Metaphor: ReFantazio looks surprisingly good on the Nintendo 3DS, even if it's the crunchiest form of the JRPG you could possibly play

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It works, but at what cost?

Metaphor: ReFantazio anime cutscene screenshot shows Strohl, the protagonist, Gallica, and Hulkenberg looking ahead with shocked expressions.
(Image credit: Atlus / Sega)

Metaphor: ReFantazio is easily one of the best JRPGs of the year (and ever, if you ask me), and since its release last Friday, fans have been pouring dozens of hours into it across PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and, uh, 3DS.

You read that right – despite not officially releasing on Nintendo's previous-gen handheld, that's not stopped at least one player from seeking out the crunchiest possible way to explore Euchronia. Well, I say 'crunchiest,' but in this clip posted to Reddit, user bjatman8008 shows the opening cinematics, as well as a little bit of gameplay running around in one of the earliest dungeons, displaying surprisingly well on their New 3DS XL. It might not be quite as crisp as on, well, literally any other platform, but you can't deny that it's workable.

Playing it on my new 3ds xl from r/MetaphorReFantazio

It's worth pointing out that in the clip above, technical wizardry hasn't been deployed to get Metaphor: ReFantazio running natively on the handheld – I'd genuinely fear for the console if it was. Instead, as explained by the user themselves in the thread, they're streaming a copy of the game from their PC to their New 3DS XL, which explains how, despite being the least optimal way to play the JRPG, it still seems perfectly functional. Should this be your platform of choice? Definitely not. But hey, it's pretty dang impressive to see it in action. 

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Metaphor has had a spectacular start, anyway – it quickly became Atlus' fastest-selling game and biggest Steam launch, hitting a huge concurrent player peak to beat the records of JRPG hits Persona 5 Royal, Persona 3 Reload, and more. It's really no wonder after a slew of overwhelmingly positive critic reactions, including in my own Metaphor: ReFantazio review, in which I gave the game four and a half stars out of five. Scores like that have put the JRPG up there as one of the best-rated games of the year so far on Metacritic – it'll be interesting to see if it can bag itself any Game of the Year awards when the time comes. 

Metaphor: ReFantazio rewards JRPG players with buffs and bonuses for using the toilet and remembering to shower.

Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.