They're really shedding a light on an era of Japanese RPGs that I not only find almost uniformly awesome, but which aren't really as well-covered as they should be
Or by a mother who put her kids into the basement with a PC-88 😂 But yeah, it’s awesome to have these games covered in English, so much good and interesting stuff on NECs computer line!
Out of nowhere, this game just got released on the Switch in the West. It's under by the Project EGG Console series from D4 Enterprise. I hope they publish more Falcom titles in the future.
Ys 1 is supposedly coming but I only heard it from either reddit or gamefaqs. But idk if its right or wrong, I hope it's right though. Project egg is doing amazing things for releasing the games to the west.
an important trivia about the Ultima graphics rip-off: at that time Origin was in the talks with Falcom to let them distribute Origin games like Ultima and others in japan. The deal fell through when they saw that Xanadu was ripping off their material, Richard Garriott himself recounted this several times. If they didn't the entire history of Falcom could have been very, very different!
Enemies that stop respawning after a few kills? HP that halfs as a mechanic? A karma system? Not levelling up? This sounds like Dark Souls, especially Dark Souls 2.
The Switch release has some background info about the game included - apparently over 400,000 copies were sold (sourced from Falcom by developer D4?) making it the best selling of its era on Japanese PC
The cool thing now is that D4 is re-releasing PC-88 games on Nintendo Switch under the umbrella "EGGCONSOLE", both in Japan and abroad. Among them there are titles such as Xanadu and Relics, so a wider audience can try them if they wish to. Maybe you could do a video about Relics down the road...
As a big fan of Faxanadu I immediately recognized so many similar elements. Like the first town, the king, the shops and temple, the dungeons, the final equipment. So cool to now know it came from a classic game. I think Faxanadu still holds up today.
Seeing the "BPS" & "Henk" name cheats really does show how influential Henk Rogers & BPS' The Black Onyx was on Japanese gaming even just a year prior to Xanadu's release, as both of those cheats are either helpful (instant gold) or offer a neat challenge for this game. Maybe one day we'll see The Black Onyx here on PC-88 Paradise.
33:00 pretty positive all of the MSX music was done by Mieko Ishikawa. It was the first ost done completely by her and feels very much in her style. The intro in particular has that building verse into soaring chorus over arpeggios she does often. I know that Yuzo is listed in the credits as a composer, but I confirmed this by asking yuzo on twitter (although i cant find the tweet reply cause twitter/x bad). Also the BIGGEST difference for MSX Xanadu is the fact you can return to the town and the first item shop having much more flexibility with your tools as well as custom levels.
Yeah, I said some of the music was done by Koshiro since he is listed in the game's credits. Didn't know he confirmed on twitter that he actually didn't write any of it. (Weird that he is credited then.) Maybe that's why it isn't listed on his wikipedia page as a game he worked on... Thanks for your info. (As always, I end up wishing I had this info before I finalized the video.)
I've been in a funk and my YT algorithm is fk'd from sleeping to Lutein Warhammer 40k videos. You made the list, friend. I love longform videos so bring it on!
Scenario II is harder in some ways, but also easier in others, I though. For one thing, there are now ways to farm infinite gold by buying items cheaply in one shop and selling them for a profit in another. That plus the fact that keys don't go up in value when you level up, and that Red Potions are easily available for very cheap in stores, makes it a lot less likely that you'll get permanently stuck. On the other hand, Mantles were severely nerfed and no longer work in towers, also the timer for items now counts down even in battle, so you can't clear out an entire tower with just one measly Hourglass. For what it's worth, I was able to get through the game entirely unaided, without referring to a walkthough, but I did draw my own maps on graph paper as I went through the game, as you're pretty much expected to do for old school CRPGs. And there's probably no way I would have ever found the Dragon Slayer had I not done so.
Wow. Great info! I really haven't played Scenario II much at all, and was only able to notice how much the shops had been improved. (Can now buy more than 99 food at a time.) Good to know it's far from impossible. That is impressive that you managed to finish it drawing only your own maps! When did you do this? Back in the 80's? I'm actually looking forward to playing through Scenario II. Even more so thanks to your comment!
With the new EGGCONSOLE release out today, I think this video is probably the most expansive English-language resource for playing the game. Thanks for all your hard work!
Yeah, that's the one that seems to get used regularly since the modern Windows emulated ports. Those are the graphics everyone remembers. I don't believe any legal action was ever taken, and it's probably all water under the bridge by now.
After beating Xanadu Next (awesome game!) it was very cool to see how this series began. Tokyo Xanadu looks cool and something I will definitely check out.
Fantastic video! I've dabbled with Xanadu in the past and I knew it was considered very difficult but I feel like this really drove home just how challenging this game is.
Old PCs and super difficult rpgs seem to go together like salt & pepper. I’ve heard this game was hard but had no idea, wow! Kudos on beating it. Wizardry is another old rpg I hear is very difficult as well. Haven’t played it or Xanadu but both seem to live up to the reputation lol
Glad to see a mention of The Legend of Xanadu, the first import game I ever bought way back in 1995. Definitely have fond memories of playing that one, even though Ys games are better, the side scrolling stages at the end of each level were a nice touch. LoX II is also one of my favorite RPGs, and mercifully short for us adults.
This was awesome, thank you as always for being so thorough. Ever since I saw bowloflentils’ video on the history of Falcom awhile back, I’ve been so fascinated by the early history of Falcom. I wish they would rerelease ports of some of these early titles in a collection (Dragon Slayer, Xanadu, Romancia, Azteca, etc) if for no other reason than preservation. Enjoy Y’s X!
4:40 There's a video on F_T_B's channel called "From Ports to Novels: A Look at Ultima in Japan" that goes over this, and it's quite the story to behold! Interesting to see the beginnings of the series that's still kinda going (Tokyo Xanadu eX+ was released a few years back)
Yep. I debated to myself whether or not to include the fact that the whole fiasco lost Falcom the chance to release Ultima in Japan and the chance to have Xanadu released in the U.S. But decided to leave that fact for F_T_B's video.
