ReFantazio’s success proves we need more JRPGs

Metaphor: ReFantazio was released to an incredibly positive reception, with many fans and critics calling it their personal Game of the Year. This may come as no surprise to Atlus enthusiasts who have been lucky enough to experience their previous works of art, including the Person and Shin Megami Tensei series. However, what may surprise you is how quickly Metaphor sold its first million copies and became Atlus’ fastest-selling title of all time.

Within a few hours, Metaphor: ReFantazio has reached its first million, and thanks to exceptionally positive reviews and word of mouth, there’s a good chance it will reach many more in the future. However, there is much more to this success story than simply a publisher doing very well financially, such as Metaphor: ReFantazio the success speaks to a broader shift in the industry that could be very beneficial for JRPG fans. While time will tell, Metaphor could be the start of a JRPG revolution.

No longer a niche genre

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a unique game, being a JRPG from a well-respected but relatively niche developer/publisher, and an entirely new IP set in a new world, without any connections to previous properties or recognizable brands. As such, it felt positioned to do well in the JRPG community, especially thanks to its developer’s pedigree, but perhaps not with a wider audience. However, Just hours after it went live, SEGA posted on its website X account that Metaphor surpassed 1 million salesbecoming the publisher’s fastest-selling title of all time.

There’s a lot to unpack here, like This level of success for an untested IP in a relatively niche genre seems a bit unprecedentedand speaks to a broader shift in the overall gaming community. It is very likely that Metaphor: ReFantazio selling so quickly, even despite low views on most of its trailers, indicates a greater demand for JRPGs as a whole. This is further evidenced by the various remakes and reboots of previous JRPGs, such as Dragon Quest III and SaGa 2 Romance.

Metaphor obviously comes from both of their backs Person 5 – which has improved in many aspects – and, most importantly, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirthanother JRPG that sold exceptionally well in the same year. Of course, Renaissance it comes from a well-known IP, it’s a remake and a sequel, and as a result it was expected to do well. However, the success of that game and the general love for Person 5 along with aggressive marketing campaign are probably the reasons behind Metaphor: ReFantazio selling as well as the casual gaming community began to branch out into other genres, including, of course, JRPGs.

However, when breaking Metaphor success is interesting – another factor is probably your setting. Like this Final Fantasy 16 As we’ve seen, gamers seem drawn to medieval fantasy worlds – it’s the result of their success that raises a more fascinating question. While Metaphor: ReFantazio isn’t the only JRPG to sell well, the speed of its success means it didn’t need to become a cult classicits sales were stimulated solely by word of mouth. This will likely interest publishers looking for their next big hit, and could mean more people are willing to take a chance on a big-budget JRPG.

We could get more big-budget JRPGs in the future

More games like Final Fantasy Rebirth & Metaphor: ReFantazio

It looks like there’s finally a greater chance of getting more of the AAA JRPGs fans dream aboutlargely thanks to the efforts of games like Metaphor and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. While there are some JRPGs that had a substantial budget – the Like a dragon, Xenobladeand Final fantasy Series stand out as obvious examples – JRPGs are often released with little scope and ambition, making them feel repetitive and lacking in innovation. Fortunately, there’s a good chance that now that they’re clearly profitable, publishers will be more willing to invest in them.

While large-scale publishers tend to release one occasionally – with Square Enix and SEGA being the rare exception as they produce far more on average than any other publisher – it often feels like JRPGs are treated like RPGs’ low-budget cousins. While there are many recognizable brands in the JRPG genre, they rarely get the big-budget treatment that companies like Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Activision spend on other franchises. It is unlikely that we will see a Yes game or a Dragon Quest title receives the same budget as The oldest scrolls, Cyberpunk 2077or Call to action.

This is a huge shame, as JRPGs not only have a lot to offer the gaming community, but they are also just as worthy of attention and mass-market appeal as RPGs. Allocating bigger budgets to JRPGs would allow them to realize their full ambitionImplement more innovative mechanics, experiment with new mechanics and ideas, and gain more resources to tell your epic narratives. It certainly would have helped previous games like Crono Cruz and Xenogearsto actually be completed.

Introducing a new generation of JRPGs

It is possible that Metaphor: ReFantazio could follow a similar trajectory to Baldur’s Gate 3helping to introduce a new wave of more casual players to a niche video game genre thanks to its excellent mechanics and excellent overall design. BG3 took what seemed like a dying genre and turned it into a huge hit, with developers almost certainly looking to replicate its success. Of course, a big part of this was the massive social media push that made the game’s overall awareness skyrocket, leading more players to buy it to see what all the fuss was about.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is already heading in that direction, with his controversial music attracting attention and also his most notable and positive aspects, of course. The power of word of mouth is much greater now than ever beforeand things like that Metaphor are benefiting a lot from it. Until Elden Ring serves as a good example of how a niche genre can become an overnight sensation, with the emergence of soulslikes largely owing their success to attempts to appeal to a wider audience.

JRPGs have certainly been on the rise for some time, and the Final fantasy The series’ higher graphical fidelity and larger scopes are a testament to this. However, the genre’s more widespread appeal is only beginning to grow, and Metaphor: ReFantazio immediate success is proof of this. There’s a good chance the world will see more games like Metaphor: ReFantazio and bigger budget JRPGs in general, in the near future.

Source: Official X/SEGA, YouTube/PlayStation