ReFantazio's Combat Features Strike the Perfect Balancing Act

by

Metaphor: ReFantazios rich fantasy world is filled with tribal differences and monsters alike, linking its political intrigue with excellent battles that take from the best SMT and modern Persona. Its combat system, which makes use of press turns and a host of other features, is woven into every aspect of the Parables mechanics, from studying new archetypes using bindings to refining equipment and managing the player's inventory. While the dungeons in the Kingdom of Euchronia can be challenging, in that way Parable keeping accessibility in mind helps find the perfect balance, giving everyone the right resources for the party's success.




The archetypes of Metaphor: ReFantazio is a fantastic attempt at combat experimentation. Since the party is not limited to any archetype class, the ability to study other lines makes formations as versatile as the player desires, working alongside inherited skills to consider healing, offensive skills, buffs and more. Both weapons and skills equate to success on the battlefield, which Parable considering through its many enemy and dungeon tricks, signs certain weaknesses and affinities through Euchronia's informants, who constitute the game's MVPs.



Given enemy Intel, bad weather

Given the stricter movement of archetypes before leveling up and inheriting skills, players must take a calculated approach to which classes they use, which is facilitated by the information offered by informants. Parable however, is quite accommodating in this regard, as even if intel has not been acquired beforehand, there are often NPCs in dungeons who tell you about certain rules that should be followed; Staying away from the Healer or Mage archetypes when fighting Goborns, for example, prevents the enemies from going berserk and getting extra press turns. This gimmick extends to other enemies and formation rules, considering row placement among the usual elemental and weapon affinities.


As with SMT game, press reversals are critical to success in Parables combat, although there are ways in which they can be disrupted beyond combat itself. The bad weather on the day of dungeon exploration prevents the party from getting press turns even when hitting enemy weaknesses, although this comes with the benefit of extra EXP, which is especially rewarding when challenging a dungeon's boss. With resources like the Fortune Teller and, later, a character on Virga Island with the power to spell bad weather, players can strategize to avoid these conditions or go for it to level up. The same goes for some optional dungeon bosses, like the dragon from Nord Mines, which are often worth the challenge for experience and loot.

Versatile equipment provides versatile constructions

Parables gear is highly customizable, with stat boosts, tax evasion and more for the party keeping builds versatile. With bosses' propensity to inflict status ailments such as disease or curse, gear that eliminates certain afflictions becomes especially important, along with gear that raises evasion against elemental types to cover archetypal weaknesses. Purifying gear goes a long way to making both weapons and armor more powerful as well, and even the use of lighters can help party members equipped with archetypes more suited to physical skills or buffs who may not have taken to the mage lineage. The use of items or meals that the player has cooked helps a lot in covering elemental bases and healing, which Parable has plenty of choice through its stores and the glove's kitchen.


Synthesis Skills, “Turn back the clock” mechanic

Synthesizing skills in battle is also a key to success, considering which archetypes are equipped on the battlefield to provide access to devastating attacks, buffs, and defensive abilities. Although they use two press turns and MP for both party members joining together, synthesis skills can often be the difference between victory and defeat, with defensive skills like Magic Guard and offensive skills like Vorpal Blade or multi-hit magic being particularly powerful. Striking weaknesses with such skills can help tremendously with press reversals, provided they don't miss. A bad spot of RNG can always be fixed with ParableThe most readily available feature, however, is with the “turn back the clock” mechanic as a way to rewind and rethink actions should the battle take a turn for the worse.

Leave a Comment