I still wonder if this had happened if we would have had Xanadu games labeled as Ultima or Ultima Games Labeled as parts of the Dragon Slayer series given Kiya's naming conventions, which would have been more amusing as the series goes on. Imagine Drasle Family/Legacy of the Wizard as an Ultima game - we could have had Pochi the Dogvatar.
@@f_t_b2238I wonder if that would’ve been a bit like Wizardry where there is an entire lineage of Japanese Wizardry games that are completely independent from the original series
Great video as always. I'm really happy people like you and Landail are around. I cannot describe the feeling I get when his audience sees a game and goes "Wait this was a game?" and your channel also gets that same kind of remark every once in a while. Makes me happy to know the games I grew up playing because we were too poor to always have the newest stuff won't be forgotten so easily. My mom saw a bit of this episode when you were walking in front of a building and she said "Hey didn't we have that game?" we did not but we did have Legacy of the Wizard, AKA Dragonslayer 4: The Drasle Family and it even had the four crowns. It wasn't until I played some other Falcom games by mistake that I really started looking into their legacy around 2014 or so. I didn't realize they were still alive and making games until I accidently saw a remake of a Y's game. I unfortunately had to emulate their earlier titles for the most part.
I loved the approach that you followed with this video. I think it accurately conveins the experience of beating Xanadu and the context surrounding it. It's the kind of retrospective that can actually be useful to historians.
Congrats on slaying King Dragon! Great video as always. Absolutely loved the less frustrating by equally puzzling SegaSaturn remake (in Falcom Classics Vol.1) which is how I originally discovered this little piece of History back then, as well as the MSX version. As of October 2023, it seems the PC-8801 version is planned for a future re-release on Nintendo Switch by D4Enterprise.
Yeah, Project EGG is coming to Switch, it was announced, so you'll be able to play a lot of games from the PC-88 and other Japanese PCs on the Switch soon.
I can see some of the elements in a later game I know as Legacy of the Wizard, originally released in Japan as Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family. Always wondered about Xanadu because of that other game so this was a real cool episode! I do have to mention one of my favourite games. Being as you showed it momentarily there. One could guess the title based on my handle, but I can’t wait to see an episode on Zeliard! Probably one of the best game I played in my early days on a PC. Only recently found out it came out on the PC-88 so I can’t wait to see you review it 😊
Hey man, I just finished Zeliard for PC-88 and I'm working on a script for an upcoming video on the game. Any Zeliard facts that you think ought to be included in the video?
@@BasementBrothers honestly it has been a while but definitely curious on what your thoughts are! When I first played as a kid it was something I didn’t expect. A side scroller with RPG elements? As you descend you find towns? I thought you would just return to the surface. Something sort of like Ys 3 with only one town. Then there are a few little things like some of the reactions with some of the shop owners when you go into then leave. I also know the cover art was different here then Japan. Check out the North American one it’s sort of strange! Always wanted a copy. Other then that you usually have a great way of covering all the bases Can’t wait to see what you think! This is one game I’ve only seen one other review. It’s old, but LGR did a pretty good job with his review although lacking in some detail. You do get to see some of the graphic modes we had here. Also if anyone wants to try it the game is currently abandonware so no harm finding a copy!
Thanks. One thing I found out partway through the game is that the English MS-DOS version has been dramatically re-balanced in order to eliminate a lot of the grinding. The amount required in the original Japanese versions was really unreasonable. I'm going to actually recommend in the video that most people just stick to the MS-DOS version. Would you say that part of the appeal at the time was that there were few games like Zeliard available for Western PC's?
@@BasementBrothers to my knowledge no there wasn’t too many like it. Someone more knowledgeable might be able to name some but usually you only found that sort of game on consoles. Wasn’t for lack of trying! I love action adventures and RPG so I was always looking. Most RPGs were usually more complex (like Elder Scrolls & Might and Magic) and platformers usually didn’t stray much into that territory. It was like this sort of title was usually left for consoles Also wow! Grinding was reduced? I could only imagine what I thought if I had to grind harder!
I played through the MSX version of this game when I was in high school, on a Chromebook provided to me by the school. I played on a webpage, so save states were completely necessary. I played through the PC-88 version a few years later, to get more a feel of the original experience. But my gosh, I honestly love the MSX version. I honestly love the color scheme in it a lot more, the bigger soundtrack is much appreciated, and I love that overall exploring theme a ton. The inventory screen is also so much more intuitive to read. It would actually tell what each item was instead of only representing the amount you had. I had a lot of fun with that version. Is Xanadu Scenario II tricky to get started up, by any chance? I might be getting around to trying that one not too far in the future. I only found an FM-7 version (probably should note, I use emulators, I can't afford to actually get the physical computers, both in money and physical space), but would like to find a PC-88 version, as I'm more familiar with emulating that.
Oh yeah. The MSX version is excellent. Probably the best "classic" version of Xanadu. Scenario II is not difficult to get up and running. You boot the "data" disk of scenario II to create a scenario ii userdisk. Then you boot the original Xanadu program disk with the scenario II userdisk you just made inserted as your userdisk. It will look the same as the original Xanadu during the initial character creation "stage 0" part of the game. When you enter the first cave you will get the Scenario II title screen and the first stage of Scenario II will begin.
Happy to see Xanadu finally covered. As someone with a chronic addiction to this game and its sequel's/'DLC's music (plus the PC98 Revival remakes), this is right up my alley!
