Metaphor Refantazio

 I've never played a Persona game, but Metaphor Refantazio was pointed out, there's plenty of positive buzz, and it seems a good jumping on point for the "style" of games while being independent as far as setting and story. Time-wise, it means I'll probably be playing when Mechwarrior 5 Clans comes out, but that'll wait.

The game part of the game is growing increasingly complex. 

Characters can learn different archetypes (classes/jobs) that enable special MP-consuming abilities that are powerful in combat. Within a dungeon, MP becomes the limiting resource for the most part, with some small ways to regain. That coupled with elemental resistances and weaknesses is within bounds of "normal" I think.

The time management portion outside combat is new to me (if trademark to Persona games). You have a finite number of days to mess around with before the next dungeon/etc. must be completed. You can use that time to increase certain stats or character bonds or pursue side quests for other rewards. There's a sense of needing to get things right or missing out. I'm trying not to give in to that completely, which would mean slavishly following a walkthrough of some sort, but the pressure is there.

And I've just hit the point where traveling becomes more common, so there's travel time between locations too. But... I also just unlocked the ability to teleport to previously-visited locations.

So now I'm starting to think in terms of "Okay, is it worth teleporting back to turn this in? The teleport is instant, but if turning this quest in takes up time, does that leave me enough time to travel to these side-quest locations and still make it to the next main location in time to complete it?" 

@.@ It's starting to feel a touch overwhelming, but hasn't reached the point of making me want to stop the game or anything.

The themes of the game's story are hitting a little harder than they might otherwise, given this is the middle of election season in real USA life.

Refantazio takes place in a world with some heavy tribal (racial) biases. The main character is one of the rarest, officially church-ostracized, of the tribes, and he's enamored with a book of fiction that paints a more tolerant world where race doesn't matter and leaders are elected. The utopia depicted in the book is pretty clearly based on real life, albeit a very simplified and rose-tinted version thereof. It is just a novel, after all.

In the game world, though, the prince is cursed/comatose and believed dead. General Louis kills the king with the intent to claim the throne himself. Instead, the king's funeral kicks off some powerful royal magic contingency that enforces the next king will be empowered only by being the candidate most popular among the citizens. The spell construct sets a date and can read people's minds enough to know who's in the lead, displaying the top few. It even protects Louis (starting out a strong second-most-popular candidate behind the church leader) from someone trying to kill him to avenge the king. Thus begins the first election season there.

The protagonist group, convinced killing Louis will end the curse on the prince, sign up with the intent to get close to Louis and find some loophole to either kill him or end the curse another way.

Now... I'm not sure they've thought this through. At this stage, it's apparent to me that even if they do lift the curse, the prince isn't even "on the board" as far as succession goes. It'd be nice for him to be awake, but that changes nothing beyond him. Otherwise, you're looking at the head of a church that ruthlessly enforces the tribal class structure or Louis who argues tribes mean nothing - only power does. If they want any chance at making a better world, the prince isn't going to be around in time to be the figurehead for it, they're going to have to do it themselves, and that doesn't seem to be something that's occurred to the characters yet.

Overall, I'm invested at this point, wanting to see where things go.