Metaphor: ReFantazio director Hashino Katsura says Atlus is full of “eccentric people”
Katsura Hashino, director of the modern Persona games and the brand-new Metaphor: ReFantazio, recently talked to Anan News about why he decided to join Atlus and what his early days at the development company looked like. The director was joined in the conversation by Atlus character designer and art director Shigenori Saejima.
Amusingly, Hashino reveals that part of the reason why he ended up joining Atlus was that the company’s name starts with “A,” making it among the first to appear in the alphabetically sorted career magazine he was browsing. Obviously, it was not pure coincidence though, as the creator recalls having played early Shin Megami Tensei titles in his youth that felt shockingly different from the various RPGs coming out at the time.
“I felt like these games were testing me, like they were telling me that I would be responsible for the choices I made.” To Hashino, the Shin Megami Tensei series displayed a stark contrast to other RPGs, where scenarios felt more predetermined and predictable.
Thus, the creator felt inclined to join Atlus, which made games with a unique sensibility. But it seems it’s not just the company’s games that were different. Both Hashino and Saejima describe Atlus as being full of oddballs – “It might be due to the fact that I joined the company as a planner, but I was surrounded by eccentric people,” Metaphor’s director recalls. In this vein, he mentions strange episodes from his early days at Atlus, such as the company’s iron front doors being completely covered in torn ofuda (paper talismans often found in Shinto and Buddhist temples). He also remembers the studio being full of the mixed smoke of cigarettes and incense, as one member of the team made it their mission to revolt against smokers by constantly burning incense in the office. “That’s the kind of world it was,” Hashino concludes.
As for how this unique environment has shaped Atlus’ game-making, Hashino comments, “We got along and had meals together, but it didn’t feel like an organization. Each of us brought what we were good at to the table, and when we fused all of this together, it became a game… this kind of sentiment was even stronger back then than it is now. (…) I think that the development staff werent even concerned about sales, they all believed that making something highly original that they really liked would lead to good results.”
Metaphor: ReFantazio is available for the PC (Steam/Microsoft Store), PS4/PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
