Xanadu Next

This review is weird to write because the specific question isn't "Is Xanadu Next a good game?". Heck, in my initial moments after completing it I'd say its an excellent game.

But the question is "Would you RECOMMEND this game?" and its hard to identify any type of player where I'd actively recommend that they should seek out and play it. There's are a few exceptionally high points to this game and some great ideas underutilized, it ultimately feels fairly generic. This is only worth seeking out after beating the actual classics.

The level design is absolutely exceptional. The different dungeons connect in interesting ways similar to the first dark souls as where you unlock shortcuts, find alternative entrances, make progress in multiple areas as you move back and forth between them, and unlock new metroidvania-style power ups.

Boss battles were similar, I can't really think of any BAD boss fights off the top of my head and I can name quite a few I actively enjoyed.

But for every "This part of the game was great" I feel myself throwing in a "Buuuuuut..." that kicks it back to the "pretty good" rating. For example, nearly every door in the game is locked by generic "keys", approximately 150 doors in total.

It's a dreadful feeling to be deep in a dungeon open one locked door, to immediately encounter a second one knowing that you need to run back to town. Each key you buy the price rises until you grind for material to reduce the cost again in their simple "Economic simulation" This aspect never gets bad enough to ruin the game, but also never made things better. At best, it halts progress and just feels tedious.

Likewise, the progression systems are also super cool.

You unlock and train new "Guardian" souls with passive abilities, allocate bonus points per level, learn new spells, and train unique skills from -every- weapon. By mastering a weapon through usage you unlock this skill permanently allowing you to mix and match your own builds.

The problem is that the game is too short to actually make any use of it. Progressing naturally, I barely scratched the surface.

You don't earn enough money to unlock weapons/armor without grinding. The equipment has stat requirements that force you into certain allocations. I felt like I needed to stop and grind to enjoy the system, but the game didn't reward or challenge enough to justify a mindless grind.

I enjoy the game enough that I'll likely run the bonus dungeon that might get those last 10 experience levels I'm missing and might allow me to play with those progression systems lacking from my base game experience.

At the end of the day, the best thing I can say about this game is "It's worth playing if you are curious or need more Zelda with some Action-RPG elements."

im not one to comment on everything, this RPG is worth trying it has everything that i would think about if i reincarnate in a fantasy world.

Neat action RPG. Feels a bit like Dark Souls but its not a difficult game, most of the time

The classic I never knew until now provides the best grinding experience I had in an JRPG where farming for exp and gold on autopilot is worth it. The metroidvania exploration system is quite decent, & final map is just chef's kiss. Highly recommended,

A really fun adventure, Falcom don't miss with their games.

Good ol Xanadu

I'm nearing the end, but as of right now I love the game. Clover Ruins theme is more than likely gonna be sticking with me long after i'm done; overall the ost has done wonders to the experience.

Very fun action rpg with minor bugs throughout, mostly affecting visuals and achievements. I greatly enjoyed the exploration aspects here as they flowed naturally overall and shortcuts are plentiful. Character progression kept pace well with only some grinding speed bumps around most bosses the first time you run into them. In my eyes this game is an overlooked but flawed classic and is worth playing for JRPG fans.

Very old action-rpg which is still pretty enjoyable if you like Ys series.

It was literally THE BEST GAMING EXPERIENCE I EVER HAD, I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT, STORY WAS PEAK, EVERY SINGLE LOCATION WAS PEAK, EVERY SINGLE BOSS FIGHT WAS PEAK, EVERY SINGLE MUSIC TRACK WAS PEAK.

THIS GAME IS PERFECT

PLAY
IT
NOW

Simple and fun, scratches that old JRPG itch i've been having lately. Definitely worth the $4.49! Just the right amount of grind, and not long grinds, your efforts are rewarded very quickly. I didn't even realize at first why I was beating enemies faster on a single run, even though I hadn't changed my weapon, because as your proficiency goes up, so does your attack in little stages (my guess is each 20%) its nice and you feel more powerful at intervals and not by .1% like all games nowadays. Only a couple hours in but I shall complete this eventually as it hasn't gotten boring yet XD

Ys meets Xanadu is pretty much how you describe Xanadu next. I grew up playing Faxanadu on the NES and never thought that Falcom more or less rebooted the fanchise in a one time stand alone sequel/remake also it's a better Ys game than Ys X Nordics (i'm convinced that's not even a real Ys game)

P.S Yes i am aware that xanadu came out before Ys this series more or less had to walk so Ys could run.

