Metaphor: ReFantazio marks the beginning of a brand-new title from Atlus' Studio Zero, but the new JRPG is definitely following in the footsteps of the Persona series when it comes to its length and sheer story depth.
Speaking in a recent interview with Xbox, legendary director and producer Katsura Hashino admits that Metaphor: ReFantazio is "a pretty voluminous game." According to the lead, the developers "really hoped to keep it very exciting" despite how long it is – a whopping 80 to 90 hours or so. "We didn't want to bore our players by keeping it the same the entire time." That's why the story boasts plenty of "twists and turns," says Hashino.
"By the time it takes you to beat the game, which is going to be a fair amount of time – it's a pretty voluminous game – we've tried to continue to surprise our players in both the system and the twists and turns the story takes." As someone with a good few hours in-game already myself, I'd argue that the devs have certainly accomplished this – and our Metaphor: ReFantazio review expands on just how they managed to do so.
The JRPG's impressive size isn't the only feature reminiscent of Atlus' other beloved titles, either. It borrows Persona's iconic calendar system, too, meaning that players can easily lose almost 100 hours in-game doing everything from spending days in dungeons to exploring the city at night. Overall, it can be said that Metaphor: ReFantazio feels as though it both is and isn't a Persona game – in the best, most Studio Zero way possible.
Lord of the Rings initially inspired Metaphor: ReFantazio, before Atlus "threw out" all its fantasy research to preserve "the originality that defines us"
Metaphor: ReFantazio's original fantasy world gave the Persona 3, 4, and 5 director "freedom" to work on ideas "that we couldn't put into other games"
