Atlus shocked the world with a new franchise announcement during the Xbox Showcase, revealing Metaphor: ReFantazio, a fantasy RPG that uses mechanics similar to the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series.
The Xbox Showcase & Starfield Direct lacked major announcements, especially for anything coming in 2023. Atlus would have had some of the show’s biggest reveals if it weren’t for Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactics leaking early. That’s right; two of the best reveals were accidentally leaked by Atlus’ Instagram account ahead of the show.
Related: Multiple Persona games are coming to Xbox systems
Metaphor: ReFantazio Brings Persona-Style RPG Mechanics To A Fantasy World
It turned out that Atlus had one more announcement for the show that didn’t leak early. A new game called Metaphor: ReFantazio was announced, which brings Persona’s friendship and calendar mechanics to a fantasy world. The game also features the elemental magic system of the Shin Megami Tensei series, though it’s unclear if it also features the demon befriending mechanic. Metaphor: ReFantazio is coming in 2024, so fans will wait a while before exploring its new world.
Based on the trailer, the story of Metaphor: ReFantazio involves a fantasy kingdom, where the prince is kept unconscious due to a curse. The protagonist is referred to as “Wandering Boy” in the menu, while the other party members are called Strohl, Hulkenberg, Heismay, and Gallica. The beginning and end of the trailer also heavily hint that the game is an Isekai, with the protagonist using a novel as his gateway to a fantasy world.
Regarding gameplay, it’s possible that the Metaphor Re: Fantazio has a character class system, as the brief look at the menu showed classes with Rank numbers next to them. It seems these character classes are called Archetypes, and it’s possible to switch them by visiting a specific NPC in the game world and swapping skills independent of the classes.
There’s also a variant of the Pass Turn system, as some of the attacks seem to take up more turns than others. There are cutscenes shown where the protagonist befriends someone, and it says “New Bond,” suggesting a Persona-style NPC relationship meter. At one point, the player has to choose between leveling up the Courage, Wisdom, Tolerance, Eloquence, and Imagination stats, similar to the social stats from Persona.
Related: Despite Persona 3, 4, and 5 Royal ports, fans are losing hope of seeing Persona 2 again
It’s currently unknown whether Metaphor: ReFantazio is a PC/Xbox exclusive, but given Atlus’ recent multi-platform track record, there’s a good chance it will come to PlayStation and Nintendo systems in the future. The company has a lot of time to announce these ports, as Metaphor: ReFantazio is coming to Windows and Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
