The presentation indeed opened on the same trailer as that seen during the Xbox conference, but this time with all the platforms concerned. Formerly known under the code name Project Re Fantasy, this title in development for many years is carried by the trio of Persona 3, Persona 4 and Persona 5, namely the creative director Katsura Hashino, the artistic director Shigenori Soejima and the composer Shoji Meguro, the idea being to change the air and entrust the Persona franchise to young people.
However, everyone will have noticed that the purely medieval fantasy world of the first artworks has been abandoned and that Metaphor: ReFantazio does not seem to stray that far from the fundamentals of Persona and Shin Megami Tensei in general, not to mention the philosophy of the menus and the interface, a true signature of Atlus now. There will be a backdrop fantasy, embodied in particular by allies with horns or pointed ears, but this one blends into a retro-modern urban setting inspired by the 60s, where you can even see big machines. In particular the one who is responsible for carrying the protagonist and his companions around the world as part of a kind of great electoral campaign to become the new king.
Without their use being quite clear yet, the notion of “Persona” will find its equivalent in the “Archetypes”, as with Jung, while the usual magic with familiar names will be grouped together in the “Synthesis” menu. The notion of a link between two characters is also very present in the “New Bond” menu with its rank just waiting to increase with each interaction. A lot of familiar elements, therefore, knowing that for Katsura Hashino, the ambitions are to make Metaphor the third pillar of the Atlus RPGs alongside Shin Megami Tensei and Persona. And if Persona deals with the confrontation with the limits imposed by its interior, Metaphor focuses more on the anxiety of social interactions with others, we are told. A word also from Shoji Meguro, who went to the idea of religious music and how to give it a taste of fantasy. These are Buddhist prayers (and not rap) that can be heard in the trailer.
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