Atlus announced in a new Atlus Exclusive Showcase that their upcoming action fantasy RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio will hit stores on October 11, 20224.
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
On top of announcing the game’s release date, Atlus and the game’s director Katsura Hashino shared a number of new details about the game.
At the beginning of his presentation, Hashino stated, “This work is being brought to you by not only the Persona team but in collaboration with renowned artists to create a brand new RPG. With this team we decided to challenge the fantasy genre aiming to create a game we can call a culmination of our RPGs.”
He added, “Our hope is that not only Atlus fans but those who have never played our games and RPG fans around the world will give this game a shot.”
Katsura Hashino via Atlus YouTube
Next, Hashino provided details about the game’s premise, story, and world, “In this game you’ll be forging bonds to support your claim for the throne, but it’s the unique take on this that we hope puts a spin on the classic tale. In a kingdom thrown into chaos by the king’s assassination a royal magic is triggered that establishes an election. This magic allows any individual of any social status to become the next king by gaining the people’s support, which sets a battle for the throne in motion.”
He continued, “The protagonist gets involved and the journey will take him around the world. It’s a journey that I hope you enjoy as it’s unique to this game. You’ll meet various allies of different tribes: rivals who stand by their own ideologies and terrifying monsters called humans will stand in your way. The story is brimming with fateful encounters like this.”
He then contrasted the game with films and novels, “Above all else a game offers a different experience than a movie or novel. So to prevent this from becoming just a vehicle for our tale we’ve gone to great lengths to flesh out the experience into an exciting fully fleshed game.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
From there, Hashino begins his playthrough from the beginning of the game, “What makes Metaphor different from other fantasy RPGs is the perspective of their world in which our world is their fantasy. After players enter their name they must answer the questions: Is fantasy limit to the confines of imagination? Would you call it a powerless creation? The game questions the power of fantasy, a power we all possess. I hope the game helps you arrive to your own conclusions.”
Next, he jumps to a scene from the beginning of the game and provides more details about the plot as well as the game’s concept system, “Our protagonist’s journey and goal is to save the prince who has been cursed. This is a scene from the beginning of the game. What differentiates this from previous Atlus RPGs is that we’ve added a more dynamic sense of action. The turn-based battles are still central to the combat, but we’ve incorporated real-time attacking and dodging elements as well as dashing around and analyzing to keep things exciting.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
Of note, Hashino revealed the beginning of the game can be quite difficult due to the protagonist’s low level, “At the beginning of the game the protagonist isn’t strong yet so the difficulty of the battles is intentionally pretty high in this area.”
He then explained this decision, “We wanted players to get a sense of both tension and accomplishment. I might die if I risk fighting right now so I’ll explore cautiously during this segment. That said there are multiple difficulty levels and convenience factors to make things easier so we hope anyone who wants to play can enjoy it.”
Hashino also revealed the game is being composed by Shoji Meguro, the man behind the Persona series. However, Hashino noted, “I’ve asked him not to be constrained by his trademark pop style and to take on the challenge of creating a totally new sound to fit this game’s world.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
After showing off one portion of the world and briefly touching on how players will have the choice on which battles they will fight and how they will go about fighting, he skipped ahead to the Royal Capital Rand Trad, which is designed by artist Koda Kazuma.
Within the city, players will discover a massive armored vehicle that will be essential in the protagonists journey, Hashino explained, “The protagonist will ride around in this to travel the world. The original designs of these vehicles were created by Ikuto Yamashta.”
While exploring the city, Hashino shared more details about the world and the protagonist, “This world has a prevalent gap between rich and poor. As for our protagonist he’s a boy from an inferior tribe abhorred by others. Despite his social standing he is going to participate in the royal tournament.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
As Hashino continued his brief overview of the game, he revealed the game will feature bounties that the protagonist can receive from recruitment centers in the various cities and towns you visit. These bounties task the protagonist with taking on monsters found in the wastelands outside of the towns and cities.
The towns and cities also feature weapon shops that allow players to customize their characters and party members in their own way.
There are also taverns that are hosts to informants that “offer hints about dungeons and battle strategies.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
Hashino eventually returned to the armored vehicle, which is called The Gauntlet Runner. He explained, “The Gauntlet Runner is a vehicle that can travel safely across wastelands, a mobile base, if you will, with movement and mechanisms that allows it to run on magic. So our protagonist and many others travel in their Gauntlet Runners to gather popularity.”
“This is the Gauntlet Runner’s War Room,” he continued. “If you access the round table here all your allies gather back from town and a map of your journey opens.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
As with Atlus’ Persona games, time will be important in Metaphor as well. Hashino described how the time works in the game, “Most RPGs don’t have a time limit on the adventure but Metaphor revolves around the concept of dates and time. For people today travel often has a fixed itinerary such as three days and two nights. So in this game we’ve captured the travel experience with predetermined lengths of activities and structure, but within that what you do where you go is up to each player who can choose to do things differently. You’re free to spend your time as you please.”
