Metaphor: ReFantazio Has No Romance Options

Metaphor: ReFantazio received a lengthy showcase trailer earlier this week, showing off the next game from Persona developer Studio Zero in great detail. As you'd expect, Metaphor: ReFantazio shares a lot of DNA with the Persona series, particularly in its style, combat, and social elements. However, there is at least one major area where Metaphor separates itself from the Persona series. While you'll be able to form deep bonds with other characters in the RPG, you won't have the option to romance those characters like you do in Persona. 

Metaphor: ReFantazio Won't Include Romance Bonds

The new information comes from a recent livestream Q&A hosted by Studio Zero. That stream took place entirely in Japanese, but the team at Siliconera translated the important bit. The developer was asked about romancing characters through the Bond system and host Mafia Kajita said that Metaphor won't let players enter romantic relationships. Kajita explained that the Bond system is different from Social Links and Confidants that players are used to in the Persona series. However, that doesn't mean the relationships you build won't as engaging as their Persona counterparts.

Kajjita said players will still be treated to substantial narratives through sub-stories, so the trademarks fans are used to will likely be coming back. It's just going to be handled a little differently in this new IP. That said, the Bond system will still be very important because maxing them out will give players access to new Archetypes, the unique classes in Metaphor: ReFantazio. In short, Metaphor will still have most of what players love about Studio Zero games, but it's going to put its spin on everything from the medieval story to the new mechanics.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Release Date

Metaphor: ReFantazio is currently slated to release on October 11th. Interestingly, the next game from Studio Zero and publisher Atlus is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Persona 5 eventually came to most platforms, but it launched as a PlayStation exclusive in 2017. In fact, it wasn't until the team released Persona 5 Royal that it came to other platforms. In contrast, Metaphor is coming to most major platforms for the jump, though it is notable that it's skipping Xbox One and Nintendo Switch for now.

Regardless, it's great to see Metaphor: ReFantazio coming to so many consoles at launch. That will hopefully lead to great sales and set up another major franchise for Studio Zero's future. Even if the sales don't line up with expectations, it is going to be fun to see what the studio does with its first original game since the studio was formed in 2016 by longtime Persona director Katsura Hashino.