I finally see the ending of Xanadu...thanks man ! I can't wait for Ys X to be release here in the west ! I will def buy all the physical version of it like I did with Ys 8 and 9, have fun with it ! :)
Anazing video, and thanks for going so in depth. Congrats on finally slaying Galsis! I became interested in the Xanadu franchise (and Falcom in general) due to my infatuation with Faxanadu which is my favorite game of all time. Faxanadu does actually share more with Xanadu than just a portion of the title. Enemies from Xanadu are reimagined with NES power but most retain their same names and overall likenesses. Weapons, armor, items and even magic carry the same names. We see red potions, elixirs, the black onyx, hourglass, the battle suit, Deluge, Fire, Thunder and Death magic... even wing boots, and of course the legendary Dragonslayer. All of the titles obtained by leveling up are carried over (Aspirant, Myrmidon, Lord etc). The currency is Golds and you even start off by visiting the king to receive your starting stipend of gold, and trainers to boost your starting health and magic. These overall themes are carried over into Xanadu Next as well. It's been a fascinating journey discovering all of these connections between games in the series. What I've discovered is that the Xanadu games are alot like the Final Fantasy series in that each game enjoys a standalone story but share many similar elements and themes (ie. Chocobos, Moogles, Summons, Magic etc.) I'm currently playing the original Xanadu on Nintendo Switch via the EGG console releases, which are freaking amazing! It's great that these PC-88 and 98 games are finally escaping Japan and becoming available for a western market to experience as they are a critical piece of gaming history and lore! Keep up the great work!
Another excellent video! And watching the full explanation, you definitely feel why Faxanadu is "Famicom Xanadu". The same general "story", most of the same mechanics, but everything smoothed out for console players who would definitely not stand for some the more ancient PC shenanigans. Also, random Captain N shout-out? Absolutely. Keep up the great work!
I love Xanadu, it's a treasure of falcom's history that I don't think I'll ever beat. I hate the karma system as it ruined the run I got the farthest in. Also, the part where you whispered not to buy the original xanadu made me crack up
The karma system also killed several hours of my work at least two times in my play through. Had to go back to the latest backup of my user disk from before I had accumulated the karma. Both times it was mostly because I hadn't realized that loading your game also costs money (not just saving) and gives karma if you don't have enough money. The second time it was compounded by the fact that I hadn't realized one of the enemies was a "karma" enemy and went ahead a killed tons of them. I had literally accumulated 255 karma (the maximum amount).
Great seeing where Xanadu originated from. As a big fan of Falcom games Ys & Trails I‘ e played Tokyo Xanadu yet always wondered where it’s roots came from. Thanks for the great vid.
Way too hardcore for me to even consider, especially with the basic graphics and limited music, but I must say Xanadu has it's own charm and was obviously influential. Falcom got better over time, it's fun watching their history.
I was wondering when you would get around to Xanadu. Granted I'm only familiar with it via reputation, so I was looking forward to your experiences with the game. It's also kind of funny to me that the only part of this branch of the Dragon Slayer franchise that most western gamers would be familiar with is Faxanadu, the NES spin-off that wasn't even developed by Falcom. It goes to show just how small a picture of the Japanese gaming scene we saw in the west for so long.
Instead of the original Dark Souls, they should be saying the Original Xanadu. All that cryptic progress with movement that seems to come from a Fighting game is ridiculous.
This was really really fascinating and educational... I'm quickly becoming addicted to watching every video you've made; this is like the hidden world of old Japanese games I've always been mostly ignorant of, aside from trying to play the console ports of older Ys games and being baffled by their design principles, until now. I also instantly thought "Faxandu!" (how I always misread the title as a kid) when seeing the opening above-ground scene of Xanadu, and that game now makes way more sense to me. I still have that desire to "know everything" about the medium (and, for the most part, the works in that medium made in the one nation whose culture makes sense to me on an emotional level; at least as it is expressed in art/entertainment) that brought me so much joy in my youth, even if I don't and/or can't play them myself these days, and your videos are really fulfilling that desire immensely. Thank you.
I've been curious about Xanadu for awhile now - thank you for making this video! It really seems brutally difficult, but I'd like to at least give it a try someday, as someone who's interested in Falcom's overall history.
Always love these videos and this one was no exception. Xanadu has long been a curiosity for me as a Falcom fan although my knowledge generally is more post Ys and especially focused on their more current work. Super interesting seeing their earlier stuff and how they made a name for themselves, of the legacy they've carried on. Really do love the odd vibe this game seems to have, doubly so with how you emphasized the game is more to be experienced rather than completed. That's definitely something that felt far more common in my youth compared to the very narrative driven stuff these days where it's presumed the player will be able to get all the game has to offer without jumping through many hoops.
I ended up not including this tangent in the video, but I have seen Anthem live at Loudpark and at least one other metal festival in Tokyo. Of course it was the much older, 2010's Anthem, but they definitely still rock!
Love the channel. I have no nostalgia for any of these computers, but I find your videos very informative and entertaining. Doubt I'll ever buy a PC-88 or 98 either, but some of these games look so fun.
I wasn't expecting an event horizon clip, but I guess it is spooky month! Great video! Xanadu has been on my radar for a while now, but I'm glad I didn't go into it without learning about its difficulty!
Yeah, that was drawn by Kazuhiko Tsuzuki, who also did the Xanadu manga. He was also an employee of Falcom for a time, and did much of the manual art for Ys II and Sorcerian. Incidentally, he also drew the art in the thumbnail for not only this video, but my video on "The Scheme" as well. Dude seems far less famous than he should be. ...Though I'm sure his style is probably considered derivative of his contemporaries.
I know you're focusing on the old Xanadu's but Tokyo Xanadu was really interesting for a unrelated game and it's pretty fun if you like the modern Falcom games. It has Persona's confidant system (not the monsters though) but it was so interesting how the developers put in one computer hacker companion a year before Persona 5 did it in 2016 (Japan release dates). Though they both released in the West in 2017 and Persona 5 probably ate up most of Tokyo Xanadu's sales and they ended up making a definitive Tokyo Xanadu eX+ version.
@BAIGAMING Yeah, I liked Tokyo Xanadu OK. I actually did a video on Tokyo Xanadu eX+ way back in 2017, though it was made before I had actually finished the whole game. th-cam.com/video/tPMwlrIHHws/w-d-xo.html
dig the gold foil labels on those 5.25'' floppies! love some of those secret names, haha. had to share this episode with my wife, a huge fan of a lot of their more recent stuff (tokyo xanadu, the more recent Ys games) and some of the stuff her blew her mind like the gold to save thing! I'm hoping someday to get a hold of the saturn falcom collection so I could at least check out that version of it.
