Arguably, one of the biggest issues with the game industry right now is that numerous developers and publishers have the “we need to make a new game now” mentality versus the “we need to make the best game possible” mindset. As such, we see numerous franchises “churning out new entries” without much care for true improvements or quality. Atlus, however, has been known to take its time with things and not rest on its laurels. The best recent example of this was Metaphor ReFantazio, which was a grand-scale RPG that pushed things beyond what they were known for.
For example, it was a true fantasy-style RPG, set in a land full of kingdoms, rulers, saviors, and a new way to crown the next king. With its deep story, incredibly rich combat system, stunning graphics, and fun characters, Metaphor ReFantazio not only sold well but was nominated for numerous awards in 2023. So, where’s the sequel announcement?
A little while back, Katsura Hashino of Atlus talked about that and made the company’s stance on things clear:
“When we initially set out to create this game, we had the ambitions of hoping to cultivate this game into one of our brands within Atlus, like a pillar… With that being said, just because we had a certain level of success, we don’t want to just jump on that and quickly put out something as a sequel. We want to really give it some thought and make sure that if we are able to continue on in this series, we’re putting together something that is building on the values that we were able to infuse into this game, and something that would be worthwhile for the fans that would be waiting for it.”
I personally appreciate that mindset, as it means that if/when the game’s sequel arrives, it’ll be worth our time. In other words, “let them cook!”
Source: Game Informer
