The fantasy genre certainly isn’t anything novel anymore, but where the games industry can always iterate is in subgenres and the tones within its take on fantasy. As of right now, Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio looks to carve out its corner of the genre, which is an effort unlike the direction of the popular Persona series. Indeed, Persona games have always been idiosyncratic in their approach to storytelling and while a lot is recycled from modern entry to modern entry it is far rarer of an IP, for better or worse.

Persona taking on any singular genre might pigeonhole it too much and that’s understandable. Its niche social sim centered around Japanese high schoolers doesn’t necessarily lend itself well to a hard genre approach, and on the other hand Persona 3 Reload is a wonderful demonstration of how science-fiction elements excel in the franchise. There’s likely no way that Persona 6 adopts a dedicated science-fiction genre, for instance, but doing so could be a refreshing mirror when following Metaphor: ReFantazio’s medieval fantasy.

Related

Persona 3 Reload: Calendar Guide & Walkthrough (What You Should Do Everyday)

Plan your Social Links, Tartarus runs, and social stat raising in Persona 3 Reload with this calendar guide.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Dives Headlong into Medieval Fantasy

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a new IP under Studio Zero and it may be intimidating to now suddenly have a new universe and lore to experience. Its overall themes and genre may already be far more familiar or easier to grasp than that of Persona, though, due to a landscape that encourages imagination without as much realism involved.

Metaphor forgoes Persona’s surreal yet campy atmosphere for one that is steeped in medieval fantasy. This could be much more immediately digestible due to how popular fantasy has recently, whether that’s due to Game of Thrones and its spin-off shows or how they inspired Final Fantasy 16’s similarly explicit dive into medieval fantasy.

Metaphor is sure to push the fantasy envelope even further, though, and anyone hopping onto this new IP from Persona will already be familiar with features of its strategic combat and rich RPG systems. If Persona 6 wants to be as distinct now as possible apart from Metaphor it probably doesn’t need to abandon the franchise’s formula at all, and yet embodying a genre on the other end of the fiction spectrum could punch its ticket to greatness, especially with how close Persona 3 Reload almost came to a haunting and deceptive science-fiction tone.

Persona 3 Reload Nearly Soared with a Science-Fiction Theme

A few of Persona 3 Reload’s tropes would’ve been wonderful in a full-fledged science-fiction Persona title. Tatsumi Port Island’s underground facility and Persona 3’s unique machine companion, Aigis the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, were the game’s most distinctive elements and still they were not expanded further in ways that would have been highly rewarding.

Rather, what’s offered is a fairly bare-bones exposition that touches on the island’s history more than it actually affects the present. It would now be terrific to see Persona 6 take the plunge and explicitly indulge in the science-fiction genre as Metaphor: ReFantazio is indulging in fantasy.

That said, Metaphor submerging into a particular genre doesn’t mean Persona will be obligated to do the same, but Persona 3 Reload truly demonstrates how much a genre story in this franchise could thrive. Instead, the Persona series might be securely locked into its recycled formula of high school social simulation married with an otherworldly presence of tarot arcana and bizarre creatures.

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Developed by Atlus' Studio Zero, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a fantasy RPG set in the United Kingdom of Euchronia, a medieval world that mirrors the modern-day "real world." It takes inspiration from the Persona series with its turn-based combat and social sim elements.

Platform(s)

PS4 , PS5 , PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Developer(s)

Studio Zero

Publisher(s)

Atlus

Genre(s)

RPG