Fans of modern JRPGs, and especially Atlus’ latest work, will be waiting with excitement for October 11, 2024, when Metaphor: ReFantazio finally arrives for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 and PS5. The company’s so-called “third pillar” JRPG and first large-scale original IP in decades has been putting a lot of effort into making itself known to all gamers for months now, with appearances at major industry events, dedicated livestreams and a good assortment of materials. We’ve already had a sneak preview of what the game has in store, from which we’ve extracted a few facts you may not know about the game.
Now, however, we have another small piece of the Metaphor puzzle thanks to Japanese media outlet Den Famico Gamer, which has shared a snippet of the interview/conversation between Katsura Hashino, director of Metaphor: ReFantazio (and of the latest titles in the Persona series) and Yuji Horii, the creator of Dragon Quest. A conversation that will be an exclusive part of the Metaphor: Refantazio Collector’s Edition, so not everyone will have access to it.
Needless to say, both are among the most influential people in the Japanese RPG genre in history, both past and present, and their views on current game design in the genre and what technological advances have brought is a goldmine for anyone who wants to understand and enjoy their games even more. You can find the interview in Japanese at this link, but we’ve selected a couple of thoughts. The first is about how the Dragon Quest designer paid attention to the creation of dialogue between the town’s inhabitants, and how it changed as the game’s plot unfolded. Something that Hashino seems to have taken to the next level in Metaphor:
Yuji Horii: “Dramas are about lines, right? However, “Dragon Quest” is made with “masks”. Place the town, place the people, have the “men” say their lines, and the story progresses through the “men”. Then, when an event occurs, I change the lines of the townspeople to completely change the “face”. But in reality, when I write them I think much more about the lines of the ordinary townspeople than the lines of the people who lead the story. If you randomly write the lines of a villager who is not the person leading the story or who is not the facilitator, not only will the atmosphere of the village be lost, but the story will lack reality.”
The second is about the technical leap and the evolution of current storytelling hardware in the genre. Horii here was in awe of what Hashino and his team had achieved in the game:
“I just think it’s amazing (laughs). I just saw the Metaphor: ReFantazio game screen, and the city was amazing. I thought, ‘Now I can draw a city like this’, and I think it’s wonderful to be able to walk around in that city”.
If a legend like the creator of Dragon Quest applauds what Studio Zero and Atlus has achieved in Metaphor, we can only let expectations fly ahead of release.
Are you looking forward to playing Metaphor: ReFantazio?