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[BRSxIgnition]

Dengeki recently interviewed both Atlus' Katsura Hoshino and Shigenori Soejima about Project Re Fantasy and their goals with their new studio, Studio Zero.

A few interesting tidbits:

Hashino wants to explore the conflicts between different races that results from a journey, and the growth in people that it brings. This is an essence that he has drawn from “Shin Megami Tensei” and “Persona,” which he wants to apply to this fantasy. He is confident that, if he is able to finish it, he will be able to do something that builds upon what his seniors have created, allowing them to make an original work.

He is not striving for what tends to be called a “AAA (Triple A) title,” but aiming it to be of 5-star interest all the same. Similar to what he has done before. For that reason, they are fleshing out various things at the “core” of the fantasy they envision.

Dengeki PlayStation asks whether the elf woman depicted in the first piece of concept art is the hero of the story, and Hashino responds by saying he cannot say anything about story details yet. However, the woman depicted in the concept art is not the image of the main character. The main characters of current games and anime are often designed to be ages where they’re “shortly before becoming an adult,” such as high school students who are easy for users to empathize with the most. Hashino is creating the image of a different type of protagonist (player).

Link to the Full Interview.

(Big thank you to Persona Central for the image & translation)

 

[KZXcellent]

He is confident that, if he is able to finish it, he will be able to do something that builds upon what his seniors have created, allowing them to make an original work.

Yeah that sounds about right.

 

[Exentryk]

This is the game that they are still in concept stages right? So basically a late PS5 game then?!

 

[chicagocubsfan]

Yeah that sounds about right.

See ya in Winter 2022.

 

[Hexa]

This sounds more and more to me like medieval Persona, which would be great.
I was also getting worried it might not come out on Playstation, but it looks like its essentially confirmed too. Awesome.

 

[Inuhanyou]

This sounds more and more to me like medieval Persona, which would be great.
I was also getting worried it might not come out on Playstation, but it looks like its essentially confirmed too. Awesome.

Where else would it come out on? What would give you that impression?

 

[freeofgreed]

He is not striving for what tends to be called a “AAA (Triple A) title,”

Hopefully this means we might get it this lifetime but with Japan you never know these days....

 

[gtj1092]

Where else would it come out on? What would give you that impression?

Well no platforms were announced and it's a game coming out years from now in Japan so it could of been a switch title or a switch 2 title.

 

[duckroll]

Hopefully this means we might get it this lifetime but with Japan you never know these days....

I think what he's saying is that he's aware that Atlus isn't an AAA developer at all. It's good to have that perspective.

 

[jjonez18]

Someone fill me in:

What is Dengeki's affiliation with PlayStation?
I only know Dengeki as the tracker/provider of Japanese hardware and software sales. Just alittle background

Edit:
Thanks Duckroll ,but I know it's a magazine.
Does Sony own Dengeki? Is there a Dengeki Nintendo? What else does Dengeki do? Is more of what I'm getting at.

Edit #2: I think I get it. Two separate companies. This one is the magazine lol.

 

[duckroll]

Someone fill me in:

What is Dengeki's affiliation with PlayStation?
I only know Dengeki as the tracker/provider of Japanese hardware and software sales. Just alittle background

Denegki Playstation is a magazine.

 

[7Th]

So the protagonist will be an old man?

 

[BRSxIgnition]

Rather upset that the protagonist isn't the concept art's Elf Knight, but I still have my fingers crossed that Hoshino's focus on TRPGs means we'll be able to create/pick our protagonist. (Male/Female, Class, etc.)

 

[Inuhanyou]

Well no platforms were announced and it's a game coming out years from now in Japan so it could of been a switch title or a switch 2 title.

What i meant is, this obviously was not going to be any exclusive considering how they are starting a team specifically for this game. Its much more likely to be multiplatform with PS4, Switch and PC than not.

 

[Vitanimus]

The main characters of current games and anime are often designed to be ages where they’re “shortly before becoming an adult,” such as high school students who are easy for users to empathize with the most. Hashino is creating the image of a different type of protagonist (player)

Neat!

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I always think about Etrian Odyssey when this game comes up and the tone is "Atlus is finally tackling the fantasy genre." It's even more interesting now that we see tabletop RPGs are such a clear inspiration for Studio Zero, like it is for the EO team.

 

[Yabberwocky]

Great article, I'm especially curious to see what Hashino has planned for the player character.

 

[duckroll]

I always think about Etrian Odyssey when this game comes up and the tone is "Atlus is finally tackling the fantasy genre." It's even more interesting now that we see tabletop RPGs are such a clear inspiration for Studio Zero, like it is for the EO team.

Tabletop RPGs are actually a very strong influence for Japanese RPG designers in general. It's not always obvious in the final product, but it has always been there.

 

[Gbraga]

I'll buy a PS6 for it.

 

[wmlk]

It's always funny reading Japanese developer talks that are conceptual since they tend to be really idyllic.

 

[Dark_castle]

So the protagonist will be an old man?

So a 27 year old guy?

 

[YankeeDonB]

I like the sound of this so far except that "Project Re Fantasy" comes off like a mobile shovel ware title or mediocre kickstarter. They should come up with something snazzier!

 

[StrawberryJam]

So a 27 year old guy?

You'll get sent to a care home at that age in a JRPG.

 

[MaximumSpider]

Nice. PS5 will be a hellavu console with this and Persona 6.

 

[BRSxIgnition]

So, is the consensus around "Not AAA" that it means it'll be treated the same as past Persona/SMT games, or are people taking this to mean that it'll be a smaller-scale project?

 

[Zolo]

Yeah that sounds about right.

Hashino strikes me as the type of person who dislikes talking in concretes and therefore uses whatever equivalent to 'if', 'maybe', etc.

So the protagonist will be an old man?

The impression I get from the current concept art and concepts is that they may be going for an RPG that spans over a protagonist's lifetime (or a decent chunk of it).

Also, I remember hearing them talk about how one of the concepts for P5 was a backpacking story, so it makes me wonder if that idea's kinda getting transitioned here for the idea of a journey.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

So, is the consensus around "Not AAA" that it means it'll be treated the same as past Persona/SMT games, or are people taking this to mean that it'll be a smaller-scale project?

I think he's just talking about budget/production values.