Each of the games, from Persona to Metaphor: ReFantazio, created and directed by Katsura Hashino can be linked to one of the major arcana from modern tarot sets. In fact, starting from 13. Death, and going upwards, the cards can be linked to the themes of his games in chronological order.
When developing games, Hashino first decides the theme he wants to represent. For Persona 3 it’s “death”, Persona 4 is “harmony” or Temperance, Catherine’s two heroines represent The Devil and The Tower, Persona 5 is about “hope” or The Star, and finally Metaphor: ReFantazio represents “anxiety” The Moon, “heroism” The Sun and judgement.
However, in a talk given at Korean conference G-Star 2025, which was reported by 4gamer, Hashino says that the links between the games’ themes, and the meanings of certain tarot cards were completely unintentional. He acknowledges that the readings of the major arcana match up with his games, but denies doing it purposefully, despite how tarot plays a major part in the Persona series.
As translated by GamesRadar+, Hashino says on the fan theory, “It just happened. I didn’t plan it at all.” However, he is now aware of the connection and could decide to continue the continuity in his next game. If so, the next major arcana is 21 – the World, which is representative of completion or accomplishment. Here’s hoping it doesn’t mean an end to the Persona series.
Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio creator says he wants to create “JRPG 3.0,” fundamentally changing the genre’s “structure and presentation”
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