Tokyo Xanadu eX+

 

Review by · February 3, 2025

Storied developer Falcom is best known for its two longest-running RPG series: The real-time action RPG Ys series and the turn-based Legend of Heroes series. However, within the company’s vast catalog of games, there is another lesser-known series with just as much longevity: Xanadu. While Ys and Legend of Heroes each have a distinct set of identifying touchstones (sharing characters, settings, lore, and gameplay mechanics across various titles), Xanadu defines itself by how different each title is from one another, the series only surfacing once a decade as a means of exploring new gameplay concepts or an excuse to combine elements from Falcom’s other games without the burdens of traditional fan expectations. Tokyo Xanadu eX+ borrows a bit from Falcom’s past work and liberally plucks elements from RPG rival Atlus to deliver an experience that feels familiar yet distinct from the rest of the company’s output. 

Tokyo Xanadu follows Kou Tokisaka, a typical Japanese high school student living his everyday life in Tokyo’s Morimiya neighborhood a decade after parts of Tokyo were ravaged by a powerful earthquake. His world is thrown upside down when he intervenes as a group of punks harass his new classmate, Asuka Hiiragi. A strange portal opens up and sucks Kou and Asuka into an alternate dimension. Asuka reveals that this dimension is called Eclipse, populated by otherworldly monsters called Greeds. She belongs to a secret organization named Nemesis that fights against the Greeds inside Eclipse to prevent them from crossing over into Tokyo. Kou suddenly awakens a strange power within himself and joins Nemesis to fight against the Greeds. Kou, Asuka, and a few of their supernaturally-powered classmates form an after-school club to find a means to stop Eclipse from taking over Tokyo.

Screenshot of Tokyo Xanadu eX+ of Kou chatting with his friends at school, lamenting the passing of the long weekend and noise at school.
The modern Japanese school setting is familiar but still enjoyable.

If all this sounds incredibly familiar, that’s because the basic premise and plot borrow heavily from Atlus’s Persona 3. While this isn’t entirely a bad thing (the concept is admittedly compelling), it does leave the narrative feeling derivative, especially compared to more novel entries in the series like Xanadu Next. The basic gameplay foundations (party-based dungeon crawling at night, school-based social simulation during the day) are also heavily inspired by Persona. Tokyo Xanadu differentiates itself in the execution of these foundational ideas, and in practice, the game bears much closer resemblance to Falcom’s previous titles than it does Atlus’s flagship series. 

For starters, there is no calendar or daily schedule system here. Kou has free reign to explore and interact with characters during the social segments. You can complete optional side quests during each section of the story that reward you with helpful equipment or raise your Virtue statistics. Additionally, there are Affinity Shards you can spend to witness Friendship Episodes with many side characters, including playable party members. In a first playthrough, you don’t have enough Shards to see every friendship episode on offer, which adds a nice incentive for a replay in new game plus and retains that element of player choice and consequence despite the lack of time pressure. 

The dungeon-crawling gameplay is the star of Tokyo Xanadu. At first glance, the action combat system resembles modern party-based Ys games but distinguishes itself in a few key ways. Tokyo Xanadu originally released between Ys SEVEN and Ys VIII, and as such, was the first action RPG from Falcom in many years to bring platforming gameplay back to their action RPGs. That approach is less novel today, but the linear, stage-based nature of Tokyo Xanadu’s dungeons sets it apart from the more open-ended approach of modern Ys titles.

Screenshot of Tokyo Xanadu eX+ showing the dungeon preparation screen, with your party on the right and basic dungeon info on the left.
You can’t simultaneously bring all your allies into a dungeon, so careful planning and preparation are key.

You receive a grade on your performance upon completing each dungeon, and each dungeon limits the number of party members allowed in. This adds a layer of strategy and party management because the Greeds in each stage have certain elemental strengths and weaknesses, as do your party members. Rarely can you bring more than two or three party members into a dungeon, so you always lack an elemental counter to certain Greeds. Experimenting with party composition to achieve the best grade in each stage is addicting and gives the game a unique, arcade-like feel compared to Falcom’s other main series. If I had to compare it to another Falcom title, the dungeon crawling feels the most like Zweii: The Ilvard Insurrection and Kou’s main weapon even references Ragna’s Anchor Gear.

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ was originally released on PS4 and PC, and all the improvements from that version make their way to the Switch intact. That includes increased performance compared to the Vita original, additional side story segments between major story beats that feature new playable characters such as the elusive White Shroud, and additional post-game content after the story. The soundtrack is expanded and features some expertly remixed tracks that match the quality standard set by Falcom’s in-house Falcom Sound Team jdk. This new Switch version goes one step further and includes two major new features: turbo mode and a brand-new localization. The turbo mode is self-explanatory, forcing the game to run all actions much faster. I found this setting unwieldy during dungeons, as the controls became too twitchy and enemy actions were harder to dodge at high speeds. The main benefit of turbo mode comes in the social segments in Morimiya City, where Kou can zoom along to different locations at a breakneck pace without worrying about dodging enemy attacks. 

Screenshot of Tokyo Xanadu eX+ showing White Shroud gameplay in a dungeon.
The intermission chapters where you play as White Shroud give a new perspective on the story.

The new localization is quite impressive. I found Aksys’s original localization adequate; not noticeably poor but no better than functional. This time, the dialogue and story segments read much more naturally, conveying the character personalities and intricacies of the setting and lore more effectively than before. It’s a subtle change, but a welcome one. Opportunities to relocalize an entire game are rare, and I commend Aksys for taking the extra time to deliver what is now the definitive release of Tokyo Xanadu eX+.

If you’ve previously played Tokyo Xanadu eX+, there probably isn’t enough new here to warrant a revisit. If you are a new player or have only experienced the original Vita release back in 2017, then give this Switch version a second look. It’s rare for a Switch port to have few significant compromises, and even rarer still for that port to be the best version of the game, but Aksys and Falcom did a great job with this release.


Pros

Combat is fast-paced and satisfying, delivers a nice mix of old and new ideas from Falcom, a wide array of side activities and content to keep you busy.

Cons

Story is overly derivative and familiar of more popular RPGs, the modern Japan aesthetic is functional but lacks imagination, adheres too closely to the template set by Trails and Ys relative to other Xanadu series titles.

Bottom Line

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is worth checking out on Switch for returning Falcom fans and newcomers looking to dip their toes into something familiar and without the burden of references to past titles in Falcom's more famous long-running series.

Graphics
80
Sound
85
Gameplay
85
Control
75
Story
75
Overall Score 80
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Ben Love

Ben Love

Ben is a features and reviews writer for RPGFan. When he's not 50 floors deep in a dungeon or commanding armies on a digital battlefield, he can be found curled up with his cat Mochi and a good book. Ben has a passion for the development history and legacy of RPG-focused studios. He's also a proud Falcom aficionado and a (mostly) shameless Fire Emblem fan.