P.P.S TOKYO XANADU IS THE SPIRITUAL SUCCESSOR TO XANADU!? guess i'm checking that out.

I am giving a thumbs up, though the end game feels really weakly designed compared to the rest.

I think this game has a really novel set of rpg systems that make it utterly unique

I think it genuinely stands on its own merits otherwise, but the general vibe of the game makes it feel like Ys, a small, fairly straightforward action JRPG that's pretty light on story and has a couple interesting gimmicks that make it stand out.

The progression is super rewarding and there is a looping system where you can delevel, and relevel for potentially higher and differently stacked stats. I didn't have to interface with this much for a regular playthrough and mostly just kept caught up with weapon and armour minimums and made it through fine, but it's a pretty cool system that's there if you want it. It works well with the guardian system, which is a bunch of little spirit cards that infer you gameplay bonuses (such as extra points per level, which synergizes well with the releveling system)

There are a lot of magic and weapon skills available and you can have four at once, each of them have their own mp bars so if you run out of one you can swap them out, though there is no way to do this with time stopped.

One interesting thing about the gameplay is you can play this game almost entirely with a mouse. I do find it difficult to maneuver around enemies to hit their backs (something mechanically encouraged with basically all enemies) but I think it's cool it's possible at all. It's a full featured feeling rpg but you can essentially and very effectively play it by poking around on the screen.

The characters have good designs and I unlocked at least one steam card that has art from shunya yamashita. I didn't see him in the credits but I love his art so I want to give it bonus points for that.

My large criticism of the game is I think the last area is irritating, and not in a difficult way. Most dungeons are fun to explore and even have fairly satisfying puzzles within them, the final tower overstays its welcome, some progression items require scanning for invisible items (there is a tell but it's very weak for a certain stone disk you need) and equipping and unequipping the thing you use to do this with requires opening and closing the menu, instead of just toggling out of the item with a click or something. And you do need to unequip it since it also makes enemies invisible. I think if this was a button prompt to turn on or off this would be forgivable.

The final castle is also extremely mazelike and the map is fairly poor, since it doesn't take into account what floor you're on and just kind of shows you all the potential places you can go on all floors. There are a lot of samey rooms, most of which have mobs that aren't actually blocking your way or protecting anything at all, they just exist because they can. There is a lich that delevels you, and also has an instakill curse timer. The first can be pretty bad if you haven't saved in awhile (you really can ignore pretty much every lich though) and the second isn't bad after you know the gimmick behind the instakill curse timer.

The thing that drove me nuts is having all that nonsense in the final castle and it having the balls to give me a rating based on a bunch of information that I couldn't possibly be tracking or be aware of my first time through. That kind of feels meanspirited when the final dungeon feels like it has the least actual content or critical thought put into it (there isn't even any optional lore! the weapons you find are worse than the weapon you have when you enter the dungeon! Everything about the final dungeon is worse than any of the dungeons leading up to it.)

Overall, most of the game is pretty good, you can probably intuit nearly all the mechanics which seems rare for off-the-beaten-path jrpgs, and it has one bad dungeon well after you've got the buy-in established to complete it anyways. I think it's worth it.

Good game, old school but not clunky

Tips for playing:
- Use a controller, but have a mouse next to you for navigating shop menus (its much quicker)
-Uncheck "use system mouse cursor" in the config menu or the in game cursor won't move (very odd this is on by default)

Great game, great lore, great world. I got through it in about 20 hours which is the perfect length for me. There's no dodge or roll button so combat can feel a bit like constantly running in circles around the enemy to try to get a back attack for more damage. You are locked into combat animations so you will often take unavoidable damage. But overall very fun.

You start the game killing bats and slimes & end by killing some inter dimensional demon dragon thing. 2 thumbs up. Falcom should revisit this IP.

the best game you've never heard of, with an absolutely stellar vibe and beautiful music. please give this a try if it looks at all interesting to you!

Absolute banger of a game! Falcom needs to make more games like this and less like Trails...

