Preview: Metaphor: ReFantazio is taking on a new persona

The acclaimed director of the Persona series is moving on to a brand new world.

Metaphor ReFantazio / Atlus

Metaphor: ReFantazio has a frankly ludicrous name, and in another timeline, it’s probably just called Persona 6. Game director Katsura Hashino has previously directed Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, Persona 3, 4, 5, and Catherine. Few people in the Japanese game industry can claim to have such a key role in so many critically acclaimed JRPGs, and when Persona was at the peak of its popularity, he said he was done.

“Until now, since the time fantasy went mainstream, Atlus has dared to create series set in contemporary times and cherished its stance of aiming to counter the typical,” Hashino said on a 2016 livestream, as recorded by Gematsu. “The series works from Persona 3 and onwards are the exact products of such thought. I had always held the thought that I someday want to challenge the traditional genre and deliver a title uniquely Atlus.”

Metaphor: ReFantazio has a familiar battle system. / Atlus

That’s why, when Persona 5 was released to a Japanese audience, Hashino stepped away from Atlus’ P-Studio, which focuses on developing the Persona series. Instead, Hashino founded a new studio inside Atlus, Studio Zero, and after developing the port Catherine: Full Body, the team was full-steam ahead on a brand new JRPG, inspired by what Hashino and the team had worked on before, but with its own distinct flavor.

That’s why Metaphor: ReFantazio has such a silly name. It’s a mission statement – something that sets it apart from Persona on a fundamental level, evoking the absurdist. And when you play the game, absurd is definitely one way to refer to it.

Speaking aboard the Gauntlet Runner. / Atlus

It’s familiar enough on the surface, as we discovered when we played the demo available at Gamescom LATAM 2024. It has a turn-based battle system, and if you already know what a “Rakukaja” is, you’ll feel right at home with the attack names too. There’s even a ship we used as a home base during my hands-on demo, where you could choose which party member to spend time with. Choosing the right dialogue options would provide unique stat increases, tying neatly into the various challenges that you’ll encounter, much like – yes – the Persona series. The stats are Courage, Wisdom, Tolerance, Eloquence, and Imagination. It’s hard to know how these stats will factor into the decisions you make right now, though ‘Eloquence’ certainly seems like it’ll be useful in the previously announced Election Race portion of the game.

One of the biggest changes might be in the battle system, where your characters are downplayed in exchange for archetypes. Some of these archetypes have obvious uses, like Mage, Warrior, Knight, and Healer, but we’re not entirely sure yet how to make the best use of archetypes like Seeker, Merchant, or Faker. It has been announced that there will be more than 40 archetypes in the game, and you’ll be encouraged to try different archetype and character combinations in battle, where they just might make the difference between victory and a game over.

Rykard? Is that you? / Atlus

During our demo, we came up against a horrific octopus-like monster that was attacking the ship we were sailing on, and its writhing body with a bearded, human face and a crown of thorns immediately, for me, evoked Elden Ring’s Rykard. The reality is that they’re both probably inspired by the works of Hieronymus Bosch, whom the Studio Zero team jokingly said is “the fourth guest artist” to work on the game (when including the other guest artists that have worked on Nier Automata, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Etrian Odyssey). Whatever the inspiration, the art style feels distinct and leaves a strong impression. The archetype system is also really curious and engaging, though we haven’t had enough time to play about with all of that quite yet.

I’m going to be honest and say that, while I enjoyed Persona 5, I knew for a fact that I didn’t want to play it again, expanded Royal version or no. I felt done with the series, but Metaphor: ReFantazio’s commitment to doing something different, even if it has the DNA of a Shin Megami Tensei game, has gotten me way more excited. I was happy to let this one pass me by, but after playing it for myself and looking into what else I can expect, Metaphor: ReFantazio looks set to be one of the best JRPGs of the year, and will almost certainly be one of the highlights of the month when it launches on October 11.