Tokyo Xanadu Limited Edition - PlayStation Vita Limited Edition

If you are a fan of Trails of Cold Steel, you must get this game. Think of Tokyo Xanadu as a modern take of the Trails game. I mean, there are a LOT of Trails of Cold Steel Easter eggs everywhere. Like Magical Girl Alisa and Evil Rean. It really made me smile to find these. To say it is similar to a Persona game is kind of pushing it. I’m concurrently playing Persona 5 and I can’t honestly compare the two games. I’m also playing Trails of Cold Steel 1+2 and I love those games as well.Note: I will probably reference Trails a lot since the game creators borrowed heavily, the elements from the series.The time is set up as a calendar starting from April and events take place over a 3-4 day period. The first 2 days are spent freely with other characters and doing quests. The day after are for investigating and crawling through a dungeon to fight a major boss. Then the game fast forwards to a few weeks later. The plot is interesting without being dialogue heavy. I mean, I finished the first chapter in like 1.5-2 hours. (The first chapter is primarily dialogue to introduce players to everyone and every place.) Then progressively more hours as you continue on. The plot could be fleshed out more, but you get the general gist. The ending is decent. Not what I was expecting, considering how everything started. Unlike Trails, the romance portion is lacking. From what I can see, the only choice is either Shiori or Asuka. But the plot line made you go towards Shiori. So, don’t expect too much in the love front. The events you choose between the girls doesn’t seem to matter.Unlike Trails, this is an action RPG. There is no turn-based system. I like both systems, so it wasn’t hard to get used to. You are allowed up to 3 members in a dungeon. You can switch between the three, only one character fights, and pretty much hack and slash enemies that are visible on the field. And what is cool, you can revisit dungeons if you want to level up or miss a treasure or get the S rank. For the first run, I played it in normal mode and can be pretty difficult with certain enemies, but not insurmountable. I did not die once. I haven’t tried nightmare mode yet, but I will try it out on my second run through. There are 3 mini-games that reappear from Trails: Blade card game, Fishing with Rean and Whack-a-mole with Alisa. There is also skateboarding mini-game. I found it way harder than Trails’ snowboarding.The graphics are good. Around the same level as Trails. There was 1 AMV - SPiKA's concert. There weren’t a lot of loading time. What little there was, it was when you exited from one room/building to another. The language is in Japanese with English subtitles. The translation is decent but I found a few grammatical/spelling/typing errors throughout the game. I wondered if they rush the Vita version and spent more time on the PS4’s. The music is okay. Nothing memorable but nostalgic. The only music I enjoyed is SPiKA’s song Wish Wing.For the Limited Edition Set, you get a soundtrack, artbook, a Blade card set and Morimaru plush. The CD was appreciated since it had SPiKA’s 2 songs. The artbook is really good for what you get. There was nothing really new. There was mostly stills from the game and character design. This set also includes a Blade Deck! I always wanted to own my own ever since Crow gave Rean the updated deck. Now I just need to get another one. There is a mascot plush of Morimaru. It was definitely worth paying a little more.Like I said, Trails’ fan should not hesitate to get this game. If you are into RPGs, you will definitely like it. I beat the game, with the bonus ending, in about 65+ hours. I got 70% of the trophies during the first run without a guide. And I will definitely will replay this game. So, you will get your money’s worth here. If you can wait, the PS4 version will be coming out in a couple of months. However, you have the time and money, get it. If you are expecting something like Persona 5, don’t buy. But I really glad I bought Tokyo Xanadu.

really nice game I was enjoy it

Tokyo Xanadu is a yummy stew comprised of ingredients from other recent successful RPGs – most obvious being Trails of Cold Steel series, but I would also include Y’s VIII and Persona 3. The game is about 50% Trails, 25% Persona 3, 15% Ys VIII, and like 10% its own thing.The Trails of Cold Steel comparisons make the most sense as it was developed and published by the same companies. You have your in game universe nods like previous TOCS characters popping up, the Orbal System, and other small notices. Then you also have your game engine similarities - the character models, art direction, text boxes, in game items, etc., all borrow from TOCS. Not that this is a bad thing, TOCS is a fun and impressive vita title. I do gotta say that character and building shading/lighting seems a bit more impressive in Tokyo Xanadu, so there is something it does well on its own.The entirety of the battle system is basically lifted from Y’s VIII. Hack n slash action with combos, ultimate attack moves used by building up spirit, battle advantages depending on active party member. The Y’s game didn’t invent the ARPG, but it is definitely one of the best in the genre. I would have preferred a slow, traditional turn based battle system, but I’m not too picky in that regard.The plot flows a lot like Persona 3. In Tokyo Xanadu you have eclipse portals that only certain people can see where you fight monsters in a labyrinth, with your special weapons to active your hidden powers. Persona 3 has the hidden dark hour that only certain people can see, and you fight monsters in a labyrinth which you use your special weapon to activate your hidden powers. There is also the social aspect of hanging out with people in school, the fact that it takes place at a Japanese High School, you get attribute boosts when answering questions correctly in class, and the time passes with the same calendar transition.So hey, if you liked any of the above games I mentioned, you will probably like Tokyo Xanadu.The limited edition is a nifty little package at just only $5.00 more than the base game - might as well scoop it up. I am a sucker for limited edition packages. I do wish the box was a little denser like Trails of Cold Steel limited edition. The art book is a little flimsy, but acceptable. Don’t really care about the plushy and the soundtrack is pretty basic. The neatest part is getting a complete deck of Blade cards from the TOCS games. Now you can irritate your friends in real life!Additional Thoughts:I am a little bummed there is no dual language option. I understand that dubbing is an additional cost and time consuming part of game development, so I can live without it, but I do miss an English cast.There is no graceful way to heal your party in battle. In a turn based battle system, you use your turn to select items and heal whomever. In this game, you have to interrupt the battle by pressing pause, navigate through the menu and select the healing item and then finally the party member you are healing. This definitely kills the momentum of a battle. At least in Y’s VIII, you have a popup system that is activated by the shoulder buttons and you can heal in the middle of battle without having to root though menu options.In closing, I would say grab the game if you need a good RPG itch on the go. I was half tempted to pick up the EX version on PS4, but I wanted to get some use out of my vita. Also, the limited vita game was $20 cheaper than the BASE ps4 game. Don’t even get me started on the limited PS4 game ($120.00 O_O)Maybe after I beat the base game and when the EX version drops in price, I can revisit Tokyo Xanadu and see how shiny the EX version is.

Fun game. Combat is easy to get into. Realtime combat with a lock-on system. Very story drive with lots of talking. Audio is amazing. Reminds me immensely of the Persona series

This is a dream come true for RPG lovers and visual novel fans. The game looks great, has an awesome soundtrack and a well-written story. The limited edition comes in a large box with the game, soundtrack, a stuffed character from the game, an art book and a card deck.Well worth the price! You will love it!