Tokyo Xanadu[lower-alpha 1] is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom.[1] The game was developed out of Nihon Falcom's desire to create a game of a different type and setting than their other role-playing game franchises, The Legend of Heroes and Ys. The game was first released in Japan for the PlayStation Vita in September 2015, and worldwide in June 2017.
An enhanced version of the game, Tokyo Xanadu eX+, was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 in September 2016, and worldwide in December 2017, in addition to a Windows version. A port for the Nintendo Switch was released in Japan on June 29, 2023 and was released worldwide on July 25, 2024.
In an alternate reality, Tokyo suffered a devastating earthquake in 2005, which took the city a decade to recover from. The story revolves around Kou Tokisaka, a high school student living in Morimiya in 2015. One night, while returning from work, Kou notices his classmate Asuka Hiiragi involved with some dangerous individuals. Concerned for her safety, Kou follows them into a back alley, only to be sucked into a vortex that transports him to a nightmarish realm known as Eclipse.
Asuka, who is a member of Nemesis, a group dedicated to closing the Eclipse vortexes, explains the situation to Kou. They discover other wielders at their academy who possess the ability to fight the inhabitants of Eclipse called Greeds. Sora Ikushima, a martial artist; Yuuki Shinomiya, a genius; Shio Takahata, a former street gang leader; and Mitsuki Hokuto, a student council member and heir to the Hokuto group, join their cause. During a weekend vacation, they learn that Eclipse started spreading after the Great War II and caused the devastating earthquake known as the Tokyo Twilight Disaster.
The group also encounters Rem, a girl from Eclipse known as the Child of Eclipse. To mask their mission, they form a school club called Xanadu Research Club (X.R.C). They recruit Rion Kugayama, a member of a famous idol group, and their English teacher, Gorou Saeki, who is part of the Japan-Self Defense Force. Together, they face various Eclipse incidents and prevent another Twilight Disaster, but they are eventually separated when the city is engulfed by Eclipse.
During this event, they discover that Jun Kohinata, Kou's classmate and friend, is a Seal Knight belonging to the church and tasked with fighting Eclipse. After regrouping, the X.R.C members and their allies plan to assault the source of Eclipse. To their surprise, they find Shiori Kurashiki, Kou's childhood friend, as the source. Shiori explains that she died during the disaster but was brought back to life by the mythical Greed called the Twilight Apostle. Influenced by the Apostle, Shiori aimed to engulf the world in Eclipse to change the fact of her death. However, the X.R.C members defeat her, and she passes away after bidding a tearful farewell to her friends.
Afterwards, the town returns to normal, and everyone's memories of Eclipse and Shiori are erased, except for the wielders. Asuka asks Kou to accompany her to her home in Brick Alley. In the normal ending, they encounter a girl resembling Shiori, and the two of them go to the cafe where Asuka stays. In the true ending, they hear Shiori's voice and are guided by Rem to Shiori's home. There, they find an Eclipse gate and, after retrieving the necessary keys, they confront the Nine-tailed Fox. They defeat the Fox and retrieve the real Shiori's spirit, leading to an emotional reunion. The X.R.C members and their allies then enjoy the Summer Festival.
The enhanced version of the game includes side stories taking place between the main story chapters and an After Story following the true ending. The side stories involve all X.R.C members (minus Kou), Jun Kohinata, and Gorou Saeki investigating a peculiar form of Eclipse. In the After Story, the X.R.C members, along with Kou's old friend Ryouta Ibuki, are trapped in an Eclipse identical to Morimiya by a child wearing a fox mask, who is revealed to be a younger version of Kou—the Twilight Apostle. The group fights and defeats him, and they return to the real world.
After the final encounter, Kou asks Rem about the cause of the Twilight Disaster and the origin of the Twilight Apostle, but she only confirms that it was meant to happen. She mentions that there will be more choices to be made in the future, and she will be there to observe. The X.R.C members and their allies vow to prepare themselves for future battles, and the story concludes with the start of the autumn festival and everyone enjoying themselves.
Development
The developers took inspiration from real-world locations within Tokyo, such as the game's station plaza being modeled after the north exit of Tachikawa Station.
Nihon Falcom announced the game in December 2014.[5] The company referred to the game as an "urban myth action rpg".[5] They also emphasized that they wanted to create a game with a different feel than their other role-playing game franchises, such as the Ys and Trails series.[6] While being based on the Xanadu series, which includes Xanadu (1985) and Xanadu Next (2005),[7] Falcom set out to create a game with a different feel than their other fantasy-based role-playing game franchises, with the game taking place in a fictional district of modern-day Tokyo called Morimiya City, incorporating the use of elements not seen in their other series, such as smartphones.[8][3][9] Morimiya was based on actual locations near Nihon Falcom's head offices in Tachikawa. For example, the Morimiya Station Plaza, with its red arch monument, closely resembles the north exit of Tachikawa Station, which has a similar-looking blue arch monument.[10] Falcom held promotional activities at various real-world locations in Tachikawa, including a Tokyo Xanadu-themed menu at the cafe in Books Orion, an actual Japanese bookstore chain with a location in Tachikawa that appears in-game.[11]
The game was released for the PlayStation Vita in Japan on September 30, 2015.[12][13] An English version of the game was not announced for almost a year after its initial Japanese release, leaving the game's fate in the West uncertain at the time. Journalists had considered it as a likely candidate for game localization by Xseed Games, due to their close relationship with Falcom from localizing entries in their Ys and Trails games.[8][14] Other journalists mistook the Xanadu related trademark leaked in January 2015 as a sign of it being translated by XSeed, though this was actually in reference to Xanadu Next.[15]
An enhanced version of the game for the PlayStation 4, Tokyo Xanadu eX+, was released in Japan on September 8, 2016.[16] The PS4 version contains improved graphical fidelity and an improved frame rate, as well as additional story content in the form of extra side-stories and post-game content.[16]Aksys Games got publishing rights for localizing the Vita version of the game in English, which was released on June 30, 2017.[17] Additionally, they contracted British games publisher Ghostlight to help port eX+ to Windows, where it was released on December 8.[17][18] A Nintendo Switch port of eX+ was released on June 29, 2023 in Japan, featuring a high-speed mode and all previously released downloadable content.[19] An English release of the Switch version was for July 25, 2024.[20]
Famitsu gave the game a review score of 32/40. The game sold a total of 88,879 retail copies within its first week of release in Japan, topping the software sales charts for that particular week,[25] with over 112,000 being sold within three weeks.[26]
Ys is a series of action role-playing games developed by Nihon Falcom. The series chronicles the life of the adventurer, Adol Christin.
