Atlus is hosting an election with the goal of finding out which Metaphor: ReFantazio character is the most popular among fans. The interim results are in, and while some results results are as expected, others are a bit of a surprise. The results are baffling to many fans, who believe that several characters deserve to be higher in the running than the votes suggest.

Although the voting is only half over, Atlus has already shared the mid-election results in both an infographic and a brief video on the official Atlustube YouTube channel showing how many votes each character has received. The top three most popular characters, according to the poll, are:

3. Protagonist (3,483 votes)

2. Louis (4,408 votes)

1. Strohl (4,637 votes)

It's possible that the voting is skewed by the demographic of the game's players, which some fans believe to be skewed toward female players (though this is purely anecdotal and not based on any statistics). The results could still change, though, since the voting is only halfway through. Fans are invited to vote once a day until the voting ends on January 31 on the Japanese RPG website.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Has Different Favorites In Different Locations Around The World

Voting Reveals Fan Favorites Vary By Region

The official Japanese results show some clear favorites, with the numbers dropping into the three digits after 11th place. However, Atlus SEA is holding its own popularity contest, which only allows one vote per person for the duration of the voting period. Interestingly, the mid-election results from this poll, shared on the Atlus SEA Facebook page, are very different from its Japanese version.

Although vote numbers aren't shared, the top three most popular characters from the SEA voting are Strohl in third place, Heismay in second, and Hulkenberg in top place. The discrepancy seems to confirm that players are casting ther votes for their favorite character based on different criteria. It's also possible that some extra-enthusiastic fans are coming back to the Japanese poll to add their vote every day, as opposed to the SEA voting, which is a one-and-done.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Has Won Fans And Critics Over With Its Characters And Story

The Relatively New RPG Won Several Awards

Metaphor: ReFantazio has taken the world by storm. The game reached a million copies sold within just 24 hours of its release in October 2024, according to Metaphor is obviously influenced by.

In the few months that the game has been out, ReFantazio has managed to snag a couple of impressive awards, including Best RPG, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction at The Game Awards 2024. Even though fans seem to be divided about who the best characters are, it seems that they agree that Metaphor: ReFantazio is a JRPG that's worth playing, full of memorable characters.

Source: RPG, atlustube/YouTube, Atlus SEA/Facebook, Persona Central