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........

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