{"id":507890,"date":"2026-10-25T23:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T23:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/507890\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T23:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T23:36:09","slug":"metaphor-refantazio-orchestra-tranquilizes-at-peacock-theater-annenberg-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/507890\/","title":{"rendered":"Metaphor: ReFantazio Orchestra tranquilizes at Peacock Theater \u2013 Annenberg Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much like the game itself, the Metaphor: ReFantazio Orchestra Concert at Peacock Theater Oct. 13 taught attendees that in a world that often seems bleak, there\u2019s always room for fantasy.<\/p>\n

The show was the latest of many successes for \u201cMetaphor: ReFantazio,\u201d Japanese developer ALTUS\u2019 2024 video game from the same development team behind \u201cPersona 5,\u201d which sold over 10 million copies worldwide and whose soundtrack became so popular that it received its own tour earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message I got from this concert is that music is magic and it puts a spell on you,\u201d said David Golgado, a fan who showed up in a full cosplay of the game\u2019s protagonist \u201cWill\u201d \u2014 down to his signature heterochromic eyes.<\/p>\n

The development team behind \u201cMetaphor: ReFantazio\u201d had big shoes to fill, and the team delivered \u2014 putting a medieval spin on the slice-of-life and dungeon crawling blend that made \u201cPersona\u201d so popul:r.<\/p>\n

The story, one that argues fanatical dreams can change the world, delivered an experience that in some ways, usurped the title before it. It became ATLUS\u2019 fastest-selling game ever, releasing to mass critical success and receiving a \u201cGame of the Year\u201d nomination in 2024<\/a>, an orchestra launched an eight-stop world tour across three continents, six countries and eight cities<\/a> in 2026 to celebrate the game\u2019s soundtrack.<\/p>\n

At the Los Angeles stop, over a thousand people piled into Peacock Theater, many dressed in elaborate cosplays of their favorite characters. \u201cMetaphor: ReFantazio\u201d had large shoes to fill, coming directly after \u201cPersona 5,\u201d ATLUS\u2019 most successful project ever. For the dedicated fans at the orchestra, the team delivered, creating a world, message and soundtrack that gripped them long after the credits rolled. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe game really never left,\u201d said Stephanie Wang, who spent two months preparing her cosplay as the game\u2019s antagonist, Louis Guiabern, for the show. \u201cImmediately when I heard a song that I really liked, I would just add it to my playlist. Even after the game was over and I had to just sit with those thoughts, I\u2019m like, all right, let\u2019s run it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concert, which featured nearly two hours of consecutive orchestral performances, was designed to give listeners a nostalgic experience. Unlike the concert tour for high-octane, jazzy music in \u201cPersona,\u201d the focus on Shoji Meguro\u2019s more operatic, liturgical soundtrack was on intimacy \u2014 any noise outside applause at the ends of shows was discouraged.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Persona\u2019 felt more like a party. Everyone was getting loud, everyone was singing in, everyone was jumping in with the rap, whatever lyrics they had. Here we\u2019re just taking it in,\u201d Golgado said.<\/p>\n

The setlist sequentially played through the games\u2019 narrative. Conductor Brian Eads, who has concert credits at symphonies for Undertale, Stardew Valley and Death Stranding, began Act I with \u201cPrelude to a Heroic Tale<\/a>,\u201d the very first song the player hears upon embarking on their journey.<\/p>\n

From there, the developers took viewers on a sonic journey alongside the cast of \u201cMetaphor: Re-fantazio.\u201dAct I evoked the first half of the \u201cMetaphor : ReFantazio\u201d experience, cycling through early-game town themes such as the \u201cRoyal Capital Grand Trad\u201d and \u201cMartira, Old Castle Town,\u201d as well as \u201cWarriors in Valour\u201d \u2014 the game\u2019s battle theme, which live singer Sam Kredienweis contributed chanting vocals to.<\/p>\n

Backgrounding all of these performances were elaborate lighting effects and theatrical screens that displayed iconic locals, cinematic shots and cutscenes in the game \u2014 adding to the immersion for fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked how the lights were when they were playing with the orchestra. It was red whenever there was a fight or when it was calm \u2014 like in \u2018Akademia\u2019 \u2014 it was blue,\u201d said Diego Espitia, a fan at the show. \u201cThe vibe was cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OrchestraClips of in-game fight sequences play while the orchestra performs \u201cWarriors in Valour,\u201d the game\u2019s battle theme. (Photo by Kailen Hicks) <\/p>\n

After a brief intermission, viewers were taken to Act II, where they were treated to the grandiose tracks of the final stretch \u201cMetaphor ReFantazio.\u201d Maiko Katagiri, the actual singer for \u201cWings of Freedom\u201d in-game, joined the orchestra for a performance onstage, and then he cycled through other late-game classics, such as \u201cAltabury Heights,\u201d \u201cYou Face Louis Guillabern\u201d and \u201cMelancholy Star.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concert ended with a performance of \u201cTraversing Wastes,\u201d which served as both the theme for a section in the game\u2019s prologue, as well as for one of its most important final bosses. Espitia said the theme was his favorite moment of the show due to the significance it has within Metaphor\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning, I didn\u2019t really pay that much attention to the song, but once the big reveal happened near the end of the game, it just stuck with me,\u201d Espitia said. \u201cLike, oh my God, this is getting me tear-eyed. It gave me goosebumps.\u201d<\/p>\n

As fans began to peter out of the show after curtain call, the festivities continued. Fans took pictures with their favorite cosplays, traded character cards with each other and talked about their favorite experiences with a game that\u2019s become integral to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe characters, the art direction, music, everything is so well done,\u201d Wang said. \u201cMetaphor is really an amazing game, and it\u2019s become an integral part of my life too.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Wang, the success of this concert speaks to the value of hard work in game development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis concert really shows that if you put your heart and soul into a passion project of a game, there will be people who recognize that effort and will come and show up for it,\u201d Wang said. \u201cMetaphor isn\u2019t ATLUS\u2019 biggest title; that definitely goes to \u2018Persona.\u2019 But I think if you ask a lot of the hardcore fans here which game they want to show up for, that they want to really support and see succeed, it would probably be this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edited by Justin Ha<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Much like the game itself, the Metaphor: ReFantazio Orchestra Concert at Peacock Theater Oct. 13 taught attendees that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[38477,11753,48,52,51,47,50,49,195985,29723,155753,195986,162757],"class_list":["post-507890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-atlus","tag-gaming","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-metaphor-refantazio","tag-peacock-theater","tag-persona","tag-persona-5","tag-sega"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}