What if Persona had you shift into jobs, instead of summoning Stand-like beings to fight for you? That’s pretty much the setup that Metaphor: ReFantazio puts to you. The upcoming role-playing game (developed by Studio Zero and published by Atlus) comes from alumni of the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series, and is the publisher’s first wholly entirely original game since the studio’s establishment in 2016.
Introducing the trailer live at SGF was the game’s Director Katsura Hashino (who you’ll knwo from Persona 3, 4 and 5) and Art Designer Shigenori Soejima (credited on Persona 3, 4 and 5, amongst others).
I said back in December, as part of The Game Awards, that Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like an SMT game in all but name. The latest trailer from the Game Awards 2023 really shows this off; between the battle system, the over-dramatic story, and that incredible world… this is a fantasy epic that eschews the ruined post-apocalypse of Tokyo in favour of something much more fantastic, much more original, much more… well, Studio Ghibli (and yes, I do say that because of the weird British accents).