Japanese Steam reviews of Metaphor: ReFantazio: 86.0% positive
This analysis counts 1,062 Japanese-language reviews for Metaphor: ReFantazio. The sample spans from 11 Oct, 2024 to 15 Oct, 2026.
Own research by 648 News. Every figure in this article was counted by us from 1,062 Steam reviews written in Japanese, collected between 2024-10-11 and 2026-10-15.
The overall numbers
The collected dataset contains 1,062 reviews from players writing reviews in Japanese for Metaphor: ReFantazio. 913 of these recommend the game. This produces a positive rate of 86.0%. The 95% confidence interval spans from 83.8% to 87.9%. Steam reports an all-time positive rate of 85.9% across 1,063 total reviews. The collected sample matches the platform figure almost exactly.
The numbers
What reviewers praise
Players writing reviews in Japanese who recommend the game focus heavily on gameplay, combat, core mechanics. This topic appears in 61.3% of recommending reviews. Players describe the turn-based system as refined and note that the job variety adds strategic depth. Story, scenario, writing is the second most common praise, appearing in 42.9% of positive reviews. Many note the political themes and fantasy setting. Characters, character design shows up in 18.7% of recommending reviews. Players frequently point out the distinctive art style and large ensemble cast. Amount of content, length, replayability appears in 18.4% of positive reviews. Many note that side quests provide a substantial experience. Music, sound, voice acting appears in 8.5% of recommending reviews. Players often describe the soundtrack as memorable. Graphics, art direction appears in 9.6% of positive reviews. Players note the detailed menu designs and vibrant environments.
良作でした。 良くも悪くもペルソナシリーズに酷似していますが システム面含めブラッシュアップ
It is a good game. It closely resembles the Persona series, but the systems have been refined and it is easy to play.
What reviewers criticise
Players writing reviews in Japanese who do not recommend the game also discuss gameplay, combat, core mechanics most often, at 70.5% of negative reviews. Players frequently point out that the user interface is cluttered and visually tiring. Story, scenario, writing appears in 49.7% of non-recommending reviews. Critics describe the second half as rushed or overly conventional. Difficulty, balance shows up in 24.8% of negative reviews. Players note steep enemy scaling in the late game and frequent resource drain. Characters, character design appears in 20.8% of critical reviews. Amount of content, length, replayability appears in 20.8% of negative reviews. Performance, optimization, bugs, crashes appears in 16.1% of non-recommending reviews. UI, controls, key bindings, controller support appears in 11.4% of negative reviews. Graphics, art direction appears in 12.8% of critical reviews. Price, value for money, DLC pricing appears in 4.0% of negative reviews.
ゲーム中盤～終盤でフルプライスで買ったことを後悔することになるとは思いませんでした。
I did not think I would regret buying it at full price when I purchased it in the middle to end of the game.
Who wrote these reviews
The collected reviews cover a median playtime of 81.4 hours. Recommending reviewers concentrate on the core loop and narrative. Non-recommending reviewers also discuss the core loop and narrative, but they cite difficulty and balance more often, at 24.8% compared to 12.7% in positive reviews. Performance, optimization, bugs, and crashes appear in 16.1% of critical reviews versus 4.3% of recommending ones. The topic of UI, controls, key bindings, controller support appears in 11.4% of negative reviews compared to 5.0% of positive reviews. Online play, multiplayer, servers appears in 0.7% of positive reviews and 0.0% of negative reviews. PC port quality, Steam Deck appears in 0.3% of positive reviews and 0.0% of negative reviews.
Methodology and sources
Data
Steam user reviews, retrieved with Steam's public review listing between 2024-10-11 and 2026-10-15: 1,062 written in Japanese. Steam's own all-time totals for Metaphor: ReFantazio were read on 2026-10-19.
How the reviews were classified
Every review was read by a language model, which rated how positive it is, how much concrete detail it gives, and which of 15 fixed topics it talks about. The counts and percentages in this article were then computed from those labels in ordinary code, not by the model. Automatic classification makes mistakes, so single percentages should be read as approximate. Reviews of fewer than 15 characters were not sent to the model; they count as positive or negative from the reviewer's own recommendation and carry no topic.
Limits
People who write a Steam review in Japanese are not a representative sample of everyone who plays in Japan, and the language of a review does not establish where its author lives. Steam's default filter for off-topic review activity was left on, so periods Steam marked as review bombing are excluded from the counts in this article. Reviews that arrived after the retrieval date are not included.
Links
Data from Steam. Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation.