Completed Tokyo Xanadu over the weekend. I have mixed feelings about this game. On one hand I found the game to be pretty good but not as good as Cold Steel. On the other hand, the two games share a lot of similarities, so it is difficult to understand why it feels worse. I think it comes down to a combination of factors, which is why it is hard to pin down. The biggest issue is probably game play related.
Let's go over what I do think is good - the basic premise of the plot and core game play itself are both pretty solid. That's not to say there aren't flaws, but what is there works. The plot itself is self containing so it doesn't leave on a cliffhanger and isn't crazy convoluted. Each Chapter essentially tells a miniature story that makes up a small part of the overall picture so when the entire thing comes together, it all clicks. The pacing is decent as a result, even though it is hampered slightly due to how uneven the Chapters are (notably early chapters + epilogue chapter are relatively short but the mid and late Chapter are significantly longer). As for the dungeons, they are pretty cool too since you get ranked on different aspects such as time, treasures discovered and combat efficiency. This makes it such that getting through a dungeon isn't just about surviving and adds some level of replay ability. Truly, the real challenge of them is to try and get a S Rank upon completion. The characters all play a little different as well, which helps to differentiate the cast and diversifies combat, giving you different tools to get through each area effectively.
What doesn't work then? As I noted, it seems to be due to a host of little problems. Problems that maybe on their own, wouldn't be as bad. However, when compounded together, it hurts the overall game quality. One example is the way shops are handled. The game takes place in modern Japan, so to go with that thematically, the game makes it such that you have many stores, each carrying their own different stock. Two equipment stores will be carrying different things based on that shop's theme, so a sports store may have goods related to sporting equipment (which can include armor and accessories). This can make it difficult to get your equipment since you may have to visit many different places just to get the newest gear. This goes not just with equipment obviously, but also with accessories and battle elements. To put it into perspective, it's like the way Mana Khemia 1 handled their alchemy forges and required you to run back and forth between two runs. If you want a more apt Trails comparison, imagine if instead of visiting George to grab whatever quartz you need, you need to visit like 3 stores. It's a small thing sure, but it's a polish issue that compounds on itself as more areas are introduced.
Another notable issue is the challenge. As I mentioned above, surviving the dungeons isn't really what those areas are about. I had enough fun with the dungeon trekking. The bosses those are where the game sort of flops. They act more like a mandatory necessity instead of feeling like actual fights. This is inpart due to a few things. For one, while you are ranked on your dungeon trekking, you are not ranked on how well you do on the boss. A second issue is related to how items can be used instaneously and there's no item cool down. You know how in Tales/Star Ocean, once you use an item, there is a period of time when you can't use another? Or how in like Kingdom Hearts, when you use an item, Sora stops temporarily and you are forced to set which items you have available. Tokyo Xanadu says that's too complicated, so you can just item spam with no consequence other than to your wallet. It's not like the fights are hard to begin with so this just ends up being not very interesting.
The story has some issues too. For starters, the opening chapters of the game feel too much like Persona 4. Someone gets into trouble, your dudes go to rescue this person and then they join the party. Then when the game starts taking off and things get a little more interesting, the twists just either fall flat or they just don't do anything with it. One example of this is in Chapter 8, where you find out Dojima (Gotou) was also affected by the Eclipses and is actually a military officer. Okay, cool. But what does that effect in the end? Pretty much nothing since the military then decides they will leave this large scale problem to a group of teenage high school kids :psyduck:. A large part of the appeal in the plot has to do with the little mysteries floating about, so when the reveals come and they don't play out, it is much more disappointing. The translation doesn't help as there's way too many typos and the game overuses "quotations" when describing "almost" "everything".
I would say overall, the game is either a low 7 or a high a 6. Low 7 is probably more where I think the game is around though. Compared to say, DQ8, it doesn't have one huge glaring flaw and the flaws aren't as compromising. It's just mired by a bunch of little issues which snowballs into larger prevailing problems.
