In almost every single aspect
I'm 40 hours into the game so probably about half way mark and the massive amounts of repetition are really setting in, and the longer I play the more the flaws stand out
I don't need to touch on how Rebirths visuals and audios crush Metaphors PS2 era presentation, that much is obvious
What really bugs me is how little Atlus is progressing in other areas
The world and level design is terrible, Bethesda like loading between every area. Rebirth excels at this as a truly open world while Metaphor is tiny areas. Getting into a dungeon genuinely feels like I've stepped into PS1 designs. Flat corridors that are barely a step above random generation. Other games would get torn apart for yhis
The missions and side missions are becoming more and more of a chore. There is zero gameplay to these, just watching some dialogue boxes. And the dialogue options are meaningless and change nothing in the narrative.
Compared to Rebirth which is giving you new gameplay systems to play with seemingly every half-hour all through the game
In fact Metaphor is full of meaningless systems. The entire royal virtues system does almost nothing so far. I think I've seen two spots where it effects your dialogue
And throughout the game, like Persona, I just can't help but be bugged by how little freedom I have. The game is super curated to barely let you step out of the path laid out. When it does you're really just hitting the quest aspects that they are allowing you to access at that moment
I do like the characters,the setting, the story has some major pacing issues but that's not new for Atlus. But FFVII is one of one when it comes to setting and story in JRPGs
I also enjoy the combat but it has some big issues IMO in terms of the reliance on the synthesis system the more I am playing. This requires you to be levelling archetypes in particular combinations that may not be how you want to play and there are way too many instances where archetypes don't synthesise with eachother and therefore you need to spend time 4 layers deep in the convoluted menu trying to figure out if your party pairs up well together
FFVII Rebirth is a massive step in the right direction for Square Enix. For Metaphor I can't help but feel Atlus is not evolving. A big new IP that feels like they started making it in 2004 and I'm shocked how few reviewers are being honest about this
I'm 40 hours into the game so probably about half way mark and the massive amounts of repetition are really setting in, and the longer I play the more the flaws stand out
I don't need to touch on how Rebirths visuals and audios crush Metaphors PS2 era presentation, that much is obvious
What really bugs me is how little Atlus is progressing in other areas
The world and level design is terrible, Bethesda like loading between every area. Rebirth excels at this as a truly open world while Metaphor is tiny areas. Getting into a dungeon genuinely feels like I've stepped into PS1 designs. Flat corridors that are barely a step above random generation. Other games would get torn apart for yhis
The missions and side missions are becoming more and more of a chore. There is zero gameplay to these, just watching some dialogue boxes. And the dialogue options are meaningless and change nothing in the narrative.
Compared to Rebirth which is giving you new gameplay systems to play with seemingly every half-hour all through the game
In fact Metaphor is full of meaningless systems. The entire royal virtues system does almost nothing so far. I think I've seen two spots where it effects your dialogue
And throughout the game, like Persona, I just can't help but be bugged by how little freedom I have. The game is super curated to barely let you step out of the path laid out. When it does you're really just hitting the quest aspects that they are allowing you to access at that moment
I do like the characters,the setting, the story has some major pacing issues but that's not new for Atlus. But FFVII is one of one when it comes to setting and story in JRPGs
I also enjoy the combat but it has some big issues IMO in terms of the reliance on the synthesis system the more I am playing. This requires you to be levelling archetypes in particular combinations that may not be how you want to play and there are way too many instances where archetypes don't synthesise with eachother and therefore you need to spend time 4 layers deep in the convoluted menu trying to figure out if your party pairs up well together
FFVII Rebirth is a massive step in the right direction for Square Enix. For Metaphor I can't help but feel Atlus is not evolving. A big new IP that feels like they started making it in 2004 and I'm shocked how few reviewers are being honest about this