@EdmondDantes224 Well, I'm glad you think so. Give it a try! ...or maybe I just didn't do a good enough job conveying how brutally difficult it is? It can be fun enough to just go around defeating enemies in the first stage, especially in Revival Xanadu or the Saturn version.
My biggest experience with Xanadu was through _Fa_ Xanadu because my uncles were playing it on NES. Good stuff. Yes Mr. Basement... I must undertake this journey myself! *TO XANADU WE GO!* ... But uh, another day! Since it's 2 AM right now. But to Xanadu we will go! ----- Especially since I bought Xanadu Next on steam some year ago and I own the Saturn Falcom Game collections..
Thanks for another great and informative video. I wanted know more about this game, because i heard that it's skyrocket Falcom to it's glory. I now playing Ys series and it's awesome, but i'll probably never play those ancient Falcom games myself. Thanks to videos like this at least i know how they looks, how they were played and why they were so important for developing of Japan video game market. I like saying that age of the game isn't important for me if it is pleasent for me to play, but early 80's games are mostly basicaly too archaic for me to be pleasent.
Yeah, I feel like I kind of have a "cut-off date" when it comes to old games I am able to enjoy. I got my first NES in 1987, and most games made much before then just feel like they are "before my time". Can't enjoy many of them (other than maybe single-screen arcade games that pretty much anyone can enjoy). This game was a bit of a chore for me to learn, but after finishing it I'm feeling like I could probably do most old RPG's if I put in the effort. The original 1984 Dragonslayer is probably at least quite a bit shorter and simpler. Hopefully I'll buy that one too someday.
@@BasementBrothers I can imagine that was great feeling to beat game that wasn't exactly design to be beaten. And I will gladly watch more videos about Falcom ancient stuff :D
Not sure if your interested but dead of the brain 2 holds a lot of curiosity for me! That era and graphical style is so satisfying! I humbly request something of that Ilk too!!
Another excellent video, thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us! I've wanted to play the Saturn version for years, but was put off by the original games' legendary difficulty. I wonder is the Saturn remake is any easier or simplified in some way? It certainly is beautiful.
I played revival Xanadu on pc98. I loved it, but it was too stinking hard. I picked up the Saturn version. Recently picked it back up, now I have to try and level my gear before beating king jerk face dragon.
Nice Otto voice! Faxanadu is one of my favorite games, and I knew it was a completely different game, but it's interesting to see the similarities that do exist. The Dragon Slayer and Battle Suit, of course, as well as the black onyx, magic rod and glove. And the fact that you start the game by seeing the king and getting stuff (or just 1500 golds) to start your adventure. Even the different training facilities in the starting town, which are completely pointless in Faxanadu.
Loved this. I played Faxanadu at one point and loved it, and always wanted to play the entire series, but (unfortunately?) I always start with this one and get frustrated and burned out, subsequently quitting. Your video gave me a lot of insight into why 😂
So it looks like this game is gonna be relevant again soon.. I was just browsing the Switch eShop and it listed a game called (and I've got the page in front of me to get this right) "EGGCONSOLE XANADU PC-8801 PC-8801mkIISR" which.... yeah, the screenshots make it clear its THIS Xanadu. Same publisher also released Thexder and a game called Relics.
A website where you can buy emulated versions of old Japanese PC games that run on Windows (and some on Switch now too). It was started by the company that currently owns all the old Bothtec titles (like Relics) and they work with the other current copyright holders of the games so that they are able to sell them legally.
Man, this was a fun one to watch! As an old-school Falcom fan myself, Xanadu has always been one of those games I've greatly admired and appreciated, but have NEVER been able to beat. I actually kind of love how absurdly player-hostile it is, though -- you rarely see any game, even from that era, quite as uncompromisingly cruel as this one. You covered just about everything that makes it such a cruel game, but one thing that I think is worth adding: If you kill one of the "good" enemies, you gain 6 karma. If you drink one bottle of poison, you lose... 5 karma. They actively made the accidental murder of a "good" enemy cost ONE KARMA MORE than a single bottle of poison can cure, requiring you to find TWO bottles of poison and halve your HP TWICE in order to recover from it. That's not just a slap in the face, it's a gut punch followed by a big SPIT in the face. And I honestly kind of love it. Like, I don't love it when it happens to me! But I love that Falcom was just like, you know what? Screw the players! We're going to make them suffer as much as humanly possible, and they're going to LIKE it! ;) That level of pure vindictiveness in game design is weirdly kind of admirable, in a world that usually coddles players nowadays -- where there are tutorials for everything, unlimited continues, etc. Xanadu wasn't about that life. Xanadu filled your pockets with iron weights, then tossed you into a lake, and didn't say "Sink or swim"... they just said, "Sink." ;) Incidentally, I'm really grateful to own the MSX1 version of this game, not only because of the varied soundtrack (there are actually unique boss themes for every single boss, unnecessarily!), but also because of the NON-EYE-SEARING COLOR PALETTE. For the life of me, I will never understand why Falcom decided to make the primary screen color for both Dragon Slayer and Xanadu frigging BRIGHT TEAL in just about every release. I also don't know what possessed them to finally give the game a more reasonable (and atmospherically appropriate) color scheme for its MSX1 iteration, but I am SO grateful they did, because I think I'd go blind playing any of the other versions. Heheh.
