Metaphor ReFantazio and Persona series' Katsura Hashino reveals his approach to directing and producing: "I want to oversee the creative process right to the end."

Atlus’s Katsura Hashino recently gave insight into his approach to directing and producing video games, in conversation with fellow game producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi (known for his work on Capcom franchises like Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and the Sengoku Basara series). Hashino’s comments reveal how he balances the different responsibilities of game director and producer (source: Famitsu).

Katsura Hashino is known for producing and directing many of Atlus’s games, often taking on both roles at once. As the current head of Atlus’s Studio One and former leader of P-Studio, Hashino has been heavily involved in the Shin Megami Tensei, Persona and Catherine games. He recently served as director and creative producer on the hit 2024 release Metaphor ReFantazio (also coming up with the original concept for the new IP’s story).

Metaphor ReFantazio party — *Metaphor ReFantazio had four producer roles specializing in different areas: General, Executive, Business and Creative.*

Explaining why he took on both roles, Hashino comments, “I want to be responsible for overseeing the creative process right through to the end.” But how does he balance the different roles of director and producer? “For me, I tend to prioritize the decisions I make as a director. In doing so, I increasingly dig myself into holes,” he jokes. “But I am also the one who takes responsibility as a producer, so I manage to balance the books.”

“Hashino the director makes unreasonable requests, but Hashino the producer somehow manages to adjust them” he adds with a wry laugh. It seems like he switches back and forth between these two different mindsets while a game is being created. Hashino explains that at Atlus, they consider how to make a game that will sell from the very beginning, and work out the entire game’s framework at the planning stage. “For these aspects, I think about the game as a producer,” Hashino comments.

Hashino also came up with the original story concept for Metaphor ReFantazio and wrote the plot for other games like Persona 4 Golden. When creating a game’s story, Hashino first focuses on coming up with the reasons and motivations behind the characters’ actions and establishing a rough outline of the story’s beginning and ending. “Once you have worked out the beginning and ending, you just need to link them together,” he explains.

Metaphor ReFantazio director and creative producer Katsura Hashino on the making of the game

As for whether Metaphor ReFantazio will get a follow-up game, Hashino reveals that he doesn’t have any concrete plans at the moment. “However, I think it would be good to make a sequel.” he adds. “We started Metaphor ReFantazio with the plan of growing it into Atlus’s third RPG series after Shin Megami Tensei and Persona. So, we would like to develop Metaphor ReFantazio into a signature IP that represents our company.”

For more insights into Metaphor ReFantazio’s development check out composer Shoji Meguro on how he created the game’s unusual soundtrack, and art director/character designer Shigenori Soejima on the unique appeal of the game’s characters.