Tokyo Xanadu is a game that fans of Trails of Cold Steel and the Persona are going to dig. It might not be a straight up RPG, but this action RPG definitely carves a nice spot of its own in the “Vita games you gotta play” list. Want to learn more? Then check out our Tokyo Xanadu review!

 

Tokyo Xanadu is an action RPG with social elements such as relationship building, a lot of dungeon crawling and some mini-games for bonus fun. In Tokyo Xanadu, you play as Kou Tokisaka, a 17 year old student of Morimiya Academy. One day after finishing one of his multiple part-time jobs, he is involved in an incident with Asuka Hiiragi who walks into an eclipse gate. Kou decides to goes after her, and he soon learns that he can see and visit another reality. The very next day, he wakes up remembering very little about what transpired the previous day. What is really going on?

Like the Persona games, there is an in-game calendar that makes use of free time and scripted events. Free time events allow you to build relationships with your friends, play mini- games and take on quests. Some examples of mini-games you can play are a Whack a Mole style game as well as a card game known as Blade. Once your free time is over, you have the lesson segments where you have to answer questions to raise your wisdom.

The dungeons you will explore in Tokyo Xanadu are known as Eclipses. Eclipses exist in an alternate reality that only a select few are capable of entering. If monsters and Greeds are not dealt with, they could enter the real world, and that is not a good thing! The bosses in each dungeon are known as Elder Greeds, and defeating an Elder Greed allows you to go back to your own reality.

Combat in the game feels great. How well you perform in combat affects your overall rank and score for the stage. To earn the best scores and rank, you must obtain elemental kills for as many enemies as you can. Since the combat is in real-time., there are no random battles, and all enemies are fully visible. Once a battle is initiated, you can perform a variety of attacks, from basic melee attacks to specials. Once your Overdrive meter is full, you can do massive damage to your enemies, with a good chance of ending their existence.

Remember the Orbment system in Trails of Cold Steel? Well, there is a similar feature in Tokyo Xanadu known as the Soul Device. Kou is the only party member that can change elements., so he can equip different elemental stones for various effects and benefits, including stat boosts and change from one elemental to another. The effects of the stones are passive, so do keep that in mind!

The NiAR system will also remind you of the PDA system in Trails of Cold Steel – it is a Social Networking Service app in Kou’s mobile phone. Within the app, you can pretty much view anything from past events to people you meet and quests you are undertaking. You can view the NiAR app in two ways, either from the camp menu, which you can access with the select button or by pressing down on the Vita’s D-Pad.

Tokyo Xanadu is a massive game with a lot to offer. I could keep talking a lot more about it, but I think you get a good idea of what you can expect from this PlayStation Vita release. If you’re looking for a solid action RPG release for Sony’s portable, then I recommend you get Tokyo Xanadu. The game’s look is great, and its gameplay is flawless, not to mention it has a ton of content available for you, as well as a shiny Platinum at the end of the road!

Disclaimer
This Tokyo Xanadu review is based on a PS Vita copy provided by Aksys Games.