Thanks for the praise. There was one other commenter who said they actually really like the bluish color palette. Me, I don't know.... it's certainly... unique. I can tolerate it. The amount of karma you get depends on the enemy. Uinals give 5, but Sylphs give 25 if you kill just one! This is one of the only pages I found that lists the exact amount of karma each enemy gives. psyzans.com/Testsite/XanaduMSX/XanaMSX_11.html
@@BasementBrothers Ah, I didn't realize that! I thought it was 6 across the board, for some reason. Wonder what I killed that made me conclude as such? ;) Or I wonder if perhaps they changed that for the MSX1 version? Because I swear it was an Uinal that gave me 6 when I played, but it's been a while now, so I can't say for sure. Sadly, it seems the special names you can enter to trigger various easter eggs don't apply to either the MSX1 or MSX2 version of the game -- I tried a few of them on each last night, just out of curiosity. I wonder if either version has any of its own, though! Or if Falcom just decided they were being too "nice," so they'd just eliminate those cheats altogether. Heheheh.
The page I linked is for the MSX1 version, so I don't know. I think it is 3(?) karma for each time you save or load without enough money, so maybe you did that twice to get 6? Yeah, the easter egg names aren't in every version of the game. I did read that somewhere.
@@BasementBrothers Ah, that was probably it. Apologies for the misinformation on my part! Glad to know the reality is better -- but also simultaneously worse -- than I remember it being. Heheh.
This channel was sent by God for us long time Falcom and NEC fans.
This channel is a boon for anyone with an interest in classic computer gaming.
@@ostiariusalphaand Japanese only games.
They're really shedding a light on an era of Japanese RPGs that I not only find almost uniformly awesome, but which aren't really as well-covered as they should be
Or by a mother who put her kids into the basement with a PC-88 😂 But yeah, it’s awesome to have these games covered in English, so much good and interesting stuff on NECs computer line!
God was not involved. Going by the difficulty of working on TH-cam videos, I'm pretty sure it must have been a deal with Satan actually. 😅
Out of nowhere, this game just got released on the Switch in the West. It's under by the Project EGG Console series from D4 Enterprise. I hope they publish more Falcom titles in the future.
Ys 1 is supposedly coming but I only heard it from either reddit or gamefaqs. But idk if its right or wrong, I hope it's right though. Project egg is doing amazing things for releasing the games to the west.
Well I predicted that right. I hope there's more in the future.
an important trivia about the Ultima graphics rip-off: at that time Origin was in the talks with Falcom to let them distribute Origin games like Ultima and others in japan. The deal fell through when they saw that Xanadu was ripping off their material, Richard Garriott himself recounted this several times. If they didn't the entire history of Falcom could have been very, very different!
I love how games back then can be so hard and unforgiving and still get sequels and remakes. 🤣
These days games are just bad and get sequels and remasters (a year after the original release, usually).
Games like these belong in a museum. Preserved for future generations to experience.
Enemies that stop respawning after a few kills? HP that halfs as a mechanic? A karma system? Not levelling up? This sounds like Dark Souls, especially Dark Souls 2.
"The enemies would stop spawning after being defeated a few times"
There was at least ONE Xanadu fan in the Dark Souls 2 dev team.
The Switch release has some background info about the game included - apparently over 400,000 copies were sold (sourced from Falcom by developer D4?) making it the best selling of its era on Japanese PC
The cool thing now is that D4 is re-releasing PC-88 games on Nintendo Switch under the umbrella "EGGCONSOLE", both in Japan and abroad.
Among them there are titles such as Xanadu and Relics, so a wider audience can try them if they wish to.
Maybe you could do a video about Relics down the road...
As a big fan of Faxanadu I immediately recognized so many similar elements. Like the first town, the king, the shops and temple, the dungeons, the final equipment. So cool to now know it came from a classic game. I think Faxanadu still holds up today.
That image song by Anthem proves to me that every classic RPG needs a rocking hair metal track of its own.
Indeed, it would be a better world if every classic RPG had one! Thanks for watching.
Seeing the "BPS" & "Henk" name cheats really does show how influential Henk Rogers & BPS' The Black Onyx was on Japanese gaming even just a year prior to Xanadu's release, as both of those cheats are either helpful (instant gold) or offer a neat challenge for this game. Maybe one day we'll see The Black Onyx here on PC-88 Paradise.
33:00 pretty positive all of the MSX music was done by Mieko Ishikawa. It was the first ost done completely by her and feels very much in her style. The intro in particular has that building verse into soaring chorus over arpeggios she does often. I know that Yuzo is listed in the credits as a composer, but I confirmed this by asking yuzo on twitter (although i cant find the tweet reply cause twitter/x bad). Also the BIGGEST difference for MSX Xanadu is the fact you can return to the town and the first item shop having much more flexibility with your tools as well as custom levels.
Yeah, I said some of the music was done by Koshiro since he is listed in the game's credits. Didn't know he confirmed on twitter that he actually didn't write any of it. (Weird that he is credited then.) Maybe that's why it isn't listed on his wikipedia page as a game he worked on...
Thanks for your info. (As always, I end up wishing I had this info before I finalized the video.)
I've been in a funk and my YT algorithm is fk'd from sleeping to Lutein Warhammer 40k videos. You made the list, friend. I love longform videos so bring it on!
Well, if you liked this one, I've got something special for you coming in a couple days!
Newbies: «As difficult as Dark souls!"
Sages: «Xanadu»
Scenario II is harder in some ways, but also easier in others, I though. For one thing, there are now ways to farm infinite gold by buying items cheaply in one shop and selling them for a profit in another. That plus the fact that keys don't go up in value when you level up, and that Red Potions are easily available for very cheap in stores, makes it a lot less likely that you'll get permanently stuck. On the other hand, Mantles were severely nerfed and no longer work in towers, also the timer for items now counts down even in battle, so you can't clear out an entire tower with just one measly Hourglass. For what it's worth, I was able to get through the game entirely unaided, without referring to a walkthough, but I did draw my own maps on graph paper as I went through the game, as you're pretty much expected to do for old school CRPGs. And there's probably no way I would have ever found the Dragon Slayer had I not done so.
Wow. Great info! I really haven't played Scenario II much at all, and was only able to notice how much the shops had been improved. (Can now buy more than 99 food at a time.) Good to know it's far from impossible. That is impressive that you managed to finish it drawing only your own maps! When did you do this? Back in the 80's?
