Get ready for a Metaphor!

 

Announced for Xbox Series X/S, Metaphor: ReFantazio comes from the creative minds behind Persona 3, 4 and 5 over at Atlus. However it wasn't always billed as it was in the most recent trailer and reveal conference. Back a couple years ago, it was hinted at as a new mystery IP that Atlus was cooking up to rival its own heavy hitters of SMT(Shin Megami Tensei) and Persona. 

Let's turn back the clock to late 2017: 

• Atlus decides to drop a concept trailer for a new IP (Intelectual Property).
• Trailer begins with a man narrating the tragedies of war and how kings and lords wish to reclaim their honor. 
• Cut to live action footage where we have slow panning scenes of different classes you could potentially be or meet during the game. Each of these characters has a nature and aspiration. 
• In true Atlus fashion, some of the aspirations of these characters are a bit odd and sorrowful to say the least.
• Near the end of the trailer, the narrator talks of a castle in the sky that is very similar to our own modern reality. Full of skyscrapers, cars, neon lights and people on their phones looking "emotionally satisified", the narrator speaks in a tone indicating that such a land seems far too convoluted to even be real. 
• As the trailer closes; we see that it will be managed by Studio Zero along with Atlas. This being the same studio that worked on Catherine Full Body for modern consoles.
• You can view the full concept trailer here.

Promotional image for Catherine Full Body

However as the years passed by, Atlus would hide this game in the shadows of other works they were directing their attention to such as Persona 5 Royal and Shin Megami Tensei 5. As such, the game became an urban legend to the Atlus faithful as the community is called and faded into obscurity within the following years.

Enter the Xbox Showcase of 2023:

It was in June of this year that Atlus took the Xbox Showcase by storm by revealing a new trailer for an IP that has been in the works for roughly six years. And let me just say, they tore the roof off and ran away with it smiling from ear to ear! The new trailer brought back the once thought dead idea of Project ReFantasy and molded it into a new beast altogether known now as Metaphor:ReFantazio. The trailer revealed an art style that in my opinion blew the high standards that Persona 5 established out of the water! Allow me to share with you some stills of the menus: First off let's start with the Pause menu screen:

Just absolutely stunning! It looks as though a watercolor background is about to engulf the protagonist. We can see from a brief glance that there will be your typical menu options such as "Skills, Items and Equipment" yet what really caught my eye were both the "Follower" and "Journal" options. I wonder how they affect the gameplay and decision making through the game? Guess only time will tell, now let's take a peek at the Equipment menu screen:

And we got another banger! It seems we're going to have a system in combat that includes something similar to Personas or Demon Summoning, though it seems that they may be unique to each party member like in Persona 3, 4 and 5. We can also glance at the names of the party members and get a feel for how they look, I aready know the red-haired woman is gonna be my favorite since in the trailer she seems to use a spear or polearm of sorts to fight with. And last but not least, let's take look at the Victory Results menu screen:

Just breathtaking, isn't it? One look at this screen and you can tell that one of the main themes of this game will be "Royalty"in some way, shape or form. The purple sort of puddle on the ground could be interpreted as one of two things: 1) Perhaps it is meant to symbollize the characters ascent to royal or aristocratic status. Judging by the way they carry themselves gracefully towards the next step of their journey. 2) This could be a flashy way of demonstrating the bloodshed they leave after every battle as they ceremoniously walk to a new battle. All I know is that the art direction in this game is utterly insane and filled with details that just give it that added intricacy to keep you thinking.

Something that intrigued me was the reason for the title change after all these years. Thankfully the director of the game, Katsura Hashino answered this in a Creator Interview for Xbox. He stated during the interview that "Metaphor was chosen to illustrate the hidden meaning behind the story the players will experience". If you, dear reader wish to watch the entire interview you can do so here.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is expected to release in early 2024 for Xbox Series S/X, PC and there are rumors that it will also be available on PS4/5 later in 2024. For now we can only wait as the team is hard at work putting on the finishing touches on what promises to be a new and exciting series for both Atlus and Studio Zero. I hope that you have a fantastic day fellow reader, take care of yourself out there!

You can enjoy the trailer right here! 

**All images and links used in this post are the respective property of their owners over at Atlus, Sega and Xbox.**