Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Length Could Spell a Growing Scope Problem for Persona

The release of the highly anticipated Metaphor ReFantazio is imminent, which is a naturally compelling prospect for long-time fans of the Persona series. Though Metaphor ReFantazio steps away from the Persona games in key ways, elements such as its art style, focus on social bonds with NPCs, and turn-based combat all seem influenced by Atlus’ other leading JRPG franchise, for better or worse.

It would be reductive to think of Metaphor ReFantazio as little more than “medieval fantasy Persona,” despite the obvious similarities between the two IP. Indeed, Metaphor is shaping up to be more of a spiritual successor to the Persona games, similar to how Persona itself started as an offshoot of Shin Megami Tensei before growing into its own distinct identity. That said, structural elements of the Persona series, namely the at-times overwhelming length of each release, are expected to return in Metaphor, which could be good or bad, depending on perspective.

Metaphor Refantazio Will Be Extremely Long

Katsura Hashino, creative lead for Metaphor Refantazio, recently spoke about the upcoming game’s length, stating that it will be comparable to that of Persona 5. That is, the base game will take roughly 100 hours to complete. Considering that, like Persona 5, Metaphor will be a choice-based RPG with different permutations based on player decisions and designed to be replayed, it could potentially offer hundreds of hours of gameplay in the long run.

Now, for many players, this is nothing short of great news; there’s a common notion that the longer a game is, the better, as it can be hard for some to justify spending $60 or $70 on an experience that can only provide a dozen or so hours of entertainment. But others feel the exact opposite: some games can simply feel too long, wearing out their welcome and ultimately losing their allure after several weeks of playing. Mammoth-sized games can also feel like quite an undertaking, especially for those who enjoy playing a wide variety of different titles: a 100-hour RPG may not be worth getting invested in, if it means monopolizing the player’s limited free time.

This is something that has turned many off from the Persona series. Players that may otherwise be interested in Persona‘s dense social-sim mechanics, striking art style, or satisfying combat and progression may find themselves intimidated by the series’ tendency toward long runtimes. With Metaphor seemingly doubling-down on this approach to structure and length, it’s not unreasonable to assume that future Persona games will adhere to the same trend, further alienating audiences that are partial to more condensed, digestible gaming experiences.

Metaphor Refantazio’s Length Doesn’t Have To Be a Bad Thing

There are many games stuffed with unnecessary padding that waters down the experience and could have been left on the cutting room floor. But Atlus games like the Persona series and don’t quite fit this definition. Persona games can be incredibly long, yes, but they justify their length with strong, multifaceted storytelling and variable gameplay that rarely feels like filler content. Hopefully, the same praise can be applied to Metaphor ReFantazio when it releases.

There will certainly still be players that turn down Metaphor and future Persona games on the basis of their dizzying size, but that’s okay. After all, no game can be for everyone. The important thing is that Atlus doesn’t learn the wrong lessons from these successful games, pushing out 100-hour RPGs simply because that’s what’s expected. Instead, the developer ought to just take the appropriate amount of time to tell each game’s story.