I'm actually looking forward to playing through Scenario II. Even more so thanks to your comment!
@@BasementBrothers It was only around last December that I cleared it. (I was still in diapers in the 80's!! >_
With the new EGGCONSOLE release out today, I think this video is probably the most expansive English-language resource for playing the game. Thanks for all your hard work!
Also, the EGGCONSOLE port is the version with the plagiarized graphics, oddly enough.
Yeah, that's the one that seems to get used regularly since the modern Windows emulated ports. Those are the graphics everyone remembers. I don't believe any legal action was ever taken, and it's probably all water under the bridge by now.
Just watched Xanadu OVA, wanted to learn more about game I heard of but never had a chance to play. This is excellent video, thank you!
After beating Xanadu Next (awesome game!) it was very cool to see how this series began. Tokyo Xanadu looks cool and something I will definitely check out.
Fantastic video! I've dabbled with Xanadu in the past and I knew it was considered very difficult but I feel like this really drove home just how challenging this game is.
Xanadu, truly the Dark Souls of the PC-88
All jokes aside, this was an absolutely wonderful video! Glad that this game got covered
Thank you for suffering through this for us. Always great to see your weekly videos.
Nice timing! Looking forward to playing this on Switch via Project EGG Console
I enjoy the long videos, and they're still infinitely more palatable than actually playing Xanadu for myself :D
Old PCs and super difficult rpgs seem to go together like salt & pepper. I’ve heard this game was hard but had no idea, wow! Kudos on beating it. Wizardry is another old rpg I hear is very difficult as well. Haven’t played it or Xanadu but both seem to live up to the reputation lol
Congratulations of finishing Xanadu!🧙♂
Exhausting day, was glad to see a new episode when I got on YT. Thanks for doing these videos.
Glad to see a mention of The Legend of Xanadu, the first import game I ever bought way back in 1995. Definitely have fond memories of playing that one, even though Ys games are better, the side scrolling stages at the end of each level were a nice touch. LoX II is also one of my favorite RPGs, and mercifully short for us adults.
This was awesome, thank you as always for being so thorough. Ever since I saw bowloflentils’ video on the history of Falcom awhile back, I’ve been so fascinated by the early history of Falcom. I wish they would rerelease ports of some of these early titles in a collection (Dragon Slayer, Xanadu, Romancia, Azteca, etc) if for no other reason than preservation. Enjoy Y’s X!
Honestly, this was really great to see what Xanadu was all about. I've heard so much about it, so thank you for going through this game!
4:40 There's a video on F_T_B's channel called "From Ports to Novels: A Look at Ultima in Japan" that goes over this, and it's quite the story to behold! Interesting to see the beginnings of the series that's still kinda going (Tokyo Xanadu eX+ was released a few years back)
Yep. I debated to myself whether or not to include the fact that the whole fiasco lost Falcom the chance to release Ultima in Japan and the chance to have Xanadu released in the U.S. But decided to leave that fact for F_T_B's video.
I still wonder if this had happened if we would have had Xanadu games labeled as Ultima or Ultima Games Labeled as parts of the Dragon Slayer series given Kiya's naming conventions, which would have been more amusing as the series goes on. Imagine Drasle Family/Legacy of the Wizard as an Ultima game - we could have had Pochi the Dogvatar.
@@f_t_b2238I wonder if that would’ve been a bit like Wizardry where there is an entire lineage of Japanese Wizardry games that are completely independent from the original series
Great video as always. I'm really happy people like you and Landail are around. I cannot describe the feeling I get when his audience sees a game and goes "Wait this was a game?" and your channel also gets that same kind of remark every once in a while. Makes me happy to know the games I grew up playing because we were too poor to always have the newest stuff won't be forgotten so easily. My mom saw a bit of this episode when you were walking in front of a building and she said "Hey didn't we have that game?" we did not but we did have Legacy of the Wizard, AKA Dragonslayer 4: The Drasle Family and it even had the four crowns. It wasn't until I played some other Falcom games by mistake that I really started looking into their legacy around 2014 or so. I didn't realize they were still alive and making games until I accidently saw a remake of a Y's game. I unfortunately had to emulate their earlier titles for the most part.
I'm okay with games being difficult, but this is cruel and unusual!
Might sound strange now but this was the norm at the time. Back then computer RPGs were all made to be brutally difficult.
@@MagmaMKII Well, they didn't shit out a (barely finished) new game every year, so they had to make them last.
They need to bring that back. Getting a limited number of continues, and if you use all of those, you start from the beginning
@@Righteousone18 Well, I would say it is a good idea on certain types of games. On others, such as more complex RPGs/JRPGs, not so much.
I love Faxanadu and Dragon Slayer IV. Keep up the good work!
excellent vid. i love the aesthetic achieved from using primarily blue/yellow for the environments. such a vibe.
I agree! Its very effective,
it inspires me..
this just came to switch! thanks for the video
I loved the approach that you followed with this video. I think it accurately conveins the experience of beating Xanadu and the context surrounding it. It's the kind of retrospective that can actually be useful to historians.
Great video. I love how these always make me feel nostaglic for a game I've never played, on a system I've never even touched. Thanks for making them.
Congrats on slaying King Dragon! Great video as always. Absolutely loved the less frustrating by equally puzzling SegaSaturn remake (in Falcom Classics Vol.1) which is how I originally discovered this little piece of History back then, as well as the MSX version. As of October 2023, it seems the PC-8801 version is planned for a future re-release on Nintendo Switch by D4Enterprise.
Yeah, Project EGG is coming to Switch, it was announced, so you'll be able to play a lot of games from the PC-88 and other Japanese PCs on the Switch soon.
I can see some of the elements in a later game I know as Legacy of the Wizard, originally released in Japan as Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family. Always wondered about Xanadu because of that other game so this was a real cool episode!
