Back in April, as part of a promotional video about Metaphor: ReFantazio, the game’s director Katsura Hashino quietly dropped a fact (via translator) that has haunted me ever since: “The music you hear in game is in the protagonist’s head.” On screen while he talks, there’s a scene depicted of the main character’s tiny fairy friend Gallica casting a spell; blue sparkles surround the protagonist and a dialogue box appears that reads, “It’s as though music is playing directly in my mind. The effect of Gallica’s magic is inspiring.”
Gallica then says aloud to the hero: “Music was the first magic this world ever knew, after all. Makes the road a little easier.”
And so now, every single time the song changes in Metaphor: ReFantazio, I don’t think about composer Shoji Meguro. I think about Gallica, the in-game mastermind composer behind every single note. And it’s seriously distracting me!
Don’t get me wrong, I love the music in Metaphor: ReFantazio. The soundtrack was released on Friday alongside the game itself, and I’m listening to it as I write this. I dig the haunting and occasionally dissonant string melodies, the energetic vocal chanting in that song in the background of most battles, and the sprightly jig-like tunes that play during lighthearted moments, such as the characters enjoying a meal together.
The problem is that I can’t stop thinking about the fact that all of this music is in the protagonist’s head, and Gallica is the one composing it — or maybe, it’s just a spell and she doesn’t have an active role in the songs themselves as they change around? I don’t know.
What I do know is, I keep judging the music according to this absurd in-fiction metric. Sometimes a tune will kick off and I’ll think to myself, “Is this one really appropriate, Gallica Seems a little too jaunty for the vibe of the conversation I’m having!” And on that note (ha, ha), does the music ever distract our hero from listening to what other people are saying to him? Because it’s playing through almost every single conversation he has, including dangerous and stressful ones. During battle, he probably wants the accompaniment to pump me up, but I’m not sure how much I would appreciate Gallica’s music pounding in my head for almost every second of every waking moment. I mean, what is this, me in high school walking around with headphones trying to constantly match songs to my teenage mood swings?
Actually, that’s about the age of the protagonist of this game, so maybe he’s into it. But even I had to take off my headphones when it was time to pay attention to a history lecture or whatever. And sometimes I just wanted some peace and quiet!!!
This isn’t a real problem, except that I can’t stop thinking about it. Is the main character eventually going to ask Gallica for a pause button on her infinite playlist? I’m over 30 hours in and he hasn’t complained about this even once. Maybe he’s afraid of insulting her?
To zoom out even further, why did game director Katsura Hashino think that the music in this video game needed an explanation? I’m never listening to music in a game, TV show, or movie and thinking to myself, “Where’s that music coming from?” No one thinks that.
On the other hand, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a game about stories and the tropes therein, and sometimes, it does get pretty meta. So I guess the music is just another example of that, and I’m supposed to be constantly reminded of the artifice of the world in which my character lives. If that’s the vibe, then it’s definitely working, because I’m freaking rattled.
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