position to us! like yeah he's a sanctist cryer already yadayada but like they give him a job. and he is also a goat for believing in us without any of our actions being directed at him, we gained his trust, not bought!

i kinda didn't enjoy louis at all. but that's how it is with the antagonists. he Antagonizes. he seemed a little too flat for me. the least flat part about his character is that igniter breast plate he wears. but eh, he's the bad guy, it's kinda right to dislike him. he served his role of that big insurmountable evil well. he served 0 cunt tho. i understand that griffith look (i haven't read berserker so i have 0 feelings for it) but oh dear THE RED EYELIDS.... lad's got an eye infection. all that political power, wealth and magical ability, and not getting a visit to a doctor? bruh

ah as i started talking about the design part... the ui does look good for the first couple of sits but the gimmick wears off rather quickly, and the red-teal contrast in some places doesn't feel goodon my eyes. i am not a hater! but i really wish there was an option for a more toned-down version of the ui (way less animations of white pencil borders, less particles in the air, remove red-teal borders...). character designs are good. yeah some choices are questionable (louis' red eyelids, strohl's coat sleeves standing on his shoulders, eupha wearing sandals over tights) but they are ether minor or do the job. i never was a fan of wide shoulders on men's uniforms, like louis', barton's or any npc' from any faction's army. BUT I AM A FAN OF SUCH SHOULDERS ON HULKENBERG. she does have the legs to redirect some attention, but also i've never seen those on women...

sound design is impeccable though i have zero complains. i loved hearing some reused persona sfx!!!

ah ooooh and persona references... yeah i am greatful they didnt go overboard with them. as always, cu chulainn carries! (i used my eupha as a debuffer...) i didn't catch any smt references other than shinjuku in the dragon temple because i haven't gotten around the series yet... back to persona but that's on me actually: when exploring shinjuku in the temple in one of the rooms with chests the team encounters A Gun. but i think if An Evoker. BABYBABYBABY okay i will stop that. metaphor borrows heavily from jung and that's especially obvious in more parts. THEY REALLY DID HAVE TO MAKE HIS ROOM MOSTLY BLUE huh. well but persona parallels really spoiled the nature of more's room. at least the translators used a different phrasing in the reveal (BUT I WILL NOT BE FOOLED)

okay no more that minor bs

the gameplay???? i loved every part of it. okay almost every part of it. i breezed through the game up until the last month and i suppose i was underleveled the whole time so when it was Time To Slay Dragons i really got my ass whooped. so i had to grind from level 50-something to 70-something. it was not fun. it was the reason it took me that long to finish metaphor compared to p5. it was not quick because the peons in the tower were underleveled for the most part of the grind. finisher noodles>>>>>>>>

i understand why atlus won't copy skill inheritance from metaphor and put it into persona but i can dream. i think late game i spent more time choosing the skills from the inherited bank than picking the actual gear. late game wasn't that great for having fun with trying different archetypes, but 1) i wanted to finish the game sooner 2) i got tunnel sighted 3) i got too used to the mc spamming almighty skills

well the missed endings of eupha's and basilio's s links, the knowledge to play better, the desire to see more of the archetypes, the different translations of subtitles... yeah i will come back for an ng+. not soon, but i will. really, i started in english to have subtitles match the voiced lines and out of habit, but i did notice russian and german tl...

ah i ran out of steam for now so i will stop here... will update the post in an edit later once i gather some more thoughts... i was planning on writing this as a short bulletin but it got too long for what i consider suitable for one. okay byebye