Dragon Slayer is a series of role-playing video games by Nihon Falcom. The first Dragon Slayer game is an early action role-playing game, released in 1984 for the NEC PC-8801 and ported by Square for the MSX. Designed by Yoshio Kiya, the game gave rise to a series of sequels, most of them created by Falcom, with the exception of Faxanadu by Hudson Soft. The Dragon Slayer series is historically significant, both as a founder of the Japanese role-playing game industry, and as the progenitor of the action role-playing game genre.
Nihon Falcom Corporation (日本ファルコム株式会社) is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their Ys, The Legend of Heroes, and Trails series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneering the action role-playing and Japanese role-playing game genres, as well as popularizing the use of personal computers in Japan.
Xseed Games is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. It later became a subsidiary of the Japanese game company Marvelous, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related materials.
Ys Origin is a 2006 action role-playing game by Nihon Falcom. It was first released for Windows in Japan with an English release by Xseed Games in 2012. Dotemu later released the game for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2017, for Xbox One in 2018, and for Nintendo Switch in 2020.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a 2004 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is the first in what later became known as the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series.
Minako Iwasaki is a Japanese game character designer and manga artist. She joined the game company Nihon Falcom in 1993. After she turned freelance, she took on illustrations of light novels and character designs for the Rune Factory series.
Xanadu, also known as Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II, is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom and released in 1985 for the PC-8801, X1, PC-8001, PC-9801, FM-7 and MSX computers. Enhanced remakes were later released for the Sega Saturn, PC-9801 and Windows platforms. It is the second entry in the Dragon Slayer series, preceded by Dragon Slayer and followed by Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia, which, as most games in the Dragon Slayer series, have very little relation with each other.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a 2010 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series. It takes place in Crossbell, a city-state located between two great powers fighting for control over it, and follows Lloyd Bannings and his colleagues Elie MacDowell, Randy Orlando, and Tio Plato. The four form the Special Support Section, a newly formed department of the Crossbell police. The game and its 2011 sequel, Trails to Azure, form the Crossbell arc of the series.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a 2013 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series. It was initially released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita before being localized in English by Xseed Games in 2015.
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, known as Nayuta no Kiseki in Japan, is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series. It was first released in Japan for PlayStation Portable. A high-definition remaster was released in Japan for PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2021 and for Nintendo Switch in 2022. This version was localized in English by NIS America and released in September 2023.
Trails, known as Kiseki in Japan, is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Nihon Falcom. It is a part of their larger The Legend of Heroes franchise and began with the 2004 release of Trails in the Sky. Trails features a large cast of characters and consists of interconnected story arcs set in different nations on the continent of Zemuria: Liberl, Crossbell, Erebonia, and Calvard. The series primarily features turn-based combat, with a few spin-offs and more recent entries featuring other styles of gameplay.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is a 2016 action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom and published by NIS America. A part of the Ys series, it was first released in Japan by Falcom for the PlayStation Vita in July 2016, with later worldwide releases for PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Luna, Stadia and PlayStation 5. An abridged version for Android and iOS, Ys VIII Mobile, is also scheduled for release. Ys VIII had sold over 500,000 copies by the end of 2018. The game was followed up by Ys IX: Monstrum Nox in 2019.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails at Sunrise, known in Japanese as Akatsuki no Kiseki, is a 2016 role-playing gacha game developed by UserJoy Technology and published by Nihon Falcom. It is a spin-off of the Trails series, itself a part of The Legend of Heroes franchise, and was first released in Japan for browsers. Trails at Sunrise was later ported to Windows, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch. The PlayStation and Switch versions were discontinued in 2022.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is a 2014 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series, and serves as a sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a 2017 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series, and serves as a direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is a 2011 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series. Trails to Azure serves as a sequel to Trails from Zero (2010), forming the second and final part of the series' "Crossbell arc".
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is a 2018 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series, and is the sequel to Trails of Cold Steel III and the final entry of the Trails of Cold Steel arc.
Ys X: Nordics is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom. A part of the Ys series, it was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch in September 2023 and is planned to be released worldwide by NIS America, including a Windows port, in October 2024.
↑ "ストーリーや戦闘アクションだけではない『東亰ザナドゥ』の魅力！ 学生らしく放課後のお楽しみを満喫しよう！"[Not just story and combat action: the charm of Tokyo Xanadu! Let's have fun like students after getting out of class!]. PlayStation Blog. September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
↑ "立川にあるゲームソフトメーカー、日本ファルコムの最新作『東亰ザナドゥ』が人気爆発中！"[Tokyo Xanadu, an explosively-popular new work by Tachikawa City game software maker Nihon Falcom]. Ii Ne! Tachikawa!. October 13, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
↑ "Ross Brierley". Twitter. Retrieved July 25, 2017. We're working with Aksys on the PC Port of Tokyo Xanadu:) Falcom are one of my favourite developers, so I'm incredibly excited about this
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