Spoilers ahead for Metaphor: ReFantazio.
For years, Atlus has mostly been known for its two pillar JRPG franchises: Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, the latter of which spun off of SMT to begin with. In 2024, however, Metaphor: ReFantazio changed that, beginning a new Atlus franchise and racking up critical acclaim, including several wins at The Game Awards 2024. Metaphor: ReFantazio shares a ton of DNA with SMT and Persona, especially in borrowing Persona's social sim elements and how party members awaken to magical power through the power of their heart. In exchange, the inevitable Persona 6 might borrow some ideas from Metaphor, and if so, it should draw on the Summoner Archetype in particular.
The Summoner belongs to a long tradition of JRPG characters, classes, and jobs that revolve around conjuring up a powerful monster to attack enemies. Many incarnations of Summoners have special requirements for unlocking new abilities, and Metaphor is no different, asking fans to craft vessels to get new Summoner skills. Persona already has extensive themes of "summoning" thanks to the titular Personas, but it still has room for a more traditional summoning mechanic inspired by the Summoner Archetype in Metaphor: ReFantazio. Just like how the Archetype references classic monsters from Atlus history like Jack Frost, Persona 6 could celebrate the franchise's history and spotlight its own major encounters with the power of summoning.
A Metaphor: ReFantazio-Style Summoning Mechanic Could Be Persona 6's Version of Theurgy
The broad strokes of Persona 6 seem fairly obvious -- turn-based combat, dungeon crawling, and a calendar-based social system are all but guaranteed to return. However, after games like Persona 5 Royal and Persona 3 Reload introduced mechanics like Hold Ups, Showtimes, and Theurgy to increase their depth of strategy, Atlus has put some pressure on itself to build some special combat tricks into Persona 6 to set it apart. One way to do that could be by combining Theurgy from Persona 3 Reload with the Summoner Archetype.
Theurgy attacks revolve around Persona 3 Reload's party members turbo-charging their Personas to use a special technique. Rather than focusing on Personas, Persona 6 Reload could allow players to charge up an attack that allows them to summon a powerful Shadow to attack the enemy. Persona features a variety of Persona-user antagonists that make use of Shadows to advance their own interests, whether by directly manipulating them or simply scheming around them, so it's entirely within the realm of possibility that P6's party could figure out a way to do it too, especially if P6 retains Persona 5's SMT-inspired intelligent Shadows.
There are a wide variety of ways that Persona 6 players might unlock Shadow summons:
- Persona 6 could feature a highly traditional Summoner mechanic where fans have to battle tough optional bosses in order to earn the right to summon that boss in battle later.
- The protagonist might unlock a Persona-based summon when they fuse that Persona in the Velvet Room, which would encourage players to fill out the compendium (and play off P3R's unlockable Theurgies for the protagonist)
- Completing non-party Social Links in Persona 6 could reward players with a special summon inspired by that character -- essentially conjuring a Shadow version of their unawakened Persona in battle without physically bringing that character into the Shadow world
The Persona 3 Reload protagonist's Theurgy skills are actually a little similar to the Summoner Archetype already, in that he calls for help from Personas he used in the past, who don't have to be in the player's current inventory of Personas to be used in a Theurgy.
Perhaps the biggest question for a Shadow summon mechanic would be whether the whole party could use it. It certainly seems like a trait that might be unique to Persona's Wild Card protagonists, since it's so unorthodox, but that would be disappointingly restricted, especially compared to Theurgy. Given how little precedent there is for a feature like this, Atlus could certainly find a narrative reason to open it up to the whole party. Eupha's role as the source of Metaphor's Summoner Archetype is deeply connected to her life as a priestess and mustari culture, but thanks to the broader Archetype lore, it's still perfectly justified that her fellow party members can use the power of a Summoner. Similarly, Persona 6 could make Shadow summoning a technique that starts out exclusively in the Wild Card's hands during a tutorial battle to play into its own lore conventions, but then quickly have the protagonist teach the technique to their allies.
Persona is already so rich with summoning that a more classical Summoner mechanic only seems like a logical progression. Shin Megami Tensei and its spin-offs already deal heavily with mortals who team up with Shadows or Demons, so it'd hardly be out of place for Persona 6 to equip players with their own Shadow allies and minions. Nothing is guaranteed about Persona 6 for now, but given its monumental success, it would be wise to draw on stand-out features of Metaphor: ReFantazio like the Summoner Archetype.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 93 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- October 11, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Studio Zero
- Publisher(s)
- Atlus
- Engine
- GFD
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
WHERE TO PLAY
From the creative minds behind Persona 3, 4, and 5 comes Metaphor: ReFantazio, a unique fantasy world, where your protagonist will journey alongside his fairy companion, Gallica, to lift the curse from the kingdom’s lost prince.
Control your destiny, face your fears, and awaken magical Archetype powers that lie dormant in your heart. By awakening to an Archetype, you will unlock the power to channel and combine the abilities of unique job classes. Strengthen your bonds and build your party to take down powerful foes and discover the kingdom’s true nature.
- PC Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- How Long To Beat
- 65 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 81.15 GB
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
