Metaphor: ReFantazio, what a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game. Despite both Persona 3 Reload and Episode Aigis coming out this year, this game is my game of the year. Truly, this is one of the best games I've played in recent years, with a story and cast of characters that will surely stick with me and impact my life just as strongly as Persona has. Each character you meet throughout your journey within the Kingdom of Euchronia feel alive, having their own beliefs and goals to fight with all their life for. A father who has lost his child, trying to find closure and peace. A royal guard who has failed the ultimate duty, protecting the prince, thus loosing all motivation to upkeep her title. A noblemen who's village was razed to the ground, trying to seek revenge and his true purpose, and so many more. Both party members and enemies alike, all felt real and written in such a way that you could understand what they fought for, and see the passion for said goals through both words and action. The main antagonist, Louis Guiabern, will go down as one of the best villains in media (in my opinion). At first, his goals and aspirations seem ludicrous, striving for the throne of the kingdom to change the world so that only the strongest shall prevail. But as you persist throughout the story and get to know him more and more, the more you come to understand him and what he was truly fighting for, even sometimes agreeing with what he had to say. Ultimately, however, the way he approaches such change is against how you, the player and protagonist, wish to go forward and thus, are forced to fight him. He's a villain that is both unlikeable, yet understandable to a point that you don't hate him, and only wish he could see things how they should truly be laid out, without conflict and bloodshed. OH and don't even get me started on the reoccurring plot beats of magic and magla, and how this game is just one big "Anxiety sucks but if you learn to live with it, it can become a strength and not weakness" message and I LOVE IT. The story as a whole is amazing, and the team over at Studio Zero should be proud of the new world they created, following their success with the Persona series. The music is phenomenal, with Shoji Meguro behind its creation it's no surprise the music was gonna slap. With his works including all of the Persona games, the mid-era of Shin Megami Tensei, Trauma Center, Catherine, and now Metaphor, the man knows his way around music and bringing an energy to any moment, whether it be a bombastic and epic moment, or those of sadness and grief. It's spectacular. The gameplay is perfect, being a full combination of SMT, Etrian Odyssey, Digital Devil Saga, and Persona. The turn based combat feels super rewarding, and having the ability to swap classes on any characters means you can have a party tuned to how you want it, no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ required. Want a full physical party? Done. Full Magic? Done. A hybrid party focused on both? Easy. A party comprised of buff, debuffs, healing, and a single hard-hitting damage dealer? Might take awhile, but it can be done. The only limit to your party is the effort you want to put into it, and I think that's the best way of implementing player expression. It's leagues beyond that of Persona in that regard. Overall, this is not only an amazing Fantasy JRPG, it's just a fantastic game with so much that can be pulled from it, I could keep talking for hours about it. This game is a love letter for ATLUS fans and RPG fans alike. If you have even the slightest bit interest in this game, please, I implore you, get it. The 80 or so hours it'll suck you into will be well worth it. Now then, times marches on, and the age of a new king draws nearer...

The PC port of Persona 3 Portable is both a blessing and a curse in disguise. While P3P is a fine game on its own, it doesn’t excuse the poor quality of the port and the impact it will have on new fans of both the game and the series. So what do you get for your $20? You get the mechanically best version of Persona 3, with the option of playing both a male and female protagonist, a whole suite of new quality of life adjustments, and the ability to play this game after being stuck on the PSP since 2009. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, apparently it was too good to be true, as this port includes low quality audio that is somehow worse than the original on PSP, AI-up-scaled backgrounds and textures that look really messy in certain areas, no manual skill-inheritance, and the overall feel of the game feeling off due to the quality not seeming up to par as with Persona 4 Golden or Persona 5 Royals’ modern ports. Do I recommend this game? Yes. Do I think the game could be better? 100% Yes. Should you buy this game? Well, that’s up to you, but as this is the only way to play Persona 3 on a modern system without having an original copy or emulating it, there isn’t really any other choice. Overall, I’m happy I’m finally able to play this game on PC without emulation. But Portable isn’t my preferred way to play and the low quality makes me feel like ATLUS didn’t really care about this port, and only did it out of necessity. 6/10


If you want my full thoughts, my full review is here:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2934096783