Games Happy

We lived in a distinct world when Tokyo Xanadu initially launched in 2015. Falcom didn’t have as a lot recognition worldwide, Japanese video games would usually take months or years to come back west, and the Nintendo Swap had but to come back out and dominate transportable gaming. Tokyo Xanadu was comparatively fashionable in Japan, sufficient to get an expanded port on PS4, however would take a few yr and a half after to come back out within the west.

My ideas on Tokyo Xanadu kind of line up with our earlier critiques for the Vita and eX+ variations, however I’m genuinely keen on the sport. TX is a real relic in so some ways, representing a transfer between eras for the corporate. Chilly Metal III would kick off a brand new period of Falcom video games in a brand new engine, sunsetting this particular engine with this recreation and Ys VIII. We solely simply noticed the ultimate recreation utilized in that engine come out final yr within the west: Trails into Reverie.

Now that they’ve began porting their video games in-house to Nintendo’s almost 8-year-old console — and with a franchise follow-up on the horizon — Falcom not too long ago introduced the expanded eX+ model to Swap in Japan. In comparison with the unique Vita model, eX+ featured many new gameplay mechanics, a bump in decision & framerate, new story chapters, and high quality of life enhancements.

Though we as soon as once more needed to wait, the brand new Swap model of Tokyo Xanadu now makes its method to English audiences this month. Nevertheless, so far as the English launch goes, this isn’t fairly only a Swap port. Aksys’ localization announcement got here with an fascinating addition: that the script can be receiving a brand new translation, which immediately piqued my curiosity. I don’t know if I’d name the unique English script “poor” as a lot as I’d name it flat. Characters really feel like they communicate with a single, shared voice. It’s a really inconsistent localization that did the sport no favors. 

Whereas the sport itself is divisive, I’ve all the time been in its nook. I don’t assume it does something groundbreaking, but it surely’s a enjoyable RPG that absolutely leans into the anime inspirations. I don’t imply that superficially both. Every chapter is episodic in nature and begins by enjoying the sport’s brilliantly 2D animated opening. It feels harmless and playful, with characters and a story which are straightforward to get pleasure from should you simply let your self accomplish that. It feels prefer it’d slot in properly with the 2010s period of season anime, however with the eye to element in its world and solid you’d discover in a Falcom recreation. If ever there was a recreation I would name “plucky”, it would be this one.

So having a brand new script that doesn’t hinder that’s implausible, and I feel it delivers. The variety of ellipses has been decreased… considerably. They nonetheless exist after all (most likely simply a part of the unique author’s fashion), however there are far fewer general. I spent the prologue chapter evaluating the 2, and nearly each single line has been modified. I’d argue that every one of them have been improved as properly, and the script is similar to the fashionable requirements of localization the collection has seen in recent times. 

The port itself is irritating to speak about, I’ll be trustworthy with you. I like reviewing Swap ports, as a result of normally the {hardware} usually shouldn’t be sturdy sufficient to run most video games on it seamlessly. There are a number of technical causes I may get into on why that’s, however let’s simply go along with the system being previous. Builders usually must be tough into getting video games working properly on it, even some that appear like surefire successes. Swap ports will usually lay the work naked, and I discover it fascinating to see them do their finest to perform in any respect.

However, that is a kind of ports that basically simply works. That simply is smart after all, this can be a Vita recreation at it is core The porting is solely invisible, as a result of that is simply Tokyo Xanadu eX+ on Swap. The decision appears native, the framerate hits 60 with solely uncommon dips (usually when a number of talents are popping off without delay), and it has all of the DLC included (at the least to my information). There are actually no notable porting points to carry up, as a result of both in docked or undocked play this can be a actually good model of the sport. That’s proper, I’m unhappy I can’t yap about Swap port concessions. Bravo, Falcom.

As somebody who actually enjoys the facet of simply current in a 3D recreation area, who all the time felt the setting was one of many strongest facets of Tokyo Xanadu, my favourite new addition may appear odd to a few of you. Whereas exploring city you’ll be able to see in-universe ads for different Falcom video games. eX+ had posters for the then-upcoming Sen no Kiseki III/Trails of Chilly Metal III, amongst enjoyable teases for no nonexistent video games. Estelle has an arcade recreation, and there’s a tease for a pretend Ys vs Kiseki recreation with Rean and Adol. You possibly can see magazines with Crossbell characters on them. Chilly Metal 2’s precise fishing mini-game is simply one thing you’ll be able to play. So you haven’t any thought how stunned I used to be to see that every one of those references have been color-swapped. 

