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"

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.

"But that being said, it really was the first time in a while that our team built from the ground up; I think it goes back to Persona 3 when we did something similar in scope," Hashino continues. "We were creating a world and lore, really, from the ground up."

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."

Fan theory that links Metaphor: ReFantazio, the modern Persona games, and Catherine together is correct but completely unintentional, says director: "I didn't plan it at all."