Comments on characters:
Kou - He's the most versatile character as he can set any element to fill in gaps in your team. He's also forced in all the story dungeons, so you get used to using him. Kou's decent enough though. He doesn't specialize in any one particular area, but one strong point which he does have is attack range. He uses a shield bunker like weapon and it has pretty good range with good attack speed. His charge attack is also really good as it hits twice, swings in a circle and is pretty strong. His only weak point I would consider are basic aerial attacks - he only hits once for mediocre damage and attacks in a vertical line which leaves him open somewhat.
Asuka - She's balanced in both physical and magical attacks. No real strengths, but also no real weaknesses. Her base physical is kind of bad and has below average range, but its made up by having quicker strikes and better air physicals. She does cover a unique niche, which is important - she's the only one who can use Shadow type physicals unless you set Kou for it. This is relevant in some dungeons, so she has some use even late.
Sora - Specializes in mobility and base aerial physicals. She's held back by having the shortest range and isn't good when fighting a bunch of tank enemies together since she doesn't hit particular hard in the end. Part of this is due to being held back by having a small element grid. She has only 4 slots and since two of them are fixed, it limits her options more than the others.
Yuuki - He's a dedicated magic user, which in this game means being a ranged attacker or air dasher. Yuuki is much better at the former though because he has a unique property that the others don't - unlike everyone else, he can move around when using his ranged attack. This lets him strafe around while staying at a safe distance. It works much better since he can remain mobile while attacking. This coupled with his huge grid (tied with Mitsuki) means at end game, he's really good at what he does and then some. Kind of weak starting out but yeah, snowballs towards the end.
Shio - Awkward to use, but great once you get a decent feel. He uses a huge Claymore, giving him great range (probably the longest for melee) and he hits like a truck. Late game, having him use his power attack pretty much cleaves apart everything if he gets the full hits in. His problems come from having very slow attack speed (so you have start up your attacks from a range) and his specials cost a lot of your special gauge. Since his attack speed is so slow, he's also becomes very committed when he begins attacking, so you have to be sure you're hitting or you'll be a sitting duck until the attack resolves. Oh, he's also terrible in the air, so like Asuka, he's a little specialized. But the times when he is good, he's just so good.
Mitsuki - A specialized long range attacker. Mitsuki also has a unique special where she can deploy a barrier around her. This barrier can absorb one attack and gives her a few seconds of invincibility after it breaks. These two things when combined together makes her quite resilient and probably my game's MVP. She can solo some bosses taking no damage at all because of it. As if that wasn't enough, she also has the largest grid (tied with Yuuki), just that unlike him, she starts of great and only gets better as the game goes on. Her weakness lies in poor physical prowess (good range but slow and low damage) and her charge attack has very short range (although to be fair, you probably don't want to be too close - this is the attack that sets up your barrier).
Rion - Joins super late and is another aerial specialist. More specifically, she specializes in air dashes, which come out very fast, cost a very low amount of your special meter and feels like it has the longest distance. Her other attributes are less note worthy but her charge attack is also neat since she creates a small cyclone that travels a little bit forward. Just, the overall power of her attacks leaves something to be desired. Feels like a speedrunner's dream though due to how fast she can move.
Dojima - Last character to join and is basically playable for only about 15% of the game. Sort of wasted, but he's also really good. Hits hard and doesn't have any real glaring flaws. His most notable problem is that his base physical combo can be somewhat awkward because the range on each varies. So if you start from the apex of your range, you'll actually end up whiffing a couple of hits. His charge attack is really good though and is the main reason I used him a lot late.
Overall, performance looks something like: Mitsuki > Kou > Yuuki > Dojima > Shio > Asuka > Sora > Rion
DL wise, no idea. Cast has access to a full status blocking accessory at a reasonable cost, so right there, that probably puts most of them in middle. Kou and Shio may be able to swing Heavy. Kou from being versatile (and being able to swap resistances) and Shio from just sheer damage. Mitsuki is probably some form of High Middle thanks to her barrier. The others float around the division, probably dependent on damage.
