Xanadu (video game)

, also known as Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II, is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom and released in 1985 for the PC-8801, X1, PC-8001, PC-9801, FM-7 and MSX computers. Enhanced remakes were later released for the Sega Saturn, PC-9801 and Windows platforms. It is the second entry in the "Dragon Slayer" series, preceded by "Dragon Slayer" and followed by "", which, as most games in the "Dragon Slayer" series, have very little relation with each other.
"Xanadu" set a sales record for computer games in Japan, with over 400,000 copies sold there in 1985. It was one of the foundations of the role-playing genre, particularly the action role-playing subgenre, featuring real-time action combat combined with full-fledged character statistics, innovative gameplay systems such as the Karma meter and individual experience for equipped items, and platform game elements combined with the dungeon crawl gameplay of its predecessor. It also had towns to explore and introduced equipment that change the player character's visible appearance, food that is consumed slowly over time and is essential for keeping the player character alive, and magic used to attack enemies from a distance.
The following year saw the release of "Xanadu Scenario II", an early example of an expansion pack. The game spawned the "Xanadu" series, a spin-off from the "Dragon Slayer" franchise.
Gameplay.
"Dragon Slayer" laid the foundations for the action role-playing game genre, influencing future series like "Ys" and "The Legend of Zelda". "Xanadu" was an early real-time action RPG with full-fledged character statistics, and it introduced several innovative gameplay mechanics, such as the Karma morality system, individual experience for equipped items, a heavy emphasis on puzzle-solving, equipment that changes the player character's visible appearance, food that is consumed slowly over time and is essential for keeping the player character alive, magic that can be used to attack enemies from a distance, and training facilities to improve various statistics. It also introduced a platformer-style side-scrolling view, including the ability to jump. The side-scrolling view is used during exploration and switches to the overhead view of its predecessor during battle, while certain rooms also use an overhead view.
The game begins with the player directly in control of the protagonist, with little to no introduction. To progress, one must speak with the king, who gives the player the bare essentials and a small amount of cash to train. After selecting which attributes to raise, the player must navigate of the city and into the vast underground complex. Finding this exit is the first of many puzzles the player will encounter, though the game is not a puzzle game but a role-playing video game with puzzle game and adventure game elements.
The protagonist can move left and right, climb down ladders, jump, cast equipped spells, enter doors, or use equipped items. Similar to Falcom's own later "Ys" series, damage is done by walking directly into the enemy, but unlike with "Ys", in "Xanadu" it doesn't matter which part of the target's body the player character runs into.
The main view in "Xanadu" is a side-scrolling platformer view, though it is more in line with "Sorcerian" than a typical platformer such as "Super Mario Bros." When engaging in a battle or entering a building, the view is changed to a top-down perspective. Each "layer" or stratum has its own complex network of buildings, caves and tunnels.
To level up, the player must visit temples, where a minister will grant a level up to the protagonist provided the player has enough experience points. Otherwise, the minister will let the player know how much is needed to go up a level. There are two types of levels: fighting and magic. Fighting experience is raised through combat, and magic though spell use. The two systems go hand in hand and are used at the same time. Each enemy killed is either good or bad, even though all enemies will attack the player character. If the player kills too many good enemies, the Karma statistic will rise, at which point the temples will refuse to level up the player. This can be remedied by drinking a black poison bottle; these cannot be carried nor bought, and must be found within dungeons, and will remove half the protagonist's hit points.
All equippable items, such as swords and armor, have their own experience levels. This is raised simply by using the item; for example, swords by attacking, armor by being hit, magic by casting the spell, and so on. In this sense, a highly developed dagger will be more effective than a brand new longsword. A highly developed sword will be far more useful than a maxed out dagger, so it is vital to upgrade equipment.
"Xanadu" has a limited number of enemies in each area, to deter powerleveling. This requires the player to think ahead about how he handles the enemies, how to get the most experience out of them, and to keep Karma from getting too high. This is a factor that must be juggled with weapon experience; if the player defeats all enemies using a dagger, then upgrades to a sword and proceeds to fight the area's boss, the player will be at a disadvantage and should have either kept the highly developed dagger, or bought the sword early on so as to level it up with the finite number of encounters in the area. Every area generally has at least one boss, although it is not always required to fight them.
Enemies will drop various items, but most commonly will drop money or food. Money is used for upgrading equipment and buying items. The protagonist slowly eats his supply of food as time passes in the game. This slowly heals hit points as well. If food runs out, hit points begin dropping at a rapid pace until more food is found or bought, or the protagonist dies.
In addition to purchasing them, items can be found in chests and in dungeon areas, or by entering a secret code name at the character creation area at the outset.
The game autosaves right before a boss fight and after leaving a building. The player can manually save, which costs 100 gold. The Sega Saturn remake did away with this by adding a Save command in the status menu.
Movie.
A "Xanadu" OVA was released in 1987 in conjunction with the MSX version of the game and a manga, titled "Xanadu: The Legend of Dragon Slayer". The plot was expanded and altered, with the main character now having a name, Fieg (フィーグ), and several new cast members. The new plot elements included several science fiction themes. For example, Fieg is a 21st-century soldier from the near future who is dropped into Xanadu after a bloody ambush.
