Introduction

For most of my gaming life, I can tell you easily what two of my top 5 favorite JRPG franchises are, that is the Persona series and games under the Shin Megami Tensei (SMT for short) titles like Digital Devil Saga, Nocturne and the dozens of others.

These games have taken most of my free time as a kid/teen and even as an adult, I will spend every hour I can playing a Persona game like Persona 3: Reload or SMT V: Vengeance, just because I still love these particular games.

That’s why when ATLUS (the beloved publishers/developers behind many of these games) announced an original IP from the team behind the more recent Persona games…I immediately asked, “When is it releasing and how much is the limited edition?!”

Then I heard about a demo and usually with JRPGs, I’m not too keen on downloading a demo because of several reasons, one, I will want the full release even more, and two, they often don’t let me experience what the game is, fully—and expected.

Well, I downloaded the demo, played for several hours, and was ecstatic with what I experienced. Metaphor: ReFantazio isn’t just another Persona game or SMT title, no, it’s something of a love letter to those games as it contains elements from all of them but done uniquely.

Is it perfect, should you buy it ASAP and will it stave off that dire need for Persona 6? Let me tell you in my review of Metaphor: ReFantazio for the PS5!

Watch the Official Trailer

Gameplay

Like many ATLUS games, the story and gameplay are what makes the games so playable. Metaphor: ReFantazio isn’t an exception, this title fuses story and turn-based gameplay in ways that will make many JRPG fans happy.

However, let me be very clear, this is neither SMT-orientated nor Persona. You’ll hear me reference both of those things many times while breaking down Metaphor: ReFantazio but if you are a fan of SMT but dislike Persona or vice versa, this is a review I feel you need to read.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a true fusion of both franchises and that will polarize some if you go in unaware.

First, let’s talk about the exploration which is…like Persona 5. You’ll be splitting your time into various activities, main quests, talking with party members, leveling up several elements like wisdom and tolerance, and doing all of this within a time limit.

Doing 90% of activities costs a day cycle and night is usually for various tasks and resting. You need to be weary though as like Persona 5 and 4, there’s a time limit to some quests, and failing to do them before that time runs out is a game over.

These timed events aren’t so demanding that you can’t enjoy some nice side quests and follower bonds (the social links I mentioned) but you won’t be maxing out everything in one go, most likely, and will need to prioritize what you wish to focus on.

Outside of exploration, Metaphor: ReFantazio is all about glorious turn-based combat with some rather neat little tricks. You aren’t summoned Persona or demons in Metaphor: ReFantazio but instead, class-based warriors called Archetypes.

Think of Archetypes as Final Fantasy job classes. What’s neat about Metaphor: ReFantazio is that Archetypes aren’t limited to one character meaning you can have your main character using a Mage Archetype while other party members use maybe Brawler or Knight Archetypes.

As you level up these Archetypes they will gain more skills (some very similar to Persona and SMT) and you can even allocate some abilities to other Archetypes to create robust parties. Early on, I was rocking Knight with healing/light spells from Mage but later, was combining the shield-heavy Knight Archetype with Mage/Knight to create a perfect team.

Props to Metaphor: ReFantazio for having such a robust turn-based system.

Battles also mirror other ATLUS games where enemies have weaknesses/strengths (as does your Archetype) and exploiting them can give you an extra turn (known as the Press Turn system), or being hit with weakness or missing leads to losing a turn.

Add to this, a synthesis system that allows players to use two Archetypes together to create special attacks, and you’ll quickly realize Metaphor: ReFantazio isn’t just copying Persona but enhancing it. While in dungeons you can also hack/slash at enemies and dodge them mirroring a NIS game as of late called Trails Through Daybreak, from the other great JRPG franchise The Legend of Heroes.

Low-level enemies can be felled in one or two hits and harder ones can be hit for early damage then a squad-based attack to initialize the turn-based combat. Equally, being hit by a tough enemy will leave you at a disadvantage which could spell a quick death for a party. These elements make Metaphor: ReFantazio a fun JRPG that does feel like Persona but also SMT and that’s where the differences might annoy some.

Those who think of Metaphor: ReFantazio as a Persona game will hate that there’s no romance to be found and the story is very bleak/dark. Those who love SMT will love the story and gameplay but will have issues with the Persona-like elements.

I think going into Metaphor: ReFantazio as a fan of both is what I’ve dreamed of for an original IP. Yes, I would have loved romanceable characters and maybe a bit less reliance on so many Persona systems like the followers and various things you have to level up to engage in various events.

Yet, I won’t complain since I’m used to that from my time playing all of those games and I think it allows every person’s play-through of Metaphor: ReFantazio to be slightly different. I would advise going into Metaphor: ReFantazio not expecting Persona or SMT, just a love letter to both.

Graphics

Visually, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is stunning and memorizing at times. From the various cutscenes to the way a clash occurs after two gigantic energy attacks hits, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is just eye fanfare and I never stopped loving it.

I played on a 4k monitor and was blown away by how some of the special attacks looked. Dimps did a phenomenal job of making this 3D fighter one of their best creations.

Again, the still scenes that pop up are…abysmal but these are only present in a few modes and are a minor gripe when I can see UI Goku unleashing his signature dodges in animation that almost matches the anime.

Sound

Whether you’re listening to Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero in English Dub or Japanese Sub, you’re going to smile. The voice acting is incredible as expected from the Dragon Ball franchise. Likewise, the music is great with plenty of throwbacks from Super and OG Dragon Ball making their appearances here and there.

Attacks sound great too, Goku unleashing his Kamehameha wave will make you smile.

Story

I talked about it more or less in the gameplay section but Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero does a superb job with the story. The world of Dragon Ball has a narrative as vast as Star Wars at this point (think about all the OVAs and movies, and you’ll agree with my comparison). Containing that in one game is no small feat.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero equally has a wide assortment of what-if scenarios that give fans what they want in terms of unlikely pair-ups and even battles they didn’t think of. Again, I could run down a list of spoiler-heavy moments but I won’t.

Half the fun of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is seeing these episodes play out for yourself and wondering what else you can do.

Overall Impression

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero isn’t a perfect fighting game, there are a multitude of things I could go on and on about when it comes to dodge mechanics, balancing, and how stamina stuns work. Part of me wanted to do so in this review and I’d be warranted to, honestly.
However, as a long-time Dragon Ball fan, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is what I’ve wanted from Bandai Namco for years and while I could harp on the small issues, at the end of the day, I walk away playing Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero and having a good time.

Conclusion

Friends of mine are loving the challenging episode mode (it’s hard but not the goofy levels I’ve seen exaggerated online so it’s why I didn’t even mention it here) and going online to raise their ranks and/or just earn a means to unlock the huge roster of characters and their customization options.

There will be, no doubt, people who want to take Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero competitively and it can be done…albeit, shouldn’t be given the balancing system. Nonetheless, fans I feel will love Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero and that is what matters.

Now, please for the love of God, add Super Saiyan Bardock… I get the DLC is coming but like, now please, thanks.

—Aaron