Discussing the game’s various quests, he added, “You have a set time frame to complete the main story objective at each location you visit, but these side quests play an important role in the story too. Some require fighting strong enemies while others may offer rare equipment. The order in which you take on these quests will have a great impact on how difficult the battles feel so which challenges you take on first will play a big factor in your experience.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
Within The Gauntlet Runner, players have access to a kitchen where they “can cook ingredients [they’ve] gathered with [their] friends to make valuable items.”
There is also a common room where “your allies will often visit you to spend time with them. There is also a collection of books for you to read, or if you’d rather not do anything you can sleep here. As you can see we have Japanese style capsule shaped beds. The Gauntlet Runner’s interior is quite spacious and even has its own engine room. Here’s a washing machine and you’ll find cleaning supplies too. I hope you’re excited to learn more about how they play into things. You’re not limited to staying inside The Gauntlet Runner if you climb up the ladder to the deck you can see it moving through this massive world you can even see monsters soaring overhead. The Gauntlet Runner has so much to do as you head to your next stop that it’s impossible to tell you’d all here so please stay tuned.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
Next, Hashino discussed the game’s UI and party system, which looks very similar to Atlus’ Persona games. He specifically discussed the game’s party system noting, “The key to strengthening a party in Metaphor lies in the job system and the growth of these jobs is critical to advancing through the game. In Metaphor the power of these jobs is called archetypes. Archetypes are a very important element to this game which I’ll give you a few more details on. By confronting their anxiety the protagonists acquire these archetypes, a special power. Think of them as heroic figures everyone possesses. Their powers manifest in various forms throughout the game. Examples of some archetypes that show up early in the game include the Seeker who is an all-rounder in battle, the Mage who strikes weaknesses with offensive magic, and the Thief who can plunder resources. But the key point of the system here is that the character can undergo a transformation taking on the appearance of various heroic figures and then use their skills to fight.”
Hashino then showcased the game’s combat system, “Once you enter the dungeon use your fairy companion’s power to analyze your surroundings. This will give you a sort of ranking of nearby enemies and by that I mean how strong they are. As you can see many enemies are glowing blue which indicates a lower rank. In other words weaker enemies. One of the things we kept in mind during development was our goal to make the game as fast-paced and exhilarating as possible. Tedious and slow paced enemy encounters can ruin a game’s rhythm especially if you know you can win against weaker enemies. Now you’ll notice we have a large monster ahead. More dangerous enemies give off a yellow glow. If the analysis indicates their formidable you should approach cautiously unlike before. Pressing the squad button will call your party members to your side transitioning us smoothly into a turn-based battle. If you initiate a squad battle before the enemy notices you you earn a bonus first strike. … Even for battles that require a squad approach to defeat them with skills the action portion before it is designed to provide a tactical element with mechanics that can lead to both advantages and disadvantages. The squad option allows you to engage and enjoy tense tactical battles without even drawing close and using a variety of skills and strategic actions. The party customization is highly flexible and strategic so we encourage you to create your own unique and powerful party.”
Players can also receive various bonuses following combat depending on how well they perform. One of them is not taking any damage. Hashino explained, “We implemented this feature to provide a sense of accomplishment in party customization. So I suggest you try it out.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
Hashino then discussed the various dungeons you will encounter in the game. He shared, “As you progress through the story you’ll come across main dungeons, which you’ll tackle as part of the main story, and side dungeons, which you can explore as part of quests. Both types will, of course, plunge you into battle.”
“In terms of the number of dungeons to challenge it’s more than any previous title of ours,” he boasted. “Furthermore the dungeon mechanics we’ve designed were created to avoid impacting the balance and pacing reducing anything that may bore you. The battle system in these dungeons is one of our strongest selling points so we hope you enjoy it.”
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
After briefly discussing the various dungeons in the games, Hashino discussed the game’s follower system, “The protagonist will meet and befriend various people over his journey. As he continues to deepen these bonds these followers will become his strongest supporters. Seeing their way of life through these interactions the protagonist senses the heroic image within them giving him access to new archetypes in battle that awaken within him. It’s up to the player to decide which followers to prioritize interacting with. Finding strategies to gain advantage both in dungeons and outside of them is a unique aspect of this game. We hope you enjoy them.”
The game will not limit followers to certain archetypes either rather Hashino stated, “Your other party members can also equip any type of archetype giving you countless options in forming your party. Take a look I’ll show you on screen here’s a party consisting only of brawlers. Unique parties like this are fully possible so we hope you get creative with it. Metaphor has been created with the goal of fusing the idea of a journey with interpersonal interactions, party growth, combat, and a taste of the storyline we’ve described today into a single game experience. So when the game releases we hope you’ll experience these aspects to the fullest.”
“What did you think? That was only scratching the surface of the journey and the basics of the game system. There’s so much more we can’t wait to share. Metaphor is a massive game filled with interesting and unique elements. As for the narrative I only touched on the beginning of the story, but the surprising twists and turns we’re known for await you. I hope you’re looking forward to hearing more about the story and characters that make this game truly special,” Hashino concluded.
A screenshot from Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), Atlus
The game will be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
What do you make of Metaphor: ReFantazio?
