Ahead of the launch of Metaphor: ReFantazio on October 11, Atlus has launched a "Prologue Demo" for the game on both Windows and Steam. This demo is surprisingly substantial, as it features the game's first four dungeons and seven of the "archetype" classes for your party to try out. It's also substantial in the sense that it's a nearly 59 GB download. Hope you've made space on your SSD!
The prologue demo is actually longer than the preview that I played back in August, which I absolutely loved. Expect to get more than four hours of game time in before the demo ends, and yes, save files will transfer to the full game. Most of the demo content follows a linear path, so you can focus on learning the combat mechanics and enjoying the story as an appetizer for the full feast coming up soon. If you just want a taste of the full game, it'll certainly give you that—but if you're already theorycrafting in your head or wondering how you'll spec your characters, you can use this demo to really set up your party for the full game.
Here are some key tips that I wish I knew when I started playing.
1. Optimize your protagonist for either strength or magic
Metaphor: ReFantazio has many similarities to Atlus' Persona series, but there's a lot of Shin Megami Tensei in this RPG's DNA too. Whenever your protagonist levels up you can invest points into one of his five core stats: strength, magic, endurance, agility, and luck. I strongly suggest funneling all your points into either strength or magic. This will let your main character hit especially hard, which will help your party take down common battles and boss encounters as fast as possible. It turns out the best defense really is a good offense.
Strength builds and magic builds have unique pros and cons. Magic will often let you hit an enemy's weakness, whereas Strength will inflict consistent damage against most foes and won't rely as much on draining your character's magic points. You can't go wrong either way, and you can always build your other party members to inflict the strength or magic damage your protagonist can't.
Near the start of your adventure, an army recruitment officer will ask you about your skills. If you're interested in strength, answer "I'm stronger than I look." Meanwhile, magic users will want to say "I've got a sharp mind." This will start you with a huge boost to either your Strength or Magic stats, respectively.
2. Experiment with the archetype system
The class system in Metaphor: ReFantazio is where this adventure really differentiates itself from Persona and Shin Megami Tensei. Metaphor's "archetypes" most closely resembles the job system from Final Fantasy 5 or Final Fantasy Tactics. Each character can freely equip archetypes that change their stats, equipment, and skills, ranging from all-out attackers to defensive classes focused on drawing enemy attacks. At first blush you might think to specialize each character into a specific Achetype in the same way you'd optimize your protagonist's stats. However, you'll find that some battles go down much easier if you've equipped your character with the archetypes that counter your foes best.
This demo is a great opportunity to experiment with the available archetypes and figure out how they synergise. If you're worried about "wasting" experience points on archetypes you might not use in the long run, just know that it's relatively easy to level grind in Metaphor's dungeons. What's more, based on my time with the preview build of Metaphor, I can tell you that you'll eventually be rewarded for leveling up several archetypes on the same character too. Take time to see how each archetype fits into your party!
3. Your main character's archetype will change their overworld combat style
While all characters can change their active archetype, your protagonist's archetype will also alter how they control in the real-time overworld combat. More importantly, the main character's archetype will have a unique passive skill that can totally change the way you see enemies outside the turn-based battles.
Why is this a game changer? Equip your protagonist with the mage archetype, and he'll be able to restore the party's magic points by fighting enemies in the overworld. If you find enemies that you can defeat outright without entering the turn-based squad battles, you can grind enemies until you've completely refilled your party's magic reserves. Min-maxers playing on harder difficulties can use this trick to save their rare magic point recovery items.
4. You should fight that dragon
I'm not going to give too many spoilers here, but there will come a time in the demo when you can choose to either fight or sneak past a sleeping dragon. While you might think the game is encouraging you to try to fight this baddie later, I can assure you that you're capable of defeating this monster now. What's more, you'll get some awesome rewards for doing so that you'll be very happy to have.
It's not an easy fight. However, if you experiment with your party's archetypes and purchase some key items from the local merchant, you'll have a good shot at victory and go into the full game that much more prepared. Be the dragon slayer that I know you can be!
