Metaphor ReFantazio Atlus
In a medieval fantasy setting that serves as the “mirror” of the modern real world, the game delves into themes of ideal and reality as well as conquering anxiety. It centres on a talkative protagonist who embarks on a quest to defend his realm, facing challenges and developing relationships with allies along the way.
Project Re Fantasy
In December 2016, ReFantazio was first unveiled under the code name “Project Re:Fantasy”more details were with held until 2023. Many of its game play elements are borrowed from well-known Atlus role-playing games, including turn-based combat that involves taking advantage of enemy weaknesses, calendar-based over world exploration with subtle social simulation elements, and a feature that lets players form closer bonds with their party members outside of battle.
Atlus Project Re:Fantasy
Metaphor ReFantazio takes place in the medieval fantasy United Kingdom of Euchronia, a “mirror” to modern life. In addition to causing confusion and unrest throughout the realm, the King’s assassination invokes a special kind of magic known only to him a phenomenon known as Royal Magic. These ultimately set the scenario for a global tournament to determine who would succeed the throne.
The primary character is a youngster from the Elda tribe who has been shunned by society at large for being “tainted” by the inheritance of prohibited magic and is thus frequently the target of prejudice and discrimination. He is to set out on a mission to remove a curse that was placed on his childhood buddy, the crown prince of Euchronia, who had recently been there when his father was killed. He will travel with a fairy friend named Gallica, whose vast knowledge and keen sense of magic help him along the way.
Throughout the story, more allies support Gallica and the protagonist. The main cast of characters includes Strohl, a horned nobleman from the Clemar tribe who first encounters the protagonist at the State Army recruitment centre Hulkenberg, an elf knight from the Roussainte tribe who was formerly part of the Royal Family’s kings guard and who bears a great deal of guilt for her failure to protect the Prince and Heismay, a former knight of the Eugief tribe who resembles a bat and who experiences similar discrimination from other tribes in the kingdom because of his physical appearance.
Metaphor ReFantazio Advancement
The first game from Studio Zero, a fantasy role-playing game with the codename “Project Re:Fantasy” and directed by Shino, was formally revealed by Atlus on December 21, 2016. It was also revealed that the game would have character design by Shigenori Soejima and music by Shoji Meguro of the Atlus Sound Team. These two previously worked with Hashino on the action-puzzle platformer Catherine (2011) and the Persona games he directed. Weekly Famitsu, a Japanese journal, published an exclusive interview featuring Hashino and Atlus business director Naota Hiraoka in conjunction with the game’s announcement.
Project Re:Fantasy
The latter discussed the significance of Project Re:Fantasy as a new intellectual property for Atlus and affirmed that the intention behind founding Studio Zero was to “aim even higher” with unique projects that could stand alone from either the Persona or Megami Tensei franchises.
However, the formation of the development team had previously been hampered by the fact that the company’s target talent was already committed to other projects, which contributed to Hashino’s appointment as creative producer and game director for the project following Persona 5.
As he addressed developers who were more at ease with the fantasy genre as it became popular, Hashino himself clarified Studio Zero’s goal to create a role-playing game with a foundation in traditional fantasy aesthetics.
Hiraoka also mentioned Soejima and Meguro’s contributions to the project, referring to them as “indispensable” members of the Persona series development team who would keep their positions at P-Studio. However, Hiraoka and Hashino wanted to use their talents on projects other than Persona series development, which is why they were brought on to Studio Zero and “Project Re:Fantasy”.
With a foreword by Shino and an introduction of other staff members participating in the studio and “Project Re:Fantasy” beyond Shino, Meguro, and Soejima, Atlus launched the official Studio Zero website on December 23. Atlus was hiring locally at this time to add programmers, planners, and designers to the team working on the game.
Alongside the news that Studio Zero was working on an improved re-release of Catherine:
Full Body for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, a second concept film for the game was unveiled in December 2017. Hashino posted a new developer message online to go along with the teaser, stating that the team was “very much in the middle of development” but that they couldn’t reveal any game play details just yet, even though the teaser was only supposed to hint at things.
Hashino said in subsequent interviews that after Full Body’s February 2018 release in Japan, he would have more information about the game to reveal.
Shigenori Soejima expressed his excitement about working on the game in the November 2019 issue of Game Informer. He talked about the difficulty of defining “what exactly is fantasy and how can they bring a meaningful fantasy game into this world?” Furthermore, he said that the team was carrying out the decision to take the game in a specific path.
In July 2021, Naota Hiraoka was interviewed again by Weekly Famitsu and shared more stories about the development of the game. Hiroaka said, “Project Re:Fantasy” is progressing little by little, and they hope to deliver it when the timing is right.”
Promoting and publishing
- During Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase video presentation in June 2023, the game was formally introduced as “Metaphor ReFantazio“.
- It was planned to launch for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.
- The Persona Stalker Club was featured in a “Special Celebration Livestream” later that month on YouTube, where it was separately revealed that the game was being developed for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
- Following the publication of the reveal trailer, a “Creator Message” video presentation comprising development interviews with character artist Shigenori Soejima, composer Shoji Meguro, and game director Katsura Hashino was made available.
- During the December 2023 pre-show of The Game Awards, a second teaser that revealed more game play, character, and plot details debuted.
Metaphor ReFantazio release date
Atlus and Studio Zero are set to release the role-playing video game Metaphor ReFantazio in the near future. PS4, PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S get it October 11, 2024. First Studio Zero original game since 2016 was directed by Katsura Hashino, Shigenori Soejima, and Shoji Meguro.