Absolutely timeless. Any game where you start off in a back alley killing bats and goblins and by the end you've got a sacred sword in your hand standing on top of an ancient castle in the middle of a storm fighting a dragon who waxes poetic at you is a 10/10 in my book.

A criminally hidden gem of a game. The graphics are charming, the world is interconnecting, the mechanics are deeper than expected, equipment is visually different and the 2D art adds perfectly to the world's atmosphere.

its a good game that reminds me of Vagrant Story, and that's high praise. Its got some 2005 jank, but I would whole heartedly recommend.

Good-ass game.

Fantastic "little" game that got me addicted. Very simple but effective mechanics. It's repetitive but doesn't stretch your patience for too long.
But more than the gameplay being gripping, it's very atmospheric and neat in the art department despite the somewhat underwhelming graphics.
It treats its story with respect, keeping a nice mystery until the end. My favorite thing was the soundtrack, with clear references to A Link to the Past in several songs, while sounding like the best late 90s/early 00s synth/orchestral cd stuff.
It also has some proto-souls elements, from the workings of some items to the touch of darkness in the atmosphere.

This is a really, really great dungeon crawler from the PS1 era that never caught on because 1. it was originally released on the Nokia NGage and 2. the controls, while something you can get used to, are kind of baffling.

Eysometric zelda x dark souls

Heard very good things about it, bought it and was enjoying it.
Got to a boss and was having a hard time defeating it and needed a break, so I respawned to my last save (right before the boss) for a last time, and quit the game. Came back not so long after and the save I got back into was 1h30min earlier than the last save I had actually done. Honestly, kinda petty to leave a bad review for this since it wouldn't take all that long to reach where I was, but I'm doing this more as a warning for people who don't want to lose progress in a similar situation than anything else.
For now, I'm done with the game. Will reinstall it maybe on my steam deck and finish it there (and update the review after), but until then I'll leave this negative review as a warning for those who want to get into the game. Regardless of my grievances, when discounted the game is definitely worth its asking price and can be quite enjoyable.

Well...ehh...err...WOW...I cant describe the game honestly.

The story, the lore and the world are great, I love learning about Xanadu through the memoirs and tablets, nice way to tell the history of the world in short but "necessary" texts, it makes the ending feel a bit different. The gameplay is simple just pay to attention to some mechanics and you will be alright. The music is catchy and memorable and I loved the boss fight music.

9/10.

Good game. Has a mish mash of a lot genres and it all works together. Definitely shows its age a bit in certain mechanics but overall a classic and perhaps ahead of its time.

GAMEPLAY:
-A basic yet tight and satisfying gameplay loop that stays fun until the end.
-Fun old-school level design with simple puzzles and minimal exploration.
-Little to no grinding is required.

STORY/WORLD:
-A fun and chill fantasy story that is surprisingly very well told.
-Interesting characters that grow as the story progresses.

TECHNICAL:
-I had a couple of visual bugs that sorted themselves out.
-The Xbox controller didn't work for me but the Dualshock did. (Note: the game is designed for M&KB but I prefer using the controller, if you do too then keep in mind that you'll still have to use the mouse to use the shops, and equip gear/spells.)

This game probably won't work for a lot of people. It's a classic JRPG wearing the skin of a Diablo clone, and I mean CLASSIC - this is the company that made Ys 1 and 2, and it shows here. Expect grinding, and a lot of it; you are expected to be most, if not all of the way to max level before you complete this game, and you'll frequently find yourself dealing 1-2 damage with your normal attacks because you've wandered too deep before your levels and gear could catch up to you.

That said, I've always found a certain kind of charm to games like this, and if you're in the mood for a grindy JRPG, there's a lot to love about this one. There's a fun variety of skills and spells, and the game focuses on experimentation and flexibility rather than committing to a build as in other Diablo-likes, which I think is the right choice here. The combat is also surprisingly nuanced for this type of game; your main combat loop involves baiting enemy attacks to get behind them for critical damage (there's that Ys influence again), so precisely positioning your character is more important than ever. Overall, a solid game if you approach it with the right mindset.

8/10, much better than the Nokia N-Gage version.
(That's not a joke, this game had a Nokia N-Gage version.)

