It's easy to see why. The game is all about high school students rebelling against authority, with each game in the series updating with the times to represent new technology, societal trends, and an outlook on youth that is able to make superfans out of everyday players. It's been several years since the launch of Persona 5, and it still comes up regularly in conversation, while the recent remakes and remasters of Persona 3, 4, and goodness knows how many spin-offs have allowed the brand to reach greater and greater heights.
But with no sign of Persona 6, eyes have turned to something new. An exciting project from much of the same team that helped bring Persona's most iconic entries to life, and this time they've been given free rein to cook whatever they like. The result is Metaphor: Refantazio.
After watching the recent showcase for Refantazio, I have to admit I'm a little overwhelmed. It looks absolutely massive, and such a radical tonal and mechanical departure from Atlus' past efforts that I need to rejig my brain before diving into it. It is unabashed fantasy with a wild aesthetic, compelling themes, and a cast of characters all with beautifully distinct looks and personalities. Sounds a lot like Persona, except it isn't pigeonholed by high school life.
Now, I understand why high schools are so popular, not only in Persona, but anime, manga, and video games in general. It's a time in our lives when we are relatively young and free, but must abide by stringent systems put in place by adults that don't really know better. As young people, we aren't yet tainted by the ills of society, and can take up arms to fight back against generational oppression that demands we look and behave a certain way. Persona has embodied this ideology since its inception, with Persona 5 literally having you venture into the hearts of evil individuals before teaching them the error of their ways.
There is plenty of appeal in progressing through school, nailing exams, and forming a bond with friends who will stick with you until the very end. We are constantly told that our school years are some of the best of our lives, and Persona intends to deconstruct such a dated idea and show that life isn't all it's cracked up to be. For some, though, the opposite is true. Persona offers an opportunity to make friends, fall in love, and treat high school life as this rebellious power fantasy, or to frame our time in education and something wholly different.
Refantazio couldn't be more different from Persona. Taking place in the United Kingdom of Euchronia, you emerge into a world where the king has been assassinated and society now must try and figure out how to crown a new monarch. As expected, this power vacuum leads to plenty of evil shenanigans.
As a nameless protagonist, you team up with the fairy Galica and try to break a curse that has fallen upon the land. Like any RPG of this ilk, you will eventually meet a colourful cast of characters who will join your party, try to kill you, or even a little bit of both. While the premise may lean towards the generic, Refantazio looks incredible, sporting an aesthetic that is unlike anything I've ever seen before.
A lack of romance options in Refantazio could ultimately be a good thing, or at least allow relationships to grow in ways that don't always have to end in two characters falling for one another.
There are smatterings of Persona and Shin Megami Tensei in its world and monster design, but you can tell it's going for something entirely different. Lines are more defined and environments are vast, while character designs aren't archaic or modern - landing in an undefinable middle ground. I love it though, especially how you can form lasting bonds with new characters that will seemingly result in new mechanics and narrative opportunities.
You also have a skateboard - otherwise known as the gauntlet runner - that can be used to navigate the open world and many cities you will come to explore. There are plenty of NPCs to be found, hinting that maybe there will be more traditional side quests and challenges for players to take on instead of sprawling dungeons and optional ones to crawl through.
Battles are also a mixture of turn-based and real time, a deliberate departure from Persona that will add elements of dynamism that Shin Megami Tensei has never flirted with before. Speaking of flirting, Atlus has confirmed it won't have any romance options, but you can grow closer to your favourite characters in other ways.
Maybe Persona was growing long in the tooth, but I realise that I was subconsciously hoping for Atlus to do something new, to evolve on its iconic aesthetic and gameplay systems away from what it's long been shackled to. Persona isn't going anywhere, and I'm excited to see what it does next, but I'll take an out-of-the-box blockbuster like Metaphor: Refantazio over that any day of the week. I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to that name, though.
