As Atlus assures its fans that it plans to release a major game in 2022, eyes have started to turn to the long-awaited Project Re Fantasy. For more than five years, a creative department of Atlus called Studio Zero has been hard at work on a brand new fantasy RPG known only as Project Re Fantasy. As a studio known for long-lived RPG franchises, it seems likely that Atlus wants to support Project Re Fantasy as a brand for many years, but first, it needs to make the franchise's premiere a success. That means developing a gripping RPG that can draw in the studio's fanbase, which has expanded considerably in the wake of Persona 5.
While Persona 5's vast popularity already bodes well for Project Re Fantasy, the new title can borrow more mechanical aspects of the Persona franchise to succeed. To be specific, the Confidant system, an expanded version of Social Links from Persona 3 and 4, seems like it could contribute a lot to Atlus' new IP. Between building Project Re Fantasy's world and attracting Persona 5 veterans, a social simulation element similar to Confidants could really help Project Re Fantasy become a new jewel in Atlus' crown of RPGs.
How Confidants Can Help Project Re Fantasy
Project Re Fantasy's entirely new world immediately creates a need for a social sim mechanic like Confidants. Persona and Shin Megami Tensei may have rich supernatural lore, but they're also frequently rooted in the modern world, meaning there's often a little less need for Atlus to supply players with exposition and context for the game's setting. Project Re Fantasy, on the other hand, has a fantasy setting to introduce. A Confidant system could help the player learn about Project Re Fantasy's setting through supporting characters' struggles and experiences with social norms, political conflicts, and so on.
A loftier theme of the game might pair nicely with a Confidant mechanic as well. Although the game is largely a mystery, Atlus has implied that Project Re Fantasy is largely about redefining the notion of fantasy and how people's hopes and aspirations can shape the world, for better or worse. Confidant-style explorations of characters would give more room for those themes. By putting Project Re Fantasy's NPCs under a lens as Confidants in order to unpack their fantasies and what they want to see in the world, Atlus can help fans grow more attached to the characters and the world while building the philosophical overarching story that it has in mind.
Naturally, introducing Confidants would also work as a simple selling point for Persona 5 fans. Although Persona 5 drew a ton of new fans into the Persona franchise, players who liked the franchise's latest core entry for its Confidant system may not be as interested in other Atlus RPGs that lack the social sim element. If Project Re Fantasy is at least comparable to Persona 5 in that it provides mechanical benefits for befriending its characters, then new Persona enthusiasts will have a very strong reason to consider playing it.
Project Re Fantasy and Atlus' RPG Family
If Project Re Fantasy does utilize the Confidant system in some way, it probably won't look exactly the same. Atlus RPGs often share design principles but change them in subtle or drastic ways to establish each game's unique identity. Even so, it's not hard to imagine the new fantasy RPG having some system where players gain new skills and perks from NPC friends who grow increasingly supportive of them over time. Atlus clearly wants Project Re Fantasy to be a bold step in a new direction, considering the game's cryptic concept trailers, but that doesn't mean it has to abandon all of Atlus' previous ideas. On the contrary, it'd be great to see a little bit of Persona 5's accomplishments built into Atlus' next title.
Project Re Fantasy is in development.