Metaphor: ReFantazio has multiple endings, each of which is provoked by a particular decision in its final chapters. The main thrust of the story follows a nameable protagonist (canon name Will) in the service of his childhood friend, the Prince of Euchronia. The action begins with the assassination of Euchronia’s current king, Hythlodaeus V. With the Prince in hiding and presumed dead, fatally cursed during an earlier assassination attempt, Will is sent to the capital city of Grand Trad, where he intends to take revenge on the King’s assassin, Louis Guiabern, thereby hoping to breaking the Prince’s curse.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Metaphor: ReFantazio.]
Shortly after Will’s arrival in Grand Trad, a massive incarnation of the King’s face appears in the sky, and announces that a democratic election will be held to select the new king, with the frontrunning candidates appearing as stony statues in his eye. Will also awakens to a great power called an Archetype, said to be a manifestation of royal virtues in those who fight for noble causes. He eventually learns that it was not the army officer Louis, but religious leader Sanctifex Forden, who was responsible for cursing the Prince through his follower Rella.
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Will and his allies defeat Rella, who reveals to all of Euchronia that the Prince is still alive. Louis then challenges the Prince to a duel for the throne, as Will sets off to find the Prince and deliver the news.
Denying Your Destiny
Metaphor‘s first bad ending is entitled “Fantasy Is Dead,” and begins shortly after Will returns to the Prince’s bedside to receive some shocking revelations. First, he finds that the Prince died immediately after Rella’s curse was broken. However, Will begins hearing the Mysterious Voice that’s narrated much of his journey throughout the game. The Voice explains that it’s the disembodied spirit of the Prince’s mother, and that Will is secretly the Prince’s own Archetype. His destiny is to merge with the Prince once again at this very moment, thereby bringing him back to life and allowing him to claim the throne.
More revelations about the Elda, Will and the Prince’s oppressed tribe, then follow. It’s explained that the Elda are the oldest tribe in the world, predating the discovery of magic. Once magic was introduced, all the other tribes fought over it so violently that much of the world was destroyed. The twisted monsters called “humans” that appear in Metaphor: ReFantazio are people who were mutated by prolonged contact with magic. The Elda, however, were unaffected, and their descendants have survived into the present day.
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The first bad ending, Fantasy Is Dead, begins if Will decides to deny his destiny, refusing to merge with the prince and take the throne. The player will have two opportunities to avoid this ending, and must choose the dialogue options “It came to nothing,” “It was a mistake,” and “…Lies dead before me” in order to see it. Afterward, the game ends pretty abruptly, with a brief monologue in which it’s revealed that Louis, absent any contention, became King of Euchronia. After seizing power, Louis destroyed the kingdom so thoroughly that it was forgotten by history.
Teaming Up
The remainder of Metaphor’s endings can only be seen if the protagonist agrees to join with the Prince, then proceeds to confront Louis. Along the way, it’s revealed that Louis is also an Elda (and indeed, when the party sees him again, he is without his Clemar horns). He has extensive knowledge of history, including the destruction of humanity by the discovery of magic, and intends to bring about something similar once again.
In his villain monologue, Louis explains that he plans to use the King’s Royal Sceptre to transform Euchronia’s entire population into humans – the monstrous kind. Citing examples of humans who overcame their anxiety and transformed back into their original selves, Louis evokes survival of the fittest. Under his rule, the strong-willed can reverse their transformations, eventually defeating the remaining humans, and creating a society of elites.
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At the end of Louis’ spiel, Will can simply say, “You’re absolutely right” to begin the Fantasy Is Ruined ending. In this ending, he allies with Louis, and the two become Euchronia’s joint rulers. The epilogue is brief here, explaining that all of Euchronia was transformed into mindless monsters according to Louis’ plan. To them, there’s no concept of history or future – just an awful, violent now. Thus, the game’s final words are, “As for what became of the world that followed? To the humans, the question is irrelevant.”
