Persona 5 director says his new fantasy JRPG "will be a fresh new challenge"

Metaphor
(Image credit: Atlus)

Metaphor: ReFantazio, the new game from the team behind Persona 5, will be a very different challenge for its developer.

The new JRPG, originally known as Project ReFantasy, was officially unveiled at the Xbox Game Showcase last week. Headed up by director Katsura Hashino and several other members of the Persona 5 team, it's a fantasy spin on the format that these developers are known for.

In a new video, Hashino says that that fantasy setting offers these veteran developers a "fresh new challenge." Compared to the more grounded, 'slice-of-life' style of the Persona series, Metaphor: ReFantazio is certainly a more ostentatious offering. The Persona DNA is immediately apparent, but you can see why Hashino and his team would see the brash, pseudo-religious imagery in their new game as a difficult format to wrap their heads around.

Hashino goes on to say that Metaphor: ReFantazio will offer "a fantasy experience unlike any other," which certainly seems fair based on the chaos of the announcement trailer.

It's been a big week for Persona fans, as not only did we get Metaphor: ReFantazio, but Atlus also revealed the Persona 3 Remake and Persona 5 Tactics. Technically known as Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactica, they're already getting plenty of positive attention from fans. With Tactica launching this Fall, and both Metaphor: ReFantazio and Reload coming in 2024, JRPG fans should have enough to keep them going all the way to Persona 6.

The list of upcoming Xbox Series X games just got a lot longer.

Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.