Metaphor: ReFantazio director Katsura Hashino said the team decided to "abandon all of the inspirations" gained from researching material like The Lord of the Rings in favour of an "original creative endeavour" with stuff the developers actually liked about the genre.
Atlus has diverted from its usual high school/post-apocalyptic setting of JRPGs yore in favour of a more adult-populated fantasy in Metaphor: ReFantazio. It's relatively new ground for the developer to tread, especially when you look at director Katsura Hashino's 30-year history across Shin Megami Tensei, Catherine, and Persona.
