Summary
If there’s one thing thatPersonaandShin Megami TenseideveloperAtlusis known for these days -besides making absolutely massive and incredible JRPGs- it’s going out of its way to create the most spectacular UI and menus you’ve ever seen. Ever sincePersona 5, the developer has put almost too much effort into making its menus nice and fancy, and its work can be seen in titles likePersona 5 RoyalandPersona 3 Reload.
Atlus is not content to have a simple page of menus to flick through - it has to have a stylish version of Joker perform fifty backflips and then land while pointing at the list of names you’re about to cycle through. They’re so elaborate and unnecessary that you can’t help but think that this must have been an absolute nightmare for the poor developers that had to sit there and make all of them function correctly. Turns out, that train of thought is actually quite accurate.
Metaphor: ReFantazio Director Finds Designing Menus “Really Annoying”
Ahead of the release ofMetaphor: ReFantazio- another game with stunning menus -director Katsura Hashino sat down with The Vergeto talk all about the game. In the interview, Hashino was asked about the effort that goes into making each of his game’s menus look as stylish as possible, and he replied by explaining they’re “actually really annoying” to make.
“In general, the way most game developers make UI is very simple,” says Hashino. “That’s what we try to do as well — we try to keep things simple, practical, and usable. But maybe the reason that we’ve achieved both is that we have unique designs that we make for each and every menu. This is actually really annoying to do.”
Hashino goes on to explain that creating menus in this manner “takes a lot of time”, and even outlined some of the problems Atlus had while making Persona 5’s menus. He explains that the angular nature of the text in Persona 5’s UI made it “impossible to read at first”, and that a lot of “tweaking and adjusting” was done to the menus, so people could read them.
Still, it’s safe to say that all that work was worth the effort, even if each game’s menu was annoying to make. It’s ensured that each game Atlus makes has its own sense of style, easily setting them apart from each other despite their similarities in terms of gameplay. Now that you all know this, you’d best appreciate Metaphor’s menus to the fullestwhen it launches later this week. If you want to know what we thought of the game before you play it yourself,you’re able to check out our review.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
WHERE TO PLAY
From the creative minds behind Persona 3, 4, and 5 comes Metaphor: ReFantazio, a unique fantasy world, where your protagonist will journey alongside his fairy companion, Gallica, to lift the curse from the kingdom’s lost prince.Control your destiny, face your fears, and awaken magical Archetype powers that lie dormant in your heart. By awakening to an Archetype, you will unlock the power to channel and combine the abilities of unique job classes. Strengthen your bonds and build your party to take down powerful foes and discover the kingdom’s true nature.
