Metaphor: ReFantazio helped JRPG veterans behind Persona "go back to our basics," and the experience "will really help us for future titles and projects we have coming up"

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"It really was the first time in a while that our team built from the ground up"

A close-up of the protagonist during the turn-based RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio.
(Image credit: Sega / Atlus)

After directing Persona 3, 4, 5, and more, Katsura Hashino says Metaphor: ReFantazio helped the devs at Atlus' Studio Zero "go back to our basics" in an experience that "will really help us for future titles and projects we have coming up."

Speaking in an interview with Game Informer, Hashino talks about the experience of developing 2024 JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, which – as he notes – served as a "new IP" even if the team "did bring certain elements from past titles that we worked on and evolved them for this title." Think of the Persona calendar system and social links – those were both present in Metaphor even if its fantasy setting was completely different.

As such, the director says, "this opportunity with Metaphor posed as a chance for the team to go back to our basics of building something new, and this helped us assess which elements we excelled at that we wanted to carry over into Metaphor, and which elements we really didn’t need to. That helped us view the things that we built previously from a new lens. It helped us go back to our basics and assess the work we had done before we came to this point. I think that experience and knowledge will really help us for future titles and projects we have coming up."

In the same interview, Hashino talks about Studio Zero's drive to discover "how we can evolve our JRPG and what it looks like," seemingly reflecting another recent statement in which he suggested that the JRPG genre is entering a new iteration – "JRPG 3.0" – something he hopes his next game will be an example of.

We'll just have to wait and see what that could be, although it sounds like it might not be a Metaphor: ReFantazio sequel – at least, not yet. Hashino has explained that the team doesn't want "quickly put out" a follow-up to respond to its success, but instead "really give it some thought and make sure that if we are able to continue on in this series, we're putting together something that is building on the values that we were able to infuse into this game, and something that would be worthwhile for the fans that would be waiting for it."

Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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