Atlus RPGs, like the Persona series and this week's Metaphor: ReFantazio, are well known for their fancy menus, but it turns out they're “really annoying to make.”
That's according to director Katsura Hashino, who spoke about the menu design with The Verge.
“In general, the way most game developers create the user interface is very simple. That's what we try to do too: we try to keep things simple, practical and usable,” Hashino said.
“But perhaps the reason we have achieved both [functionality and beauty] is that we have unique designs that we make for each and every one of the menus. This is actually really annoying to do. We also have separate programs running for each of them. Whether it's the store menu or the main menu, when you open them there is a completely separate program running and a separate layout used to create it. “It takes a long time.”
From selecting options in battle to evolving Persona or Archetypes, the menu designs in Atlus games have been praised for their balance between eye-catching and usability, so maybe that hassle is worth it. On the other hand, some players feel discouraged because of how busy they are.
Over time, Atlus has evolved its menu style to achieve that balance. “The way we achieve both goals together is through the knowledge we have acquired over the years,” Hashino said.
For example, there were angular elements in Persona 5's menus that made readability difficult. “At first it was impossible to read it,” he said, “so we did a lot of tweaking and tweaking to make it readable.”
Metaphor: ReFantazio is the latest RPG from Atlus, building on the systems and style of the Persona games.
“Persona veteran Atlus flexes his muscles with a fresh take on high fantasy. What he lacks in subtlety, he makes up for in grandeur and heart,” reads our Eurogamer Metaphor: ReFantazio review.
Metaphor: ReFantazio will be released on October 11 on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.