Atlus games have a reputation for being very, very difficult. Veteran players of the series may remember “skill bosses” such as the Matador in Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne or the Minotaur in the 3DS version of Shin Megami Tensei 4. Each of these enemies served as an early-game wall that left many players stranded, terminating save files and making people reconsider their RPG choices.
The game doesn’t get any easier from that point on. The MegaTen series and the Persona series are both home to some pretty tough combat, and even seasoned RPG players can be easily undermined if they don’t pay attention to the complex mechanics of the games they’re playing. .
Of course, things have gotten a little easier lately – the re-release of Shin Megami Tensei 5 has an optional “Safe Difficulty” download that basically lets you do 10x more damage from the get-go. Persona games have become increasingly accessible since Persona 3, and Persona 5 in particular is a walk in the park for those who can’t tell the difference between an SRPG and a JRPG ( If you still want to call them that).
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However, Atlus seems keen to leverage its experience in all areas with the upcoming version of Metaphor ReFantazio. The game is the developer’s first new RPG in generations, and it feels like Shin Megami Tensei at its best Final Fantasy (which isn’t a bad thing), but with one key difference: the game starts There are a range of difficulty options available.
I recorded several different modes in the game. “Storyteller Mode” assumes a difficulty similar to that of Safe in SMT5; letting you experience narrative without having to really worry about having your ass handed to you in combat.
Easy/Normal/Hard will then be your usual triple difficulty in the game: a variation on the standard experience that will let you hit harder, deal less damage, and take advantage of the amazing “press-to-turn” system to overcome even the most standard mob encounters. I had to lower the difficulty in the demo from Hard to Normal in order to progress in the given time; stubborn enemies soaked up more damage and seemed to target the party’s weaknesses more. This is just anecdotal at this point, but I’ve reached out to Sega PR to try to gather more information on the differences between the various modes.
There was another pattern that caught my eye, though. In the demo it is grayed out and unselectable. This is called ‘regicide’. If you’re unfamiliar with the term (and therefore obviously not a Halo player), it means “the act of killing the king.” It’s unclear if this will make enemies weaker and easier to kill you in one go, or if there will be more meaningful differences in the game (like new bosses, etc.).
Either way, this is good news for players who want to really experience “Oh my god, how on earth am I going to beat this?” vivi Atlus has been well-known for the past few generations of gaming consoles. When I boot up the game I’m going to at least give Regicide a try, even if I only play it for a few hours before giving in and rejecting it. Is it genuine?
Atlus has been very creative with difficulty modes in the past. My favorite example of creative difficulty comes from Shin Megami Tensei: Demon Survivor: Overclocking, where you have to use points earned from completing achievements in the base game to “purchase” new Game+ features in the new mode.
It remains to be seen whether we’ll see another mode added to the game when you first play through the title (like we did with the “Godborn” mode in SMT5:V?). At least for now, I’m happy to see Atlus catering to the casual crowd that Persona appeals to, as well as the horrible RPG masochists like me. This leads me to believe that the developers know exactly what this game is about, and as I said in the preview, it’s truly something special.
Metaphor: ReFantazio It will launch on October 11, 2024 for Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4/5 and Steam.
This article is based on gameplay and demos presented at the game’s special preview event in New York, USA. During the event, Sega provided travel and accommodation for VG247.
