At the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase, Atlus fans got a surprisingly in-depth look at what the RPG-focused company has been up to. Not only were the leakedPersona 3 ReloadandPersona 5 Tacticagiven proper reveals, butthe much-anticipatedProject Re Fantasywas finally shown as well. In fact, not only was it renamed asMetaphor: ReFantazio, but it was also given a release year and an expansive gameplay trailer.Metaphor: ReFantaziolooks like something wholly unique in the current era of gaming, yet it retains everything that has made Atlus’ RPGs so popular.
This game takes thePersonastyle of gameplay, including summoned monsters and Social Links within an in-game calendar, and applies them to a high fantasy setting.PersonaandShin Megami Tenseiin general have always been fantastical, but were squarely rooted in either urban fantasy or post-apocalyptic dark fantasy.Metaphor: ReFantaziolooks to bridge the gap between the two, and has populated the revealed party with an appropriately large portion of fantasy races. It still looks to scratch thePersonaitch, but it may have also dashed hopes for aPersona 6in the coming years.
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Metaphor: ReFantazio Owes Its Life to Persona’s Success
While the strange creatures and anachronistic technology present inMetaphor: ReFantazio’s trailer suggests a fascinating new setting, the story behind its development is also quite interesting.Metaphor: ReFantaziomarkets itself as a game from the key staff ofPersona 3,4, and5, sharing a director, character designer, and composer with all of them. This is notable, as director Katsura Hashino left Atlus’ internal P-Studio after the release ofPersona 5to form another internal team, Studio Zero. It hasn’t released anything besides theCatherine: Full Bodyremake, but that was likely because it was busy withMetaphor: ReFantazio.
ThePersonafranchise is alive and well, still benefiting from work byMetaphorcharacter designer Shigenori Soejima and composer Shoji Meguro. However, Hashino, the director and producer ofPersona 3through5who also wrote theoriginal story forP4andP5, was working onCatherineandMetaphor. P-Studio didn’t lose enough talent to stop makingPersonatitles, but fans have begun to notice that the franchise has been preoccupied withPersona 5side games for quite a while.Persona 4’s era lasted eight years, butPersona 5has been seeing spin-offs for seven and there’s still noPersona 6in sight.
Persona 6 May Be Farther Away Because Of Metaphor
Close examination ofMetaphor: ReFantazio’s trailer suggests a likely cause for this. In all respects except its setting,Metaphoris a newPersonagame. Much of the key staff is shared between the two, and while its battle system and equipped Persona equivalent may be different, traces of old mechanics are still visible. What is likely happening here is that, until a game with its title enters development,Metaphor: ReFantazioisPersona 6in Atlus' eyes. They occupy the same space as multi-platform AAA JRPGs, and it seems like Studio Zero may have borrowed a lot of P-Studio’s regular talent to make this happen.
Unfortunately, that meansPersona 6is most likely years away, and it’s difficult to say if the game has even begun pre-production. Its series will undoubtedly keep going until then, but as little more than the ongoing stream ofPersonaspin-offs and remakes. OnceMetaphor: ReFantazio, thePersona 3remake, andPersona 5 Tacticaare all out, Atlus should be able to start hashing out the next numberedPersona. Until then,Personawill be joining its parentShin Megami Tenseiin the backseat. At the very least, fans of both can take solace inMetaphor: ReFantaziocarrying its predecessors’ torch.
Metaphor: ReFantaziowill be released in 2024 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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