Persona 3, 4, 5 and Metaphor: ReFantasy Director Katsura Hashino says Atlus Studio Zero still has a “desire” to make fantasy games following the release of its 2024 JRPG gem, but more than that, the developers are looking for ways to “evolve our JRPG and the way it looks.”
Although Metaphor: ReFantazio Not Persona game, it still took inspiration from Atlus' previous works in many ways, from the calendar system to the return of social links (even if they were given a new name). However, in the future, Hashino and his team seem to be considering the possibility of spicing things up even more, as he states in his post. Game Informer interview.
When asked if the Metaphor: ReFantazio team has satisfied their desire to create a fantasy game, Hashino replies: “I think the desire is still there. I’m not sure if it’s deepened or dissipated, but it’s still there.”
However, he said, “this is the basic thing.” He adds: “What's more, we're not just focusing on a specific genre of game, we're going back to how we can develop our JRPG and what it looks like. This is coming to a turning point for us where we really want to take it to the next level in terms of what our JRPGs are. For example, it's not just genre-specific, so we look at how we can develop our games from different perspectives.”
Hashino admits that “we have used the same general format in our games for many years” and says the team understands that “we may have to adjust and change them to suit the current times as they may become outdated for current players.”
He continues: “Of course we want to maintain our strengths, whether it's our storytelling or the elements that make us a JRPG. In these changing times, we really feel the need to update our format and create games that can be played more widely, not just in the JRPG realm, but something simpler and more accessible to a wider audience. We hope to update our format to reflect this.”
Hashino has clearly been thinking a lot about the future of JRPGs lately, recently suggesting that the genre is entering a third iteration, which he calls “JRPG 3.0” is what he hopes his next game will be part of.. Given his excellent track record, I look forward to seeing what he has in store.
Metaphor: ReFantazio developers don't want to “quickly release” a sequel in response to the JRPG's success: “We want to think about it seriously.”