A soundtrack to the movie was released on record, cassette, and compact disc shortly thereafter.
The manga follows the plot of the movie, and was drawn by Tsuzuki Kazuhiko (都築和彦), who also did work on Falcom's "Ys" and "Sorcerian" titles. It was republished as a 17 part serial webcomic by Falcom for the release of "Revival Xanadu" on the Falcom website, with accompanying music and an English translation.
Development.
In its original PC-8801 release, "Xanadu" features music composed by Toshiya Takahashi. To promote the release of the game, Japanese heavy metal band Anthem released an LP with two image songs, titled "XANADU".
The MSX versions of the game, which were released in 1987, have a different score.
"Xanadu Scenario II", an expansion pack, features a much larger set of songs. The soundtrack was composed by Takahito Abe and Yuzo Koshiro, who would compose the music for many of Falcom's later titles. Koshiro's compositions for the opening theme and several dungeons were taken from the demo tape he had first sent to Falcom at the age of 18. "Revival Xanadu" and "Revival Xanadu II Remix", two loose remakes made by Falcom in the 1990s, feature their own unique soundtracks as well, also composed by Koshiro and Abe.
Aside from "Xanadu Next" and "Legend of Xanadu", no "Xanadu" titles have received a full, independent original soundtrack on compact disc. However, a soundtrack was released for both "Xanadu" and "Xanadu Scenario II" on a 12" vinyl record album, titled "Xanadu Anthem". Selections from "Xanadu"s music can be heard in various Falcom albums, and in 1987 "All Over Xanadu" was released, featuring arranged versions of "Xanadu" and "Scenario II"s soundtrack being played by a rock band combined with a live orchestra and synthesizers. The main theme of the "Xanadu" franchise, "La Valse Pour Xanadu", has been featured in the PC-88 and PC-98 versions of "Xanadu" and remixed into several audio tracks in "Xanadu Next".
Reception.
French magazine "Joypad" reviewed the PC-E version and gave it 97%.
Release.
"Xanadu" was a pioneer in the game industry, and received critical praise from Japanese gaming magazines and a large fan base. As of 2005, according to Falcom, its 1985 sales record of over 400,000 copies sold in Japan has yet to be broken by any role-playing personal computer game released in that country. However, Tokihiro Naito of T&E Soft has said that the first "Hydlide", an Action-RPG like "Xanadu", sold one-million copies across all computer formats when combining the sales - matching the Famicom's sales of also one-million copies in Japan.
Origin Systems founder and "Ultima" series creator Richard Garriott flew into Tokyo to have a meeting with Nihon Falcom about having Origin release "Xanadu" in the US, as well as having Falcom help with releasing a port of ' in Japan. "Xanadu" contained artwork directly lifted from the manuals of the role-playing game '. During the presentation of the game, several digitized pictures from the manual of "Ultima III" appeared in various shops in the game. Upon seeing this, Garriott and Origin ended the meeting and decided to sue Falcom; the lawsuit was settled out of court and the artwork in the game was changed to what appears now.
"Xanadu" is the only title Falcom has given a complete commemorative re-release in its original 1980s packaging. Though they had various degrees of success with older titles, "Xanadu" was Falcom's breakthrough that brought them into the spotlight.
Legacy.
The influence of "Xanadu" has been felt in many games developed by Falcom, and even other development houses which have copied the look and feel. "Ys" featured a similar but quicker and more complex "bump" system for combat used in "Ys I", "Ys II" and "Ys IV", while some of the later "Dragon Slayer" games "", "Dragon Slayer IV" and "Sorcerian" all had similar side-scrolling viewpoints. However, this bump system did not start with "Xanadu", but with its predecessor, the original "Dragon Slayer". Several smaller companies copied the "bump" system, mostly in obscure PC-8801 titles.
The game's influence also extended beyond action RPGs, with the way the game reworked the entire game system considered an influence on "Final Fantasy", which would do the same for each of its installments, as its developer Square was previously the publisher for the MSX version of the original "Dragon Slayer". "Xanadu" is also considered a "proto-Metroidvania" game, due to being an "RPG turned on its side" that allowed players to run, jump, collect, and explore, laying the foundations for the more open-ended "Metroidvania" games "Faxanadu" (a spin-off of "Xanadu" on the NES) and "Legacy of the Wizard".
The game spawned the "Xanadu" series. It has a large set of follow-ups, despite itself being technically a sequel to "Dragon Slayer". Beside "Faxanadu", these include the action role-playing games "The Legend Of Xanadu" (風の伝説ザナドゥ, Kaze no Densetsu Xanadu) and its sequel "The Legend of Xanadu II", released in 1994 and 1995 respectively for the PC Engine CD, as well as "Xanadu Next", released in 2005 for the Nokia N-Gage and Microsoft Windows, and "Tokyo Xanadu", released in 2015 for the PlayStation Vita and re-released in 2016 as an enhanced version titled "Tokyo Xanadu eX+" for the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows.