Director Katsura Hashino and character designer Shigenori Soejima, both veterans of Persona 5 and now in the same roles for Atlus’ new game Metaphor: ReFantazio, are open to the term JRPG when describing their games. Soejima even sees it as a positive label.
While the term JRPG is commonly used in the West to categorize Japanese RPGs with specific mechanics and aesthetics, there has been some debate among Japanese developers on whether it accurately represents their work. Some developers, like Yoshi-P from Final Fantasy 14 and Tetsuya Nomura from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, have expressed mixed views on the term. This has led to questions about what alternative term could be used to describe these games.
During a recent interview at Summer Game Fest, Hashino and Soejima shared their thoughts on the term JRPG. Hashino emphasized that their main goal is to create a fun game, regardless of how it is categorized. Soejima, on the other hand, sees the term as a way to showcase the influence of Japanese pop culture in their work. He views being considered a JRPG creator as a positive aspect of his role.
Metaphor: ReFantazio features over 40 jobs that will drastically change your characters throughout the extensive RPG experience.