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  1. Games
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  3. Metaphor: ReFantazio

Metaphor: ReFantazio leads thought it would be shorter than Persona 5 but just kept adding content, so now we're matching the fan-favorite JRPG's 100-hour runtime

News
By Iain Harris published 23 September 2024

A (welcome) war on my free time it is, then

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Metaphor: ReFantazio
(Image credit: Sega / Atlus)
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There's good news for those seeking bang for their buck and bad news for those light on time, as Metaphor: ReFantazio director Katsura Hashino confirms that the upcoming JRPG is just as long as Persona 5.

Speaking to the Spanish website Vandal about the size of the game, Hashino says that Persona 5 was a "very bulky game" and that Metaphor: ReFantazio will be able to match that regarding its length.

So, how long are we talking here? According to How Long To Beat, Persona 5 takes over 97 hours to beat when sticking to the story and 172 hours if you're going for a completionist run. Naturally, a standard run with a few more side quests comes between those two times, depending on how much you're doing.

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  • Metaphor Re:Fantazio Metaphor: ReFantazio devs don't want to "quickly put out" a sequel in response to the JRPG's success
  • A close-up of the protagonist during the turn-based RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio. Metaphor: ReFantazio helped JRPG veterans behind Persona "go back to our basics"
  • Metaphor: ReFantazio's protagonist smiles at his fairy companion, Gallica in an anime-style cutscene. Metaphor: ReFantazio devs are interested in "how we can evolve our JRPG and what it looks like"

Regarding Metaphor, Hashino says there's plenty of content beyond the credits to give you a reason to return to Eucronia. While the team thought Metaphor would be shorter than Persona 5, Atlus added so many extra goodies that the two are about the same.

Don't fret, though. Hashino also says the team has done its best to create a well-paced game and has added action elements to the turn-based gameplay to help with just that. You'll also get just as many anime-like cutscenes in Metaphor as you did Persona, as keeping that volume equal to Persona 5 is another goal of the team.

As someone who takes ages to complete a game, Hashino's comments make me sweat a bit, though at least I won't have to buy anything else for a while. Metaphor: ReFantazio releases on October 11 in any case, so we don't have long to find out. 

Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like Persona and Fire Emblem had a baby, and after one hour I'm already dying to find out what happens next. 

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CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS4 PS5 Platforms PlayStation
Iain Harris
Iain Harris
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News Editor, Games

I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.

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