That’s proper, we’ve got a Chilly Metal III poster with a red-haired Rean. There’s a purple Adol. A inexperienced Lloyd. Blue Crow. I used to be initially laughing at the concept that this was from Tokyo Xanadu having a distinct writer within the west than the Trails video games, however the actuality was a lot extra fascinating. This was a Falcom alternative that additionally existed within the Japanese launch. See, that made me chortle even more durable. With the Trails video games being fiction on this recreation’s universe, and the video games it’s promoting not needing to be marketed, this was a enjoyable method to revisit that concept.I personally discover it actually amusing, as a result of they most likely solely did it as a result of they thought it might be humorous. I hope they double down within the recreation’s sequel. 

In some respects, revisiting Tokyo Xanadu in a post-Dawn world was a little bit of a problem, I have to say. That is undoubtedly a Vita recreation from the 2010s, and my muscle reminiscence from my present playthrough of Dawn form of messed with me greater than a handful of instances. Your run button is ready to the left bumper as an alternative of your proper by default, and your map hotkey (sizzling… button?) being Choose as an alternative of down on the d-pad. That first one induced a handful of points as properly, since that button additionally quick forwards cutscenes. Within the early hours, I discovered myself unintentionally blasting by way of cutscenes in dungeons after particular fights. Nevertheless, not solely is there full button remapping out there, however there are additionally 4 preset management strategies. A brand new scheme for this port by default, one for a “definitive motion recreation expertise”, one that permits you to reset the digicam with a face button, after which one mimicking the unique eX+ controls. 

By way of common story high quality, there’s a stark distinction coming proper off the excessive of Dawn. They’re actually totally different beasts, however in a wierd approach, having fun with Dawn a lot has made me much more receptive to what Xanadu was doing. Dawn makes such a large leap ahead into making true console RPGs for Falcom, it makes this recreation appear quaint compared. Each time I would be overwhelmed by how cool of a recreation that’s I might take a while to play an hour or two of Xanadu to see how far they’ve come. Maybe this sense was pushed primarily by nostalgia for this period of video games, as a result of I minimize my tooth with RPGs within the early 2010s, but it surely was nice all the identical.

I obtained a whole lot of worth at seeing Falcom put their all right into a tackle the juvenile school-themed RPGs popularized by the Persona collection, at a time when Persona 5 didn’t even exist but. It’s actually simply doing its personal factor, content material in its personal lane. The town maps are significantly enjoyable to run round in, with colourful NPCs sprinkled all through. There’s a whole lot of ambition right here for the time and {hardware} they have been working with, and the eX+ model simply builds on that additional. The excellent soundtrack works finest in these moments, and I nonetheless hum its world map themes in my head usually with out even remembering the place it got here from. I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out golf course skateboarding as properly, which I like only for the absurdity of the minigame. 

The fight itself was much less fluid than I bear in mind, however I feel the staggering variety of choices readily available makes up for any stiffness in how your characters really feel to manage. That is absolutely no Ys VIII, however as a mechanical mixture between the Ys and Trails video games of that period, it really works. Dungeons are stable and diverse, and the sport really affords a good problem to match all of the instruments in your arsenal. There is likely to be an adjustment interval for newcomers, however keep it up and there’s greater than sufficient to get pleasure from on provide.

Tokyo Xanadu nonetheless seems like a Vita recreation no matter what techniques it will get ported to, however I don’t actually see this as a fault. I can solely think about how Ys VIII might need formed up on Swap if Falcom had been accountable for porting it, as a result of this actually is simply eX+ on one other system. There actually should not be any cause this recreation does not run nice on Swap, and so they delivered. That recreation was enjoyable when it got here out, and that enjoyable is simpler than ever to get pleasure from for the west. With the primary two Chilly Metal video games apparently by no means making it over within the West on this platform (sure these video games did obtain Swap ports in Japan), that is the proper time capsule for that technology of video games. You’d definitely get a a lot nicer wanting expertise on extra highly effective {hardware}, however I feel this new Swap model makes a compelling case on why you must play it right here. With the brand new high-quality English script, that is presently one of the best ways to play this recreation in English. I hope the brand new translation could make it over to different platforms sometime, however as of now, I’ve no qualms recommending this model of the sport.