Metaphor: ReFantazio features seven party members, a giant sandworm, and a high difficulty

A little while back we were graced by 25-minutes of Metaphor: ReFantazio footage, from which I gleaned some chunks of info. Honestly, a new press release doesn't unveil a whole lot of hotness we didn't catch a glimpse of before, but it does give us a better idea of how the battle system works in Atlus's upcoming JRPG.

Metaphor lets you switch between real time fights and turn-based battles, with those real time fights labelled "Fast". Your Fast mode attacks are actually determined by the Archetype (class) you've got equipped at the time, and you'll want to use this to clear lower level monsters. I know this is a small thing, but for some reason I was convinced those fast attacks would remain locked behind one fairly average moveset you'd use throughout the entire game. It's nice knowing that this isn't the case, and that those attacks will have some variety to them.

Higher level enemies can only be defeated in "Command" battles, where you'll command a party of up to four. Later, your "party increases to seven as the story progresses", which means it'll do the Persona thing where you'll recruit permanent pals over time. Again, not so surprising, but it's nice to know you'll have a similar amount of party members by the end of your journey as most Personas. Plus, the fact it's a fantasy universe fills me with hope they'll be weirder and more wonderful, with the potential for a frog with a massive sword like Chrono Trigger.

Another new tidbit is "switching between front and back rows", which should add a slightly different dynamic to fights. Not that it's a new JRPG feature by any means; I'm more surprised that Atlus has returned to the rows of oldies like Shin Megami Tensei 2 and Persona Q. Going by Atlus saying that all Brawler parties are viable, it'll be interesting to see how they'll work on the backline and whether they'll be better than the typical Spellslingers Cowering In The Back setup.

Oh, and Atlus say that the difficulty of the battles is "intentionally made to be high". Given my recent experience getting beaten up in Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, I am worried whether I'll make it past those first few areas. I mean, given one of Metaphor's early towns is plagued by a monster called the "Giant Sandworm", I don't fancy my chances so much anymore.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is due out on 11th October and you can keep up with it over on its Steam and Xbox pages.