Metaphor: ReFantazio’s combat is as robust as one might expect of a battle system with little constraints on its classes. Excluding the Royal Archetypes,Metaphor’s party is free to wield the Power of Kings at their choosing, allowing for a multitude of strategic plays that make the title’s fearsome enemies far less daunting to the prince and his retinue. Aiding in this versatility isMetaphor’s approach to gear, its equipment sharing clear parallels to modernPersona’s own, though branching a step forward through the sheer weight of its offerings. LikeP5,Metaphor’s armor and weaponryisn’t just a numbers game, made clearer through the purification system of St. Fermis' Church, allowing the potential of equipment to be tapped further.
Metaphor: ReFantazioandPersona 5share similar tenets in their equipment approach. Melee weapons play with effects like ailments (favored inPersona 5), buffs, or elemental imbuement, armor considers defense and evasion rates alongside bonus effects, while stat accessories offer all sorts of combat boons, from HP regeneration to ailment prevention. Both titles consider restoring equipment in some respect;P5’s laundry system allows dirty armor to be washed to transform into its shiny new counterpart, whileMetaphor’s St. Fermis' Church purification lets the hidden strengths of its gear be known, boosting anything from weaponry to armor and accessories. The purification system becomes more versatile towardsMetaphor’s endgame by way of its alternate forms, with a case to be made for a similar mechanic inPersona 6.
How Metaphor: ReFantazio Takes Gear Customization to New Heights
The Importance of the Right Equipment in Metaphor: ReFantazio
The right strategy in equipment management can be tantamount to victory inMetaphor: ReFantazio, often coming down to the variety of bonus effects offered. LikePersona 5, having auto-buffs, HP or SP regeneration, and stat increases can be exceptional boons in battle, but effects that consider exterior influences can be just as, if not more, powerful to explore inMetaphor. For example, items like the Dodger Ring, a trinket which depletes all of an enemy’s turn icons if their attack is missed, can fully trivialize late game encounters if equipped on aRoyal Thief Heismaywith other agility-boosting gear. The same rings true for a lot of the purified equipment available through St. Fermis' Church, with further versatility in changing gear to its alternate form(s).
Tradeoffs in the Alternate Forms of Purified Equipment
With purification, there is a base cost alongside the need for holy water (blessed, graced, or heavenly) that the process requires, helping to keep the mechanic balanced by virtue of resource management. Once the criteria for purification has been met, some gear can be swapped to an alternate form at a small charge, considering a different type of bonus effect that plays into the strategic element of equipment customization. For example, an Apprentice’s Abacus can yield either a Thrifty Abacus or Investor’s Abacus, the former decreasing the cost of money skills forMetaphor’s Merchant lineage, with the latter doubling both the cost and strength of those same skills. Here, there is a clear tradeoff between the two, which players can consider based on how much Reeve they have, or how willing they might be to sacrifice strength for usage.
Covering the Right Weaknesses
Though not all ofMetaphor’s purified equipmenthas alternate forms, its applicability with weaponry, accessories, and armor speaks to the merits of the mechanic across different types of gear. Purified items are rare, making the option to switch between forms a boon with different combat encounters and party setups. For example, asMetaphorhas Strike, Pierce, and Slash damage (a feat seen inPersona 3and itsReloadcounterpart), the option to purify the Artisan’s Headgear into the Duellist’s, Jouster’s, or Bruiser’s Headgear allows players to pick which type they most want to seek evasion for, swapping between the three for a low cost. With the Dragon Trials ofMetaphor’s late game, transforming the Pure White Shoes into Crimson Split Shoes is virtually a must for the clash with the Devourer of Flames, though having the ability to swap to Cobalt, Aureolin, or Emerald Split Shoes allows the coverage of other elemental weaknesses in different scenarios.
By virtue of its parties' elemental specialties, there are more defined constraints put on the members of thePersonaseries. This isn’t a flaw of its system; rather, a feature that makesthe protagonists ofPersona 3through5’s wild card ability more pronounced. Because of this, however,Persona 6adopting a similar mechanic that considers swapping between alternate forms of accessories could help add to its own equipment versatility, similar to howPersona 5 Royalconsidered mods for its ranged weaponry that had players contend with power and accuracy tradeoffs. With accessories being the prime source of versatility for all party members, being able to switch rarer items' effects, like swapping an Auto-Concentrate bonus to Auto-Charge, for example, could let players experiment more with party strategies and combat preparation.
