Metaphor: ReFantazio Game Guide review — The prince's guide to Euchronia

I don’t usually get strategy or game guides, I generally prefer to figure things out on my own. The exception is when I truly love a game, and want to know everything about it. Metaphor: ReFantazio is absolutely one of those games, and when FuturePress offered us a chance to check out their massive, hardcover, almost 600-page tome on the game, I had to take the opportunity. While I loved playing the game totally blind alongside Editor Jack Zustiak for our review, which you can read right here, I and other fans of the game should have fun pouring over this guide’s contents.

Metaphor: ReFantazio review — Living the dream

Do you believe in the power of fiction? That stories can change not just hearts and minds, but the world itself? Everyone has dreams, but are these, too, destined to be mere fantasy? These are the questions Metaphor: ReFantazio asks, the latest title from ATLUS, creators of the Shin Megami

GamingTrendJack Zustiak

First things first: the cover. As mentioned, this is a high-quality, hardcover book, and it’s sure to look elegant sitting next to just about anything on your shelf. The cover uses art from the game’s menus, depicting the protagonist starting up at the game’s logo with the Archetype Menu in the background. It’s very classy, and features some of the game’s Esperanto lettering to the top left, though I'm not sure how to translate it. 

The spine and back aren’t too detailed, the former just showing the game and FuturePress’ logos, while the back has ATLUS and SEGA’s as well. You can also see the barcode and MSRP of 54.99 USD. A hefty price, but not too bad for something that feels very well made in the hand. Included with the book is a double-sided poster of the United Kingdom of Euchronia, with one side adding an atlas and the other simply being the artwork. It also seems to have stretched out the book’s spine a bit, leading to the back cover closing a bit weirdly.

Opening it up, it’s easy to see why the book is so big - it’s stunningly comprehensive. The start of the book contains a foreword as well as a table of continents, dividing all the information into six chapters. These are as follows: System Guide, Main Story, Quest Guide, Archetypes, Bestiary, Items & Equipment, and Appendices. Each section will go over any relevant information, which means information is often repeated in different sections for your convenience. Various portions of the book are also spoiler tagged, so players who haven’t finished the game can use it as a guide without worry. 

For example, the Martira section of the walkthrough will offer a full schedule for your time there, listing what the player can/should do on each day alongside notated maps of the town and dungeons, all utilizing the game’s unique style. Any bosses encountered will also list a strategy, their HP, and any elemental weaknesses or strengths they possess, with the page number for their full entry in the bestiary listed as well. For a certain boss fight during this arc, their gimmick is stated within a spoiler tag, so players who want some strategy can still figure it out on their own.

All of this is presented in a gorgeous fashion and on high-quality paper. It’s a bit more function over form than the game itself, but that’s not exactly a bad thing for something focused on delivering information. It also provides clean looks at a ton of the game’s artwork and 3D models. This isn’t an art book, but it’s still cool to see occasionally.

It’s clear a lot of love has been poured into this book, with FuturePress taking care to lay bare everything about Metaphor: ReFantazio in an accessible way. There’s even a little ribbon included to serve as a bookmark. I have found a typo or two, but those are pretty rare as far as I can tell. Regardless, anyone who loves Metaphor should consider adding this to their collection.