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Anime hack-and-slash action-RPG Tokyo Xanadu eX+ arrives on PC December 8

Tokyo Xanadu eX+

If there’s one word I’d use to describe Nihon Falcom, it’s ‘prolific’. The Japanese studio has never been the biggest or the most famous, but they’re unquestionably one of the most ever-present and productive studios in the country, churning out at least 75 games over the past 35 years, most of them good.

Of all the genres they specialise in, hack-and-slash action-RPGs are probably their forte (a charge led by the venerable Ys series), so we’re glad to say that their very latest – Tokyo Xanadu eX+, an upgraded and expanded version of 2015’s Tokyo Xanadu for Vita – is hitting the PC in under two weeks.

Falcom’s action-RPGs tend to be shorter, more focused rides. Want the full-fat, long-haul experience? Check out some of the best RPGs on PC.

Presumably related to the original Xanadu series (I’ve been told that Xanadu Next, released not too long ago on PC, is especially excellent), Tokyo Xanadu seems to fit the standard boilerplate story of plucky anime teens dragged from a comfortable modern-day urban life into an all-too-close parallel reality of magic and monsters.

Beyond that, we’re looking at a dungeon and boss fight-focused arcade action-RPG, interspersed with daily school life segments – so far, so Persona. There’s your usual loot and levelling, but whether you survive is going to be almost entirely a matter of reflexes and skill, especially if this game scales up as hard on the higher difficulty settings as some of Falcom’s other games.

While the relatively simpistic graphics betray Tokyo Xanadu’s origins as a Vita game (a thoroughly underrated system, IMO), the PC and PS4 eX+ edition is set to boast full 60fps gameplay, as well as a new post-game scenario that lets you continue past the original iteration’s endings. There are also new dungeons, new bosses, new enemies, and a new playable character; the masked knight, White Shroud added to this edition. It doesn’t sound like they’re skimping on anything, even if this is a port of a handheld game.

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ will be arriving on Steam on December 8th, although a price tag has yet to be announced. The PC version will be launching in parallel with PS4, though, and that version of the game carries a $60 RRP.