Sega will make someone a real noble to celebrate the launch of Metaphor ReFantazio. But there's a catch: you'll join the nobility in an illegitimate country in the North Sea that has only one resident.

Metaphor: ReFantazio, an excellent Persona-like by Atlus, is about uniting a country through a competition in which the winner will be the next scum on its throne. The JRPG is filled with meditations on racism and inequality, as well as how it's cool being friends with a bat that talks. We like it a lot. In fact, we gave Metaphor: ReFantazio a 95% rating in our review.

But here's a fact: the road to the throne takes a long time. It's 100 hours long. You'll have to battle countless monsters and explore dungeons before you can call the day a success. Wouldn't you find it easier to post a comment explaining why you deserve the prize on social media? Sega will make a person a real-world noble for doing just that.

Before you spend your money on ermine coats and thrones, be aware of a major catch: you'll join the nobility in Sealand, a tiny micronation located in the North Sea. It's not recognised as a country, has only one permanent resident and is essentially an old sea fort.

Sealand, despite being a rusty WW2 off-shore platform, has had a fascinating and exciting history. Here are some highlights.

• In 1967, Paddy Roy Bates evicted the previous occupant of the platform, a pirate station. Bates declared the platform independent, renamed the Principality Sealand and took the title Prince Roy of Sealand.
• The British Royal Navy has made multiple attempts to recapture Sealand, and members of the royal family have been charged with crimes--specifically, shooting warning shots at British vessels. Sealand was located in international waters at the time and the court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction.
• Sealand's rebel government lives in exile in Germany. It was formed after a failed 1978 coup orchestrated by Sealand’s prime minister. Prince Roy's child, Prince Michael was taken hostage by foreign mercenaries during the coup. He fought, won and then held the former Prime Minister prisoner for several week.
• The rebel government allegedly has connections with drug traffickers and money-launderers who were funded through the sale of fake Sealand Passports.
• Sealand has its own passports and currency. It also has a flag, an anthem, a football team, and stamps.
• In 1987, the UK expanded its territorial waters to Sealand. Prince Roy had extended Sealand's waters by the same amount the day before to maintain access to open sea. Since then, the UK has not attempted to reclaim Sealand.
• Sealand was the site of an internet server farm in 2000. However, it failed due to disagreements between the company and the royal family. In 2007, The Pirate Bay tried to buy the micronation in order to avoid Sweden's Copyright laws.
• Ed Sheeran is the blandest musician in the world, but he's also a Baron Sealand, one of many celebrities who hold noble titles within this micronation.

It's been an exciting ride for what was essentially a decommissioned fort. If you're interested in joining its nobility, you don’t need to wait until Sega picks your comment on Twitter or Reel Instagram. Sealand offers titles as low as PS20. You'll be able to get the title of lady or lord for just PS20. The highest level is the duke and duchess title for couples, which costs PS700. Normaly, it costs PS1,000 but there is a sale going on. I wonder if Sealand celebrates Black Friday? It might be worth checking back next month, just in case.

Sega's offer is unique. Sega has created a unique title for the contest: Hand to Sovereign prince of Sealand. It's pretty fancy, isn't it? Michael Bates is the grandson of Prince Roy, the original founder.

Prince Liam, the son of Prince Michael, and fourth in line, said that when my grandfather founded Sealand, in the 1960s he bestowed the title of "Princess Joan" on my grandmother. In the five decades since, Sealand has established several Noble titles but never a hand to the prince. As the world's smallest country, we've accomplished a lot. But this partnership with SEGA & ATLUS for a one-off game marks our first foray in the world of videogames. And it's an endeavor future Sealand Royals can look back on proudly."

Sega has done a great job with this campaign. I've seen some bizarre videogame marketing campaigns, but this one is definitely the best. Look over the terms and condition first before you plan your aristocratic life. They also include instructions on how to enter. You don't yet have a chamberlain who can do this for you.