ReFantazio and Persona 5 Tactica Share Stunning Factor

The forthcoming role-playing game (RPG), Metaphor: ReFantazio, developed by Atlus breaks away from the mature rating trend of the studio’s recent games; it has been rated Teen by the ESRB. This puts it in the same classification bracket as other age-friendly games from Atlus like Persona 5 Tactica.

The RPG was first announced to the public at the June 2023 Xbox Video Games Showcase as a premier exclusive project from the third production division of Atlus Creative, Studio Zero. The team, composed of veterans from the Persona series, has so far produced one game, Catherine: Full Body in 2019. This game was a final version of the 2011 mystery game, Catherine. Catherine, in all its versions, received a Mature rating from ESRB and an 18 rating from PEGI. Given this context, followers of Atlus anticipated Metaphor: ReFantazio to receive a similar rating.

However, a recent discovery by renowned Sega whistleblower, Midori, reveals that the Teen rating for Metaphor: ReFantazio was already published on the game’s website. This rating is a departure from the usual for most of Atlus’s recently released games. Since 2019, Atlus, a Japanese studio, has only made two Teen-rated games which include Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore and the highly praised Persona 5 Tactica. The game also received a PEGI 16 rating, falling in line with the ratings for many of Atlus’s recent trendy games.

The ESRB and PEGI have traditionally been in agreement regarding the ratings for Atlus games, making this particular rating discrepancy unusual. The reason for this anomaly remains uncertain. Despite the PEGI group customarily publishing brief product descriptions to clarify their rating choices, the upcoming RPG has yet to appear in its video game database. Metaphor: ReFantazio’s political subjects, character imagery, and lore tidbits shared by Atlus all suggest it being rated M again.

In contrast to the typical Persona game, Metaphor: ReFantazio seems to feature less realistic violence. This might have influenced a lower age rating, where the ESRB might have believed that its primarily fantasy violence would not impact a younger audience significantly. The PEGI system also follows similar guidelines, yet they have still given a rating that aligns with their normal ratings for recent Atlus games.

As soon as PEGI’s Metaphor: ReFantazio page is live, more light could be shed on this rating discrepancy. Judging by PEGI’s track record, this is not likely to occur until Atlus announces a release date for the RPG. If there are no delays, more specific availability details should be available within months, given that Metaphor: ReFantazio is aiming for a late 2024 release.

Produced by Studio Zero from Atlus, Metaphor: ReFantazio is a fantasy RPG set in Euchronia’s UK, a medieval world resembling today’s “real world”. The Persona series greatly influences it with its turn-based combat and social simulation features.