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 leaked Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactica given proper reveals, but the much-anticipated Project Re Fantasy was finally shown as well. In fact, not only was it renamed as Metaphor: ReFantazio, but it was also given a release year and an expansive gameplay trailer. Metaphor: ReFantazio looks like something wholly unique in the current era of gaming, yet it retains everything that has made Atlus’ RPGs so popular.
This game takes the Persona style of gameplay, including summoned monsters and Social Links within an in-game calendar, and applies them to a high fantasy setting. Persona and Shin Megami Tensei in general have always been fantastical, but were squarely rooted in either urban fantasy or post-apocalyptic dark fantasy. Metaphor: ReFantazio looks 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 the Persona itch, but it may have also dashed hopes for a Persona 6 in the coming years.
Metaphor: ReFantazio Owes Its Life to Persona’s Success
While the strange creatures and anachronistic technology present in Metaphor: ReFantazio’s trailer suggests a fascinating new setting, the story behind its development is also quite interesting. Metaphor: ReFantazio markets itself as a game from the key staff of Persona 3, 4, and 5, 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 of Persona 5 to form another internal team, Studio Zero. It hasn't released anything besides the Catherine: Full Body remake, but that was likely because it was busy with Metaphor: ReFantazio.
The Persona franchise is alive and well, still benefiting from work by Metaphor character designer Shigenori Soejima and composer Shoji Meguro. However, Hashino, the director and producer of Persona 3 through 5 who also wrote the original story for P4 and P5, was working on Catherine and Metaphor. P-Studio didn't lose enough talent to stop making Persona titles, but fans have begun to notice that the franchise has been preoccupied with Persona 5 side games for quite a while. Persona 4's era lasted eight years, but Persona 5 has been seeing spin-offs for seven and there's still no Persona 6 in sight.
Persona 6 May Be Farther Away Because Of Metaphor
Close examination of Metaphor: ReFantazio’s trailer suggests a likely cause for this. In all respects except its setting, Metaphor is a new Persona game. 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: ReFantazio is Persona 6 in 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 means Persona 6 is 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 of Persona spin-offs and remakes. Once Metaphor: ReFantazio, the Persona 3 remake, and Persona 5 Tactica are all out, Atlus should be able to start hashing out the next numbered Persona. Until then, Persona will be joining its parent Shin Megami Tensei in the backseat. At the very least, fans of both can take solace in Metaphor: ReFantazio carrying its predecessors’ torch.
Metaphor: ReFantazio will be released in 2024 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.