Man behind Persona games flips to fantasy in latest release

Japanese game designer Katsura Hashino, who made his name with the high school role-play Persona series, is in a reflective mood days before Friday’s launch of his latest game, Metaphor: ReFantazio.

“I can’t even count how many games I’ve worked on,” Hashino, who has worked for Sega-owned publisher Atlus since the mid-1990s, says.

For his newest title, he has shifted the monster-slaying action of Persona from Tokyo to a medieval-style fantasy world reminiscent of “Game of Thrones.”