Only one studio out there can inspire the following sentence- the first time I saw the menu UI in Metaphor: ReFantazio, I knew that Atlus and Studio Zero were cooking. They've mastered the art of making menu-based RPGs flashy and stylish, as well as mastering the "Persona" calendar-based structure in general. On several fronts, this is the best game this studio has made, but left us wanting in a few areas as well. Listen in to this deep dive discussion and let us know what you think! Guest info: Scott White Check out his writing: https://linktr.ee/scottwhite Check out RPG University podcast: https://linktr.ee/RPGU_IP Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/professorrpg.bsky.social TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:35 Intro/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 10:43 Story Setup 35:05 Presentation 46:25 Combat/Archetype System 59:47 Life Sim Gameplay 1:15:43 SPOILER WALL, Patron Thank-Yous 1:17:37 Spoiler Section Music used in the episode is credited to ATLUS Sound Team. Tracks used: Call of Magic (Shoji Meguro) A Brief Respite (Shoji Meguro) Castle of Dread (Maiko Katagiri, Shoji Meguro) Warriors in Valour (Keisuke Honryo, Shoji Meguro) Journey's Legs (Shoji Meguro) Ode to Heroes (Shoji Meguro) Hero's Awakening (Shoji Meguro) Formidable Foe (Shoji Meguro) King's Verdict (Shoji Meguro) Check out Dave's guest appearance on Pixelated Playgrounds about Persona 4 Golden: https://www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/bookclub Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! Social Media: BlueSky Instagram Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog