159: Metaphor: ReFantazio (with Scott White)

Only one studio out there can inspire the following sentence- the first time I saw the menu UI in Metaphor: ReFantazio, I knew that Atlus and Studio Zero were cooking. They've mastered the art of making menu-based RPGs flashy and stylish, as well as mastering the "Persona" calendar-based structure in general. On several fronts, this is the best game this studio has made, but left us wanting in a few areas as well. Listen in to this deep dive discussion and let us know what you think! Guest info: Scott White * Check out his writing: https://linktr.ee/scottwhite * Check out RPG University podcast: https://linktr.ee/RPGU_IP * Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/professorrpg.bsky.social TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Title Card * 0:35 Intro/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts * 10:43 Story Setup * 35:05 Presentation * 46:25 Combat/Archetype System * 59:47 Life Sim Gameplay * 1:15:43 SPOILER WALL, Patron Thank-Yous * 1:17:37 Spoiler Section Music used in the episode is credited to ATLUS Sound Team. Tracks used: * Call of Magic (Shoji Meguro) * A Brief Respite (Shoji Meguro) * Castle of Dread (Maiko Katagiri, Shoji Meguro) * Warriors in Valour (Keisuke Honryo, Shoji Meguro) * Journey's Legs (Shoji Meguro) * Ode to Heroes (Shoji Meguro) * Hero's Awakening (Shoji Meguro) * Formidable Foe (Shoji Meguro) * King's Verdict (Shoji Meguro) Check out Dave's guest appearance on Pixelated Playgrounds about Persona 4 Golden: https://www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/bookclub Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! (https://patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson)! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! (https://discord.gg/V3ZHz3vYQR) Social Media: BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/) Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages (https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures) Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-top-3-podcast/id1555269504), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/2euGp3pWi7Hy1c6fmY526O?si=0ebcb770618c460c) and other podcast platforms (atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!