Metaphor: ReFantazio composer didn’t mean to go so hard with the game’s OST, and was surprised at the attention it received
Atlus’s latest RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio released last month to rave reviews. In a recent interview with Famitsu, long-time Persona series composer Shoji Meguro gave some insight into his work conceptualizing and composing Metaphor: ReFantazio’s soundtrack, as well as his surprise at players’ reactions.
Unlike the game’s director who keeps a healthy distance from user feedback, it seems that Meguro has been keeping an eye on what players have to say about his latest soundtrack. “I didn’t think there would be much reaction to (Metaphor: ReFantazio’s) soundtrack, as it doesn’t have as many flashy songs as the Persona series,” Meguro comments. He explains that he approached composing for Metaphor: ReFantazio in a different way to the Persona games. Instead of trying to drive home the concept of the game through the sound, he originally took a more nuanced approach to Metaphor; ReFantazio’s OST- aiming to let the music do its work from behind the scenes.
“However, when I looked at people’s reactions to the soundtrack, it was really surprising to me that some people kindly commented things like ‘it’s very Atlus-like’ and ‘it’s quite an aggressive soundtrack this time too,’” Meguro reveals.
Metaphor: ReFantazio’s soundtrack features a mixture of calm classical interludes and bombastic, epic orchestral pieces that make heavy use of choral vocals to bring to life its turbulent medieval fantasy world. Some of the chanting that can be heard in the soundtrack in tracks like “Prelude to a Heroic Tale” (below) was done by Buddhist temple abbot Keisuke Honryou (incidentally, this track is apparently character designer Shigenori Soejima’s favorite).
“When I thought about what kind of elements would be best for expressing religious music in the game, I imagined sutra-style chanting, which fit perfectly,” Meguro explains. It was while searching for somebody who could authentically provide this element of the soundtrack that the composer stumbled upon a video of Honryou performing.
“Apart from being an abbot, he is also a member of the Nam Jazz Experiment, which fuses sutras and jazz,” Meguro explains. “I saw a video of this and decided to approach him (about the Metaphor: ReFantazio soundtack).” What Honryou is chanting in the game isn’t actually real Buddhist sutras, however. To tie in with Metaphor’s United Kingdom of Euchronia’s state church of Sanctism, Meguro reveals that the abbot is chanting in a version of the language from the game’s world. “Using Esperanto as a base and incorporating the ‘Metaphor’ language, I prepared sentences on themes like “Hero” and “Journey” for each song, which Honryou recited in a rap-like tempo.”
Meguro goes on to explain that instead of using game concept art as inspiration, he only refers to the game’s written scenario and mechanics. This is “to avoid a master-servant relationship between visuals and sound,” he explains, allowing the soundtrack to stand on its own.
To avoid getting too tied down to one perspective (such as the concept of the music echoing inside the protagonist’s head), Meguro explains that “In the early days of development, I was working towards expressing a fantasy world without using electronic devices as much as possible.” However, as work on the game progressed, there was more demand for bold and catchy compositions, leading Meguro to remove his self-imposed constraints on instrument use. “Due to that demand, we ended up refining almost all the tracks we created in the early days,” he laughs. Perhaps this is why some fans still found the former Atlus member’s soundtrack very Atlus-like, with a strong, bold sound.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is available for the PC (Steam/Microsoft Store), PS4/PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