I do have to mention one of my favourite games. Being as you showed it momentarily there. One could guess the title based on my handle, but I can’t wait to see an episode on Zeliard! Probably one of the best game I played in my early days on a PC. Only recently found out it came out on the PC-88 so I can’t wait to see you review it 😊
Hey man, I just finished Zeliard for PC-88 and I'm working on a script for an upcoming video on the game. Any Zeliard facts that you think ought to be included in the video?
@@BasementBrothers honestly it has been a while but definitely curious on what your thoughts are! When I first played as a kid it was something I didn’t expect. A side scroller with RPG elements? As you descend you find towns? I thought you would just return to the surface. Something sort of like Ys 3 with only one town. Then there are a few little things like some of the reactions with some of the shop owners when you go into then leave. I also know the cover art was different here then Japan. Check out the North American one it’s sort of strange! Always wanted a copy. Other then that you usually have a great way of covering all the bases
Can’t wait to see what you think! This is one game I’ve only seen one other review. It’s old, but LGR did a pretty good job with his review although lacking in some detail. You do get to see some of the graphic modes we had here. Also if anyone wants to try it the game is currently abandonware so no harm finding a copy!
Thanks. One thing I found out partway through the game is that the English MS-DOS version has been dramatically re-balanced in order to eliminate a lot of the grinding. The amount required in the original Japanese versions was really unreasonable. I'm going to actually recommend in the video that most people just stick to the MS-DOS version.
Would you say that part of the appeal at the time was that there were few games like Zeliard available for Western PC's?
@@BasementBrothers to my knowledge no there wasn’t too many like it. Someone more knowledgeable might be able to name some but usually you only found that sort of game on consoles. Wasn’t for lack of trying! I love action adventures and RPG so I was always looking. Most RPGs were usually more complex (like Elder Scrolls & Might and Magic) and platformers usually didn’t stray much into that territory. It was like this sort of title was usually left for consoles
Also wow! Grinding was reduced? I could only imagine what I thought if I had to grind harder!
This might be the greatest channel of all time
Well this game just came out for Switch and now I am struggling with it because there are no English info available. All I have is this video. 😂
I played through the MSX version of this game when I was in high school, on a Chromebook provided to me by the school. I played on a webpage, so save states were completely necessary. I played through the PC-88 version a few years later, to get more a feel of the original experience. But my gosh, I honestly love the MSX version. I honestly love the color scheme in it a lot more, the bigger soundtrack is much appreciated, and I love that overall exploring theme a ton. The inventory screen is also so much more intuitive to read. It would actually tell what each item was instead of only representing the amount you had. I had a lot of fun with that version.
Is Xanadu Scenario II tricky to get started up, by any chance? I might be getting around to trying that one not too far in the future. I only found an FM-7 version (probably should note, I use emulators, I can't afford to actually get the physical computers, both in money and physical space), but would like to find a PC-88 version, as I'm more familiar with emulating that.
Oh yeah. The MSX version is excellent. Probably the best "classic" version of Xanadu.
Scenario II is not difficult to get up and running. You boot the "data" disk of scenario II to create a scenario ii userdisk. Then you boot the original Xanadu program disk with the scenario II userdisk you just made inserted as your userdisk. It will look the same as the original Xanadu during the initial character creation "stage 0" part of the game. When you enter the first cave you will get the Scenario II title screen and the first stage of Scenario II will begin.
Happy to see Xanadu finally covered. As someone with a chronic addiction to this game and its sequel's/'DLC's music (plus the PC98 Revival remakes), this is right up my alley!
I bought Xanadu Next during the last Steam Sale and have been playing through it. Very fun game!
Found this video randomly, it was interesting!
Great video, can't wait to learn more from you about these classic experiences
3:15 IIRC, the ZX Spectrum port of Street Fighter II, also on cassette, took around the same amount of time to load! :O
I finally see the ending of Xanadu...thanks man !
I can't wait for Ys X to be release here in the west ! I will def buy all the physical version of it like I did with Ys 8 and 9, have fun with it ! :)
Anazing video, and thanks for going so in depth. Congrats on finally slaying Galsis!
I became interested in the Xanadu franchise (and Falcom in general) due to my infatuation with Faxanadu which is my favorite game of all time. Faxanadu does actually share more with Xanadu than just a portion of the title. Enemies from Xanadu are reimagined with NES power but most retain their same names and overall likenesses. Weapons, armor, items and even magic carry the same names. We see red potions, elixirs, the black onyx, hourglass, the battle suit, Deluge, Fire, Thunder and Death magic... even wing boots, and of course the legendary Dragonslayer. All of the titles obtained by leveling up are carried over (Aspirant, Myrmidon, Lord etc). The currency is Golds and you even start off by visiting the king to receive your starting stipend of gold, and trainers to boost your starting health and magic. These overall themes are carried over into Xanadu Next as well.
It's been a fascinating journey discovering all of these connections between games in the series. What I've discovered is that the Xanadu games are alot like the Final Fantasy series in that each game enjoys a standalone story but share many similar elements and themes (ie. Chocobos, Moogles, Summons, Magic etc.)
I'm currently playing the original Xanadu on Nintendo Switch via the EGG console releases, which are freaking amazing! It's great that these PC-88 and 98 games are finally escaping Japan and becoming available for a western market to experience as they are a critical piece of gaming history and lore!
Keep up the great work!
Just found your channel last night. I'm *fascinated* already.
Another excellent video! And watching the full explanation, you definitely feel why Faxanadu is "Famicom Xanadu". The same general "story", most of the same mechanics, but everything smoothed out for console players who would definitely not stand for some the more ancient PC shenanigans. Also, random Captain N shout-out? Absolutely. Keep up the great work!
I remember resetting my levels late game in Xanadu Next to take advantage of a late-game ability to increase the stats you get per level.
