Metaphor: ReFantazio, which definitely isn't Persona, looks more Persona than ever in its latest trailer – and it's coming in October
Look forward to Fall 2024 if you're a fan of SMT and Persona – Atlus is cooking, again, and it looks amazing.
What if Persona had you shift into jobs, instead of summoning Stand-like beings to fight for you? That's pretty much the setup that Metaphor: ReFantazio puts to you. The upcoming role-playing game (developed by Studio Zero and published by Atlus) comes from alumni of the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series, and is the publisher's first wholly entirely original game since the studio's establishment in 2016.
Introducing the trailer live at SGF was the game’s Director Katsura Hashino (who you'll knwo from Persona 3, 4 and 5) and Art Designer Shigenori Soejima (credited on Persona 3, 4 and 5, amongst others).
I said back in December, as part of The Game Awards, that Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like an SMT game in all but name. The latest trailer from the Game Awards 2023 really shows this off; between the battle system, the over-dramatic story, and that incredible world... this is a fantasy epic that eschews the ruined post-apocalypse of Tokyo in favour of something much more fantastic, much more original, much more... well, Studio Ghibli (and yes, I do say that because of the weird British accents).
The new trailer showed us more, though; it showed us that there's a lot to look forward to in the battle systems and jobs, more than anything – you'll be using the power of archetypes to fight your enemies and libreate the world here. Think the job system in some Final Fantasy games, and you'll have a pretty solid idea of what to expect.
As ever with Atlus games, these archetypes all look wonderful, and the aesthetic and visual design is as on point as ever. I just can't help but notice the visual similarites to Persona – specifically Persona 4 – in some of the designs. This isn't a complaint, but it's an interesting similarity.
So. The release date: previously we knew that Metaphor: ReFantazio would be released in Fall 2024 for Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4/5 and Steam. Now, we know it'll be 11 October 2024.