One of Falcom's most overlooked games. The setting is pretty unique for a Falcom game, feeling darker than anything else I've played from them. The area and dungeon designs are good, as usual. You have a simple hub, and through your exploration, you find shortcuts that return there. Finding these shortcuts gave a good sense of progress and helped make the world feel interconnected. Combat was relatively simple, but the game provided freedom for your desired character build. The story is also straightforward but still engaging. While I did not find Xanadu Next as enjoyable as the Ys and Trails games, it is still another great game out of Falcom's catalog that deserves more recognition.

ﺎﻬﻴﻓ ﺢﺼﻧﺍﻭ ﻪﺑﺮﺠﺘﻟﺍ ﻞﻫﺎﺘﺴﺗﻭ هﺯﺎﺘﻤﻣ ﻪﺒﻌﻟﺍ

Nunca tuve tanta diversión con un juego tan simple. El combate y los controles dejan mucho que desear, especialmente comparándolo con los juegos más modernos. Pero a pesar de estas fallas, el juego es muy entretenido.

-La historia es lo suficientemente interesante al comienzo como en el resto del juego. 
-La música es muy buena y encaja bien en todas las escenas, dungeons y momentos del juego. 
-La exploración del juego es de lo mejor por la forma en que manejaron el sistema de habilidades. Casi ningun loot del juego es basura o inservible como en muchos RPGs modernos.
-Es bastante impresionante cómo manejaron los objetos claves y los acertijos del juego. 
-El mundo se siente vivo con los diálogos de los personajes cambiando y reaccionando a los eventos del juego y el mundo. Esto es algo que me encanta, ya que muchos juegos (en especial RPGs) dejaron de hacer esto. 

Good! Next!

i dont like it, control is very horrible and outdated, for a 2016 game it is very dated, reminded me of a bad port of an old game.

Seru banget

Stop making me use the garbage weapon on the final boss Falcom

A fun dungeon crawler with a nice interconnected map ala Dark Souls 1 that leads back to the main town/hub area. Puzzles are a good difficulty, and there are some nice secrets to explore if you pay attention. There's also a bonus dungeon at the end if you still want more after beating the game. I really enjoyed this game. A hidden gem for sure.

one of the BEST games i have ever played in my life. i love it.

if you're ever played any of the original Ys games, or any PS2 RPGs in general, you will get a lot out of this!

It's a decent game that probably was great for its time, but aging has not been fair to it. However, I can honestly say that this would make a great contender for a remake with new visuals and combat, much like how the SNES version of Trials of Mana got remade for the PS4. I would not want to play the SNES version of ToM but I loved every second of the PS4 remake.

Some things about Xanadu Next:
- Very basic combat (gets repetitive)
- Interesting (but simple) bosses
- Interesting story and big parts of the story are optional (manually reading tablets and grimoires)
- A lot of leveling customization, allowing for more than one playthrough (mage vs fighter mostly)
- You can min-max late game if you wish (but there is no need to)

Nonetheless, I cannot recommend the game in its current form, unless you somehow are driven by nostalgia. It just does not hold up very well 2024.

Well... what is there to say. Its Nihoh Falcom. They're incapable of making a bad RPG.

cool gam.

Good game.

Flawed but fun gem of a game

补票了，当时那个选择较少的年代给我提供过不少乐趣，永远支持falcom，祝越来越好。

Purchased for old times sake, and in those days when there were fewer choices, it provided me with a lot of fun. I will always support Falcom and wish it all the best.

GOTY 2024

Feels like a classic PS2 rpg, but on PC. It's kind of like the older Ys games, with a mix of rpg conventions, hack n slash combat, and platforming puzzles.

It has controller support, and controllers really feel better in this game than mouse and keyboard, tbh. With a mouse you're holding left click and dragging your character around like an old-fashioned mmo. With a controller it has action controls, like an ys game.

Great sense of progression, rewarding exploration, fun combat, and doesn't waste your time. The game has a satisfying, old-school feel (no hand holding), without the old-school clunkiness (fairly smooth gameplay). Easy recommendation.
Thanks to PrettyCody's YouTube review for bringing this game to my attention.

little sister packs u undercooked chicken for lunch, best game

Dark souls and Zelda had a ps2 era baby

Just what the doctor ordered.