Persona 3, 4, 5, and Metaphor: ReFantazio director Katsura Hashino says Atlus' Studio Zero still has a "desire" to create fantasy games after the release of its 2024 JRPG gem, but more than that, the devs are looking for ways to "evolve our JRPG and what it looks like."
Although Metaphor: ReFantazio isn't a Persona game, it still took clear inspiration from Atlus' previous works in a number of ways, from its calendar system to the return of social links (even if it gave those a new name). Going forward, though, it sounds like Hashino and his team are considering spicing things up even more, as he states in an interview with Game Informer.
Asked if the Metaphor: ReFantazio team has now satisfied its urge to create a fantasy game, Hashino responds, "I think the desire is still there. I’m not sure if it’s deepened or dissipated, but it's still there."
However, he says, "that's an underlying thing." He adds: "More so than just latching onto a specific genre of game, we're going back to how we can evolve our JRPG and what it looks like. For us, it's coming to a turning point where we want to really take it to the next level in terms of how our JRPGs are. It's not just tied to a genre, for example, so we're looking at, from different angles, how we can evolve our games."
Hashino acknowledges that "over the years, we've been using the same general format with our games," and says the team understands that "we might need to adjust and change those with the current times as it might become outdated for the current players."
He continues: "Of course, we want to retain our strengths, whether that be our narrative or elements that make us JRPGs. With these changing times, we do feel the need to update our format and create games that would be more widely playable, not just within the JRPG realm, but something that would be easier, more accessible for a wider audience. We're hoping to update our format with that in mind."
Hashino has clearly been thinking a lot about the future of JRPGs lately, recently suggesting that the genre is entering a third iteration he calls "JRPG 3.0" – something he hopes his next game will be part of. Considering his excellent track record, I'm excited to see what he has in store.
