Metaphor: ReFantazio - Katsura Hashino talks about the social message of the RPG

2024 was marked by great releases, and one of the most outstanding was Metaphor: ReFantazio. This RPG not only impressed with its stunning visual design but also lived up to the expectations its director, Katsura Hashino, had raised. The game’s fantasy world creates a unique scenario with its own identity, which distinguishes it within the genre.

Although it was released in early October, we still had questions about the game. We had the opportunity to interview the game’s director, who was able to clear up our doubts and give us a deeper look into the creative process.

A social message from the fantasy

One of the first topics we discussed with Hashino was the social background of the game, which touches on issues such as racism, xenophobia, and caste inequality. For the director, the intention was clear: to give players a new perspective, away from classic escapism.

“The decision to tackle these themes was related to a major theme we had for the development of the game,” Hasino began. “If we could create a fantasy game that helped people think about the world today, rather than just being a way to escape reality, it would be a game unique to our company. We aimed to provide players with a new perspective. I hope that the players will not only have enjoyed the game but also feel that they have gained a new perspective on the real world.”

“We conducted cultural research in order to incorporate elements that would appeal to players, but we did not follow the classic fantasy setting in terms of race. Instead, we created unique ‘Tribes’ based on personality traits that are often labeled in Japanese society, such as ‘not saying what you think,’ ‘only listening to other people’s opinions and not having your own,’ and ‘imposing old ways of thinking on the new generation.’ It was not an easy task to give shape to this as a game. We spent a lot of time on how to create a place for each Tribe in the game with their personality traits and fates, and how to integrate them as a whole in the story.”

A unique visual style

Another aspect that always caught our attention was the impressive visual style that Metaphor: ReFantazio presents. In response to this, Hashino told us that the visual aspect of the game is the result of “establishing a new art style” as well as “the know-how we have gained from our previous works.”

“Metaphor is not the personal art style of any one person on the team. It is the result of a long period of trial and error to meet various expressive objectives, such as medieval fantasy, election themes, expressions of people’s anxiety, social issues facing this world, comfortable UI/UX that does not impair operability, and our own originality,” said Hashino. “We really wanted to establish a new art style that would stand out in the fantasy RPG genre, and of course the know-how we have gained from our previous works.”

Metaphor: ReFantazio is now available to players. If you haven’t tried it yet, we invite you to read our opinion of the game here.

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