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The story ofMetaphor: ReFantaziorarely gives you a chance to breathe, with constant twists and turns concerning members of the party and the events that are constantly unfolding around them. From the very beginning, you’re given plenty of tasks to keep you busy and working towards a goal.
Thanks to how much is going on, it’s quite easy to overlook one of the game’s biggest mysteries; who actually is the protagonist? We follow the enigmatic navy-haired elda for our entire journey, but the details about his past remain few and far between for most of the game, but it turns out the truth is stranger than you’d expect.
Spoilers For Metaphor: ReFantazio Ahead
What Is The Protagonist?
We are given some details about the protagonist early on in the adventure, but it’s not much to work with. Just thathe’s an elda, and he’sworking with Gallicato helprevive the cursed princeas part of the resistance. We are also shown glimpses of his childhood, and thestrong friendship he shared with the Prince, with him even being gifted the young royal’s prized possession; his fantasy novel. After this, wedon’t get many more detailsabout our hero untilmuch laterin the game, around the start of the game’s final act.
AfterLouismanaged tosuccessfully distract the party membersin the capital city of Grand Trad, he reveals that he’s already sent his most loyal follower,the necromancer Zorba, tohunt down the Prince in the elda villageand finally finish him off.
Of course, theparty make hasteto try and stop this from happening, but as the protagonist gets deeper into the elda village, he starts to experiencepervasive visions and flashbacksconcerning the scenery around him, and he even begins tohear voices.
By the time the partyreach the prince’s bodyin the inner sanctum, he’s unfortunatelyalready been assassinatedand Zorba’s fled the scene. This is where theprotagonist’s dazed state reaches its peak,as he approaches the prince’s body. Instead of mourning his fallen friend, theprotagonist hears the mysterious voice(the same one that speaks to party memberswhen their archetype powersawaken) and it is revealed thathe and the Prince are one and the same.
Even as the Prince’s physical form grew weaker,his desire and will for an equal world,like the one presented in the fantasy novel,manifested. The protagonist as we know him, wasformed from magla as an extension of the Prince’s consciousness, almost like aliving archetypeworking on the prince’s behalf.
This isnot something that the protagonist is aware of, and he was givenfalse memoriesof a childhood with the prince to internally cover for why he is so attached to the cause of reviving him.
It can actually be seen as asubtle hint that the Prince is never given a name, unlike other members of the royal family, and throughout the first half of the game is just called the Prince. This is because he and the protagonist will end up sharing the same name you chose for the hero.
In truth,the protagonist as we know him formed in the flower patchoutside of the elda village, and joined Gallica on her journey to help revive the prince. Thepower of the maglaused to form the protagonist was also capable ofimprinting false memories not only in himself, but in Gallica too. This means that Gallica believed that she already knew the protagonist, and he was her companion on their quest together.
Upon this realization,the Prince and the protagonist merge, with the Prince’s body disappearing and the protagonist’s hair colour changing to the prince’s white colour, and him taking off his headband.
On top of this, the protagonists' eyes are now both blue instead of one being yellow. This yellow eye colour can be seen as anotherhint at the protagonist’s true identityand form.
When party membersuse archetypes, theireyes glow a similar yellow colour, so this one yellow eye could symbolize him being part archetype, with the other blue being representational for his identity as the Prince.
To further solidify the protagonist’s transition into taking the role of the Prince, he alsounlocks the Prince archetype, a royal archetype that only he can use.
What Tribe Is The Protagonist?
Another major hint at the protagonist’s true identity comes soon before it is revealed. During the final stage of the competition for the crown, as part of a wider scheme, the protagonistdecides to actually pretend to be the Prince, since hematches the description of the prince’s appearanceas he was known to the public before his assassination attempt.
Whilemembers of the royal familyin Euchronia have historically beenmembers of the clemar tribe(known for their small curved horns), thePrince was actually half elda,and his appearance matched this, looking much more like an elda, andnot having the signature clemar horns.
The Prince being visibly elda is a significant part of the reason why his assassination was planned by Sanctifex Forden.
So, while we are led to believe thatthe protagonist is eldafor most of the game, and this defines a lot of his treatment, he’sactually half elda, half clemar.
What Are The Elda?
While the elda are one of the most unique tribes within Metaphor: ReFantazio, they are one of thetrickiest tribes to distinguish,unless you are very familiar with the setting of Euchronia.
Theeight main tribes all have distinguishing qualitiesthat make them easier to identify, but theelda do not have anything that makes them stand out.Since the protagonist is the only elda we meet for most of the game, and he has unique navy hair and heterochromia, you might assume that these are traits unique to the elda, but these are justsubtle hints at his identityas a magla manifestation of the prince.
The eight main tribes in Metaphor: ReFantazio are: clemar, roussainte, eugief, nidia, mustari, paripus, ishkia, and rhoag.
The reason why the elda are unique and so discriminated against (especially by the Sanctist church) is revealed soon after the Prince’s real identity comes to light. Theelda are actually the truest descendantsof the citizens of the old world frombefore magla and magic were discovered.
TheWar of Destructionthat started after its discoveryforced most people into extreme conditions, causing them to evolve into the eight tribes, and those who were submitted to harsh melancholiamutated into the monstersknown as humans in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
The elda managed toescape these conditions and the conflict, and therefore did not evolve or mutate,making them identical to the people of the old world. However, thanks to the connection they have to the monstrous humans (since technically speaking they’re their predecessors), they face harsh discrimination by wider society, and arerumoured to wield cursed magic.
Thelack of any discernable featuresis another trait of the elda that is a source of discrimination, since more discriminatory circles of Euchronian society view this as asign of inferiority.
The Protagonist’s Family
Unfortunately for the protagonist, hedoesn’t have any surviving family memberssince he is now the last remaining member of the Euchronian royal family.
His father, the king, is assassinated by Louisat the beginning of the game’s story. However, it is revealed later on, thatMore,the mysteriousclemar trapped inside Akademia, is actuallythe kingin his younger more ambitious years, making the bond between him and the protagonistthe only chance the pair had to reconnectbefore More is able to move on.
Theprotagonist’s motheris described by the elda elder as awoman who held significant influencewithin the elda village, and it seems that there was animosity between the elder and the king as she seemed toresent the king seeing him as responsible for her death.
While we never see the protagonist’s mother during the game, it isheavily implied that she is the identity of the mysterious voice. This is thanks to the conversation between the voice and More where their previous connection is hinted at.
