Metaphor: ReFantazio's Success Proves We Need More JRPGs

screenrant.com:

launched to an incredibly positive reception, with many fans and critics alike calling it their personal Game of the Year. This may come as no surprise to Atlus enthusiasts who have been lucky enough to experience their previous works of art, including the andseries. However, what may come as a surprise is just how quickly sold its first million copies and became Atlus' fastest-selling title ever.

Within a handful of hours, hit its first million, and, thanks to its exceptionally positive reviews and word of mouth, there's a good chance it'll hit many more going forward. However, there's a lot more to this success story than simply a publisher doing very well financially, as success speaks to a wider industry shift that could prove to be very beneficial to JRPG fans. While time will tell, could be the start of a JRPG revolution.

is a very unique game, being that it is both a JRPG from a well-respected yet relatively niche developer/publisher and a brand-new IP set in a new world without any connections to prior properties or recognizable brands. As such, it felt positioned to do well within the JRPG community, especially thanks to the pedigree of its developer, but perhaps not with a wider audience. However, within hours of going live, SEGA posted to its X account that had surpassed 1 million sales, making it the publisher's fastest-selling title of all time.

There's a lot to unpack here, asthis level of success for an untested IP in a relatively niche genre feels slightly unprecedented, and speaks to a wider shift in the overall gaming community. It's very likely that selling so quickly, even despite the low views on the majority of its trailers, speaks to a greater demand for JRPGs as a whole. This is further evidenced by the various remakes and reboots of past JRPGs, such as and .

obviously comes off the back of both — which it improved upon in many ways — and, more importantly,, another JRPG that sold exceptionally well within the same year. Of course, comes