Tokyo Xanadu eX+

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is Nihon Falcom's attempt to bottle two beloved formulas at once: the after-school social rhythms of a Persona-style life-sim and the fast, element-switching combat that the studio perfected across the Ys series. You play as Kou Tokisaka, an ordinary high school kid who stumbles into the Eclipse, a shadow dimension that bleeds into modern Tokyo and spawns monsters that would feel at home in a Falcom fever dream. The eX+ label matters here - this is the expanded PC version, adding content and characters beyond the original Vita release, so it is the definitive way to play. The combat is the clearest reason to show up. Each playable character belongs to an elemental type and carries a distinct weapon style, and the game actively rewards you for swapping between them mid-dungeon to exploit enemy weaknesses. It is snappy, readable, and satisfying in short bursts, though the dungeon layouts themselves are fairly linear and repeat structural tricks a bit too often across the mid-game. If you came in expecting the labyrinthine level design of Ys VIII or Trails in the Sky, you will notice the simplicity. The bosses, however, do enough to keep the combat system honest and are consistently the highlight of each chapter. The social layer is where the game earns its most genuine goodwill. Kou's cast of allies - each with their own backstory feeding into why the Eclipse affects them personally - is well-written by the standards of the genre. The character arcs are not revolutionary, but they are earnest, and the writing rewards players who talk to every NPC and chase every optional conversation before triggering the next story beat. Falcom understands that attachment to characters makes the combat stakes feel real, and Tokyo Xanadu leans into that connection with confidence. The Trails DNA is visible in how much lore is packed into incidental dialogue. Where the game loses me occasionally is in pacing. There are stretches in the middle chapters where the Eclipse dungeon-social loop starts to feel mechanical rather than propulsive, and a few side quests exist purely to pad out completion checklists rather than deepen anyone's story. The visual presentation, while clean, shows its Vita origins on PC - textures are modest and environments are not going to impress anyone used to current-generation production values. That said, Falcom's composers deliver, and the soundtrack is an argument on its own for turning up the volume. For JRPG fans who can meet the game on its own terms - high school drama, tight action loops, and a world that expands quietly through optional text - Tokyo Xanadu eX+ holds up well. It is not the ceiling of what Falcom can do, but it is a genuine and competent entry from a studio that rarely phones things in.

Monika · Scout Team

RPGs

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