Starting Metaphor: ReFantazio the weekend before the US presidential election earlier this month was certainly an experience. I had gone into this turn-based RPG from the creators of the Persona videogame series blind, without any spoilers beyond the obvious fantasy setting.
Well, one of the main plot drivers in Metaphor: ReFantazio is a tournament to pick the next king, with candidates trying to win the hearts of the people — with magical shenanigans, literally giant rocks with the faces of the top candidates floating in major cities — used to track the popularity of each candidate instead of an actual voting day, of course.
In some ways, the game felt like a fantastical parallel of the US election in an alternate world. You get candidates advocating for everything from giving everyone free booze to eliminating taxes to killing rich folks and redistributing their wealth. One of the top candidates, and the antagonist Louis Guiabern is a blue-eyed, blonde…