This is effectively the same bad ending as Fantasy Is Dead – the only difference is that Will is involved with Louis’ plan instead of ignorant of it. The humans presumably destroy everything around them after Louis’ coronation, erasing Euchronia from the pages of history. There may have been some survivors, like the Elda of yore, but they were left with a shattered world, and forced to rebuild it from scratch.
Refusing To Accept Reality
If Will instead denies Louis, and agrees to fight him, he’s hit with a powerful blast of magla, corrupting his very heart. Will tears his own heart out and crushes it, as if preparing to summon his Archetype. This time, though, nothing happens – Will slumps over dead, to Louis’ surprise and Gallica’s despair.
Will wakes up in Akademeia, the strange library in which he first learned of Archetypes in the early game of Metaphor : ReFantazio. The mysterious More, who’s previously described himself as the author of the utopian novel gifted to Will by the Prince, offers an alternate explanation: Will’s journey and the entirety of Euchronia is a mere illusion, a doomed world that exists only in fantasy. More believed that it would eventually become a utopia, but he’s given up on the struggle. Thankfully, the real world – the one inside his book – is much nicer.
More transports himself and Will into the world from his novel, a modern-day city as we recognize it, and explains that it’s actually reality. He then, however, presents a false description of it, claiming that no prejudice exists in this world. He says he’ll allow Will to go on living in it if he admits the world in which he was born was a fantasy, past the point of redemption. He sympathizes with Louis, characterizing Will’s world as a miserable cycle of people taking out their anxieties on others. Even the chaos of Louis’ rule would be preferable.
Moore’s real world looks quite a bit like Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, which plays a major role in Atlus’ previous game
Persona 5
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In order to see the Fantasy Is Only Fiction ending, Will must tell Louis, “I understand…You’re right” when prompted. More monologues about the pointlessness of fantasy, and the two walk off together. Ultimately, this ending contradicts with some of the game’s main themes, which hold that fantasy is a mirror of the real world, and has the power to effect change by showcasing true utopia. This is also one of the least satisfying endings, as it immediately brings the stories of Strohl, Hulkenberg, Gallica, and all the player’s other companions to a halt.
And They All Lived Happily Ever After
If Will instead refuses More’s offer of an easy escape, More reveals that this was only a test to see how easily Will would give up. He allows Will to return to life, where he defeats Louis in an extended battle. Claiming the Royal Sceptre for himself, he destroys it instantly, preventing it from ever falling into the wrong hands again. Thus begins the Fantasy Lives On variation – Metaphor‘s sole happy ending.
If the player doesn’t destroy any of the crystals in the final dungeon, they’ll face a much more powerful version of Louis as the game’s final boss. This has no impact on the ending, though.
With his greatest rival gone, Will occupies the largest sector of the vote, and is thus declared king. Hythlodaeus V’s apparition disappears from the sky above Grand Trad, and More follows, explaining that he was the King’s archetype, created to help him find a successor. The player then has an opportunity to run around Grand Trad and receive the final congratulations of any Followers whose Bonds they maxed out.
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In an epilogue, More thanks the player directly for helping him realize his vision of utopia. The action then cuts to Will, his party, and Maria atop a Gauntlet Runner. They note that the Sceptre’s destruction has already caused grass to begin growing in the desert outside Grand Trad, and resolve to explore the rest of the world. The implication here is that Will, with the aid of his allies, has set out to resolve the issues that still plague Euchronia.
Prejudice still presumably runs rampant, and the oppressed tribes still live in poverty. Many yet struggle, but there are still those who believe a better future is possible. It may be a setup for a sequel or DLC (or, knowing Atlus, an enhanced re-release with additional story chapters), but that’s where the story of Metaphor: ReFantazio ends – for now.
The creative team behind Persona 3, 4, and 5 present Metaphor: ReFantazio, a new fantasy action-adventure RPG game. The game’s development team includes the original director, character designer, and composer of the Persona franchise and is as a full fantasy-setting game with modern elements.
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- October 11, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Studio Zero
- Publisher(s)
- Atlus
- Engine
- GFD
- ESRB
- t
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
