REVIEW: Tokyo Xanadu eX+


Title	Tokyo Xanadu eX+
Developer	Nihon Falcom
Publisher	Aksys Games
Release Date	June 25th,2024
Genre	Action RPG
Platform	Switch
Age Rating	Teen
Official Website

Back in 2017, I reviewed Tokyo Xanadu on the Vita and had a blast with it. I never got around to playing the enhanced Tokyo Xanadu eX+ version that released on consoles sometime later, so when Aksys said they were bringing over the Nintendo Switch port of that version I jumped on a chance to check it out. Let’s see if one of my favorite Vita games plays just as well on the Switch.

The story takes place in Tokyo 10 years after a massive earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. Many in the city perished on that day, but the city slowly rebuilt to its former glory. There is a dangerous shadow that hangs over the city known as the Xanadu. Kou Tokisaka and a group of his friends get drawn into investigating the Xanadu, and this will lead them on an adventure that will test the very fabric of their beings.

While I really enjoyed the story of the Vita release, I felt the extra chapters in the Tokyo Xanadu eX+ version really did flesh out these great characters even more. The story itself is pretty basic and most people will see where it’s going right off the bat, but the interesting characters will hook you instantly. You cannot help but keep playing to see how everything is going to turn out for Kou and his friends.

Graphically, the game looks great on the Switch. All the character models are nicely detailed and the enemies all have unique features as well. Some will be palette swaps of course, but the boss monsters are all huge and imposing. Environments look great as well, even if they aren’t quite as detailed as the monster and character models. Tokyo Xanadu eX+ runs at a very consistent frame rate on the Switch dock or in handheld mode, so there is nothing to worry about in the performance department.

The soundtrack was one of my favorite parts of the Vita version and that hasn’t changed a bit with this new release. They added a few new tracks to the mix that were just as good of quality as the previous ones, making a great soundtrack even better. The voice acting is all done in Japanese and the actors do a great job bringing these characters to life.

Since the gameplay here is largely the same as the Vita release, I’m just going to talk about the new aspects. I know this one has been out before as well, but this was my first time playing it, so it was new to me. If you want to know more about the basic gameplay, please check out the Vita review.

First up, let’s talk a bit about the revised localization. Now it’s been a hot minute since I played the Vita version, but I did notice the tone of this release is more inline with what you see from other Falcom games. The terminology matches up with what I’ve seen in the Trails series, so I think this adds consistency to these releases, which is a good thing. I did notice a few errors here and there like the one pictured below. If the text is complaining about emotes, you should probably actually put them in the text on the phone. That said, overall I think the team did a pretty good job here, outside of a few glaring errors.

Overall I enjoyed my time with Tokyo Xanadu eX+. It played just as great as I remember and the new additions really helped me get into these great characters that much more. I love the new music tracks and the voice acting is top notch as well. Players just picking up Tokyo Xanadu eX+ should snag this version ASAP. If you own a previous release of this version, I don’t think the new localization is enough to justify a purchase on its own, but the game does come with all the previous DLC, making it somewhat of a good value at $49.99.