I love Xanadu, it's a treasure of falcom's history that I don't think I'll ever beat. I hate the karma system as it ruined the run I got the farthest in. Also, the part where you whispered not to buy the original xanadu made me crack up
The karma system also killed several hours of my work at least two times in my play through. Had to go back to the latest backup of my user disk from before I had accumulated the karma. Both times it was mostly because I hadn't realized that loading your game also costs money (not just saving) and gives karma if you don't have enough money. The second time it was compounded by the fact that I hadn't realized one of the enemies was a "karma" enemy and went ahead a killed tons of them. I had literally accumulated 255 karma (the maximum amount).
Great seeing where Xanadu originated from. As a big fan of Falcom games Ys & Trails I‘ e played Tokyo Xanadu yet always wondered where it’s roots came from. Thanks for the great vid.
Enjoyed the hard work put into this video including research, collecting and of course completing the game at hand. Respect.
Always happy to see you bring a yet another classic RPG video to your screens
Way too hardcore for me to even consider, especially with the basic graphics and limited music, but I must say Xanadu has it's own charm and was obviously influential. Falcom got better over time, it's fun watching their history.
I was wondering when you would get around to Xanadu. Granted I'm only familiar with it via reputation, so I was looking forward to your experiences with the game.
It's also kind of funny to me that the only part of this branch of the Dragon Slayer franchise that most western gamers would be familiar with is Faxanadu, the NES spin-off that wasn't even developed by Falcom. It goes to show just how small a picture of the Japanese gaming scene we saw in the west for so long.
Instead of the original Dark Souls, they should be saying the Original Xanadu. All that cryptic progress with movement that seems to come from a Fighting game is ridiculous.
This was really really fascinating and educational... I'm quickly becoming addicted to watching every video you've made; this is like the hidden world of old Japanese games I've always been mostly ignorant of, aside from trying to play the console ports of older Ys games and being baffled by their design principles, until now. I also instantly thought "Faxandu!" (how I always misread the title as a kid) when seeing the opening above-ground scene of Xanadu, and that game now makes way more sense to me.
I still have that desire to "know everything" about the medium (and, for the most part, the works in that medium made in the one nation whose culture makes sense to me on an emotional level; at least as it is expressed in art/entertainment) that brought me so much joy in my youth, even if I don't and/or can't play them myself these days, and your videos are really fulfilling that desire immensely. Thank you.
I've been curious about Xanadu for awhile now - thank you for making this video! It really seems brutally difficult, but I'd like to at least give it a try someday, as someone who's interested in Falcom's overall history.
Always love these videos and this one was no exception. Xanadu has long been a curiosity for me as a Falcom fan although my knowledge generally is more post Ys and especially focused on their more current work. Super interesting seeing their earlier stuff and how they made a name for themselves, of the legacy they've carried on. Really do love the odd vibe this game seems to have, doubly so with how you emphasized the game is more to be experienced rather than completed. That's definitely something that felt far more common in my youth compared to the very narrative driven stuff these days where it's presumed the player will be able to get all the game has to offer without jumping through many hoops.
I've been hoping to see a Xanadu video from you soon, can't wait to watch this.
Oh man, I love the Xanadu metal theme performed by Anthem.
I ended up not including this tangent in the video, but I have seen Anthem live at Loudpark and at least one other metal festival in Tokyo. Of course it was the much older, 2010's Anthem, but they definitely still rock!
me spending 60 minutes of research if I should buy a 6 dollar Switch game
Love the channel. I have no nostalgia for any of these computers, but I find your videos very informative and entertaining. Doubt I'll ever buy a PC-88 or 98 either, but some of these games look so fun.
Thank you so much for covering this game. Looking forward to Romanica in the future!
I wasn't expecting an event horizon clip, but I guess it is spooky month! Great video! Xanadu has been on my radar for a while now, but I'm glad I didn't go into it without learning about its difficulty!
You've been dreading this video, but I've been waiting for it. Great stuff 👏
This video inspired me to do a Xanadu run myself! Now I'm on level 5 with a full plate and a million keys.
Awesome! Which version?
@@BasementBrothers The original PC-88 version!
I think I'm way underleveled because the level 5 enemies are literally murdering me 😅
the MSX boxart is still one of my favorite 80s JP art (the one seen in the MSX cart in the video)
Yeah, that was drawn by Kazuhiko Tsuzuki, who also did the Xanadu manga. He was also an employee of Falcom for a time, and did much of the manual art for Ys II and Sorcerian. Incidentally, he also drew the art in the thumbnail for not only this video, but my video on "The Scheme" as well. Dude seems far less famous than he should be. ...Though I'm sure his style is probably considered derivative of his contemporaries.
Very interesting to see where so many of the ideas in Faxanadu and Legacy of the Wizard were gestated.
I had an N-Gage recently. Bought it to resell. Had no idea it had a version of Xanadu.
I know you're focusing on the old Xanadu's but Tokyo Xanadu was really interesting for a unrelated game and it's pretty fun if you like the modern Falcom games. It has Persona's confidant system (not the monsters though) but it was so interesting how the developers put in one computer hacker companion a year before Persona 5 did it in 2016 (Japan release dates). Though they both released in the West in 2017 and Persona 5 probably ate up most of Tokyo Xanadu's sales and they ended up making a definitive Tokyo Xanadu eX+ version.
@BAIGAMING Yeah, I liked Tokyo Xanadu OK. I actually did a video on Tokyo Xanadu eX+ way back in 2017, though it was made before I had actually finished the whole game.
th-cam.com/video/tPMwlrIHHws/w-d-xo.html
this is an excellent video, and a great channel! i’ve really enjoyed all your videos, you do great work!
dig the gold foil labels on those 5.25'' floppies! love some of those secret names, haha. had to share this episode with my wife, a huge fan of a lot of their more recent stuff (tokyo xanadu, the more recent Ys games) and some of the stuff her blew her mind like the gold to save thing! I'm hoping someday to get a hold of the saturn falcom collection so I could at least check out that version of it.
I've always wanted to play this game, so thanks for covering it.
Now you know to never attempt to play it. :)
Just kidding. Go try some version of it for yourself!
@@BasementBrothers Is it weird that I