Perhaps one of the biggest elements of Metaphor: ReFantazio, aside from battling, is developing your relationship with your followers. Followers are the backbone of your entire campaign for the throne and as you bond with them throughout your playthrough, many offer valuable rewards in exchange for your friendship.

[Warning: Major spoilers for Metaphor: ReFantazio]

Although you can't control which followers you unlock first, as each one has a designated date to begin bonding with them, you can control who you choose to prioritize after that when planning your free time. Since the time spent outside of dungeons is very valuable, it may be worth knowing which party offer the most help, outside just their Metaphor: ReFantazio Archetype.

14 Gallica

The Fairy Companion

For those who are familiar with Atlus's Persona 5, Gallica is essentially the Metaphor: ReFantazio's equivalent to Morgana. She is one of the first companions that the protagonist interacts with in the story, remaining by his side at all times, and her bond can only be increased naturally through story progression.

Unfortunately, for this reason, her story is rather mundane, as it is tied to the overall plot and impossible not to complete. Luckily, her benefits are still quite good, as they include analyzing enemies and potentially gaining extra turns in battle, but it's still not enough to outweigh the lack of interesting content associated with her bond.

13 More

The Author

Unlike traditional methods of bonding, which mainly include having conversations around a unique story, More will have you complete tasks for him. Most of the tasks are rather easy to complete, in a technical sense, since they just consist of reaching a certain level with a certain Archetype, but can be tedious if they don't align with what you're doing.

A fast way to complete this bond and avoid being stuck with what More wants is to utilize the Hero items that increase an Archetype's experience.

Furthermore, since More is trapped in Akademia, his story is, again, rather dull. His main purpose is to provide valuable tools that you'll need throughout your playthrough, including accessing Archetypes from the main menu, but his requests can be completed ively and honestly wouldn't be worth completing at all if not for his archetype association.

12 Eupha

The Mustari Priestess

Eupha is the first on this list who is not only a follower, but also a party member. This means that while she is impossible to miss initially, it can be easy to forget about ranking her up, especially since she is thrown at you rather abruptly. Her rewards don't offer much other than preventing a specific status ailment, which holds value only on a case-by-case basis.

Centered mainly around her faith, you help Eupha care for the sick, which eventually leads to having to prevent them from being sacrificed by a mad priest who believes they're being punished by God. Though seemingly exciting, it's not nearly as interesting as it sounds. Furthermore, she is the only one with a strange romantic aura by the end of her bond, which is odd considering Metaphor: ReFantazio's complete lack of romance.

11 Junah

The Songstress

Unlike Eupha, you meet Junah long before she becomes a follower in Metaphor: ReFantazio, which gives you a chance to get to know her before you begin pursuing a friendship after she breaks away from Louis. Once again, those who are familiar with Persona 5 may even notice some similarities between Junah and Ann's stories as you become acquainted.

Like Ann, Junah's story largely follows her struggles to deal with a vain competitor in her field, but with a little extra twist. Overall, it just feels a bit out of place to be following a story this seemingly shallow while other party are focused on changing the world. However, Junah does offer MP recovery after a battle as one of her bond rewards, so it's worth at least reaching that rank if nothing else.

10 Catherina

A Force To Be Reckoned With

You begin your bond with Catherina early on in Metaphor: ReFantazio, but proceed to follow that by fighting her several times as she also fights for the throne. You slowly find out that she's doing it to represent the Paripus, and doesn't have anything against you, which ultimately leads to her dropping out in your favor once you defeat her three times.

Since Catherina starts as an opponent of sorts, her bond is rather enjoyable to pursue and her fights are entertaining. However, this quickly wears off once she drops out of the race. From there, the rest of her story boils down to simply helping the Paripus get jobs and make an honorable living, which is pleasant, but not nearly as engaging as the first half of her story.

9 Neuras

The Runner Pilot

Neuras is a follower that you might expect to be a party member at first glance, but he isn't. However, that doesn't mean he is completely useless to you in battle. Outside of being the operator of your Runner, which allows you to fast travel all over the map and complete activities while traveling, he also aids in any battle that takes place on the Runner's deck.

Like More, Neuras' bond is heavily associated with requests, specifically to find artifacts while on your travels. Finding an artifact is rather easy since Gallica alerts you when they're in a dungeon, but as for the actual conversation you have with Neuras following your discoveries, they're pretty average, making it hard to connect with him the same way you do with others.

8 Brigitta

The Igniter Merchant

Brigitta's bond is one of the few you can almost entirely miss if you don't do any exploring. She's not tied to the story in any way, nor is she a party member, making her entirely optional. However, she is worth seeking out and completing if you have the time. Not only do her rewards include shop discounts, but once you progress enough, she even sends you money on occasion.

Her story itself follows that of having the one thing she loves, her dog, taken from her while you help her to realize that fighting fire with fire is not the answer. Although her arc reaches a beautiful place by allowing her to open herself up, the real value she holds to you is mainly in her rewards.

7 Hulkenberg

The Disgraced Knight

Hulkenberg is the second party member you acquire and thus s the story very early on. For this reason, it's hard not to feel attached to her, especially since it is a long time before you even have the option to replace her. Her story is tied largely to that of the Prince and her sense of pride, which you slowly help her realize she can maintain, despite her mistakes in the past.

Her main reward worth mentioning is that she will eventually unlock the ability to protect you from attacks that trigger your weakness, but overall, she's just a really strong ally. She's valuable in combat because she takes hits better than anyone else and her story is an honorable one to follow that is worth prioritizing and completing.

6 Strohl

The Forgotten Noble

Strohl is perhaps the most attached you might become to a single follower if, for no other reason, than that he is the first official party member. Although he doesn't offer much in the way of rewards, other than increasing the chance for a crit in certain fights, his story is one of the most fleshed-out and interesting of all your followers.

When you initially meet Strohl, you learn all about his destroyed home. With his family and people nearly wiped out completely, you assist him on a path to reclaim his noble title, help the remaining people of his village, and restore his home. It's a pretty unoriginal story, but it's fitting for Strohl and overall satisfying to see a story you've been involved in from the start come to a close.

5 Bardon

The Ambitious Leader

Before Bardon becomes a follower, he is first introduced while recruiting the party for a bounty in the city of Martira. While there, you work with him to eventually uncover the horrific truth behind the deaths in his city, which ultimately leads to him becoming the replacement leader of his town, with a little encouragement from you.

While you initially encourage his decision and affirm that he is fit to lead others, you eventually are forced to openly disagree with his methods. This is unlike anything you're generally recommended to do with any other follower, but in this case, it's necessary as you go from building him up to bringing him back to reality. Seeing his evolution throughout his bond is by far one of the most interesting, plus his rewards include him sending you random gifts, making him a must-complete on your list of followers.