Metaphor ReFantazio's Count Louis finally gives Atlus a Sephiroth-level villain

Oh no! The King of the United Kingdom of Euchronia is dead! Despite wielding powerful royal magic, all it took was a knife in his sleep. Who could have done the dastardly deed? Metaphor: ReFantazio isn't interested in keeping it a mystery. It's Count Louis Guiabern, a charismatic, accomplished, and revered army officer with flowing blonde locks. So front and center is Louis' act that it occurs in an anime cutscene before you even get to the title screen.

While a shadowy assassination, it's essentially an open secret when the plot of Metaphor: ReFantazio begins. Count Louis is an ever-present threat, and though he doesn't hide his sinister motives he's so far above the player – in terms of strength, support from the people, and the fact he literally owns a flying airship – that he feels unreachable. A cult-like leader, his followers are fanatics – and when the king's posthumous magic spell thrusts the seat of succession to a vote that reflects the choice within the populations' hearts in real-time, he's an immediate front-runner.

While Atlus have had some great antagonists across its RPGs, few are such a constant presence in the narrative, many of the best ones not revealing themselves until you get quite close to the end of their stories. There's a reason that Persona 2 has so many devotees – Joker (no, not the Persona 5 protagonist) is the closest it's come before. Though even he, be it in his jester-like fit or the paper-bagged variant, is a figure of a mystery rather than a person with clear and stated goals in the way Louis is. To me, he's a real contender for one of the best game villains of all time.

Count 'em

Louis is a welcome change. He feels intimidating, clearly outclassing your heroes' strength at the beginning of the game. While you're on his tail as you both follow the race for the crown in a cross-country tour, he displays that strength numerous times. When your party first lays eyes on him, he's arriving unannounced to the city in his big airship, dumping a massive Human corpse on the steps of the cathedral (the name for the monstrous Hieronymus Bosch-inspired creatures that terrorize the land). This comes right after you've played through the tutorial dungeon where you fight through a whole fortified battlement that's been massacred by another Human, struggling against the creature in a boss fight at the end, barely coming out alive.

For Louis, slaughtering Humans is child's play. It's what he's become known for ever since they first appeared. This show of strength, just dumping it at the place of mourning for the king, is a reminder to the people that his power is one of the only things that can protect them. While not intended by Louis, we are but a fly to him at this point, it's as much a show of strength to the player. You might be low level now, but you'd better kick into gear as you play if you hope to be able to match up to him come the game's end.

He's got the intimidation factor of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7 combined with the cutting charisma of Griffith from Berserk. Yet, more than purely riffing on icons that came before, the more you get to know Louis, the more you get to see he has his own unique motivations. You can't help but bounce between "what is this guy's damage?" and "maybe I could fix him?"

On tour

Your journey constantly entwines with Louis' as you take part in the world tour journey. Your mission is to take him down, as this is also the way to save the true heir, the Prince, who's been trapped in a magical sleep. As the competitors are shielded by the royal magic until a victor is chosen, playing your cards close to your chest is necessary if the party hopes to work out the best course of action. Meaning that, to a point, you and the party are working in secret, resulting in opportunities to see how Louis ticks beyond simply butting heads at every turn. He's your antagonist but doesn't know it. Or really even care. It's rare to engage in this sort of subterfuge in an RPG story, but it's a refreshing way of allowing us to learn more about Louis from simply being in his proximity.

It also means there are moments that allow you to be charmed by him. Make no mistake, Euchronia has been far from a paradise under its former leadership. A world of multiple tribes, those with the most influence wield it to keep the less fortunate races under their thumb. Just before Louis kills the king, he expresses disdain at the ruler's failures: "You dreamt of utopia. You saw the tribes united as one. That dream died long ago. You should have done the same." Given the cruelty of the world we're introduced to in the hours that follow, it's hard to fault him on the face of it – all the tribes of Euchronia do deserve the chance to be equal. Louis may be villainous, but he's just one among many. The very institutions that make up this world are rancid, and it's not hard to empathize with Louis' frustrations.

As we aim to get closer to Louis, we work through the ranks of those who dutifully serve him. Most are themselves people who have been mistreated and looked down upon by Euchronian society as it stands, grateful to serve Louis because he's the only one who gave them a chance, looking beyond the race they come from. Those of mixed race have it especially bad. Zorba, the first boss in the game, says as much – having hoped to prove himself in the army before witnessing that his generals who had it cozy simply used the "lesser tribes" as cannon fodder. It wasn't until Louis recognized his powerful affinity for magic that he found a modicum of respect.

The more you learn about Louis, the more you realize that your journeys mirror one another. Both of you seek to change and improve the world, and both of you steadily accrue allies from different backgrounds. Even your reasons for doing so bear some similarities the more you strip back layers. Yet, Louis also has a penchant for goading those around him. It's not enough that the tribes be equal, but that power alone should be the sole differentiator. Atlus has played with having antagonists that act as reflections to their protagonists before – just look at Persona 5 – but by having yours and Louis's journeys begin together and weave in and out at every step, it becomes an integral element from start to finish, something you're always questioning and thinking about until the game's epic ending.

It's genuinely intimidating how little Louis cares about those who know his true ideology, cooly spouting cruel rhetoric almost purely to see how those he's speaking with will react. And it's all the more chilling that many of the world's inhabitants appreciate that candor, continuing to support him even as his ambitions become more naked. Count Louis isn't just a perfect foil for Metaphor ReFantazio's hero, but he also perfectly exists within the context of this scramble for power within Euchronia. Everyone in this world knows who he is, and everyone has an opinion about him. But what can you do when people are willing to embrace hatred?

Looking for something like Metaphor ReFantazio to play next? Check out our list of the best Persona games. What's next for Atlus? We continue to ponder the rumors surrounding the upcoming Persona 6. And no, you can't romance Louis or indeed anyone in the game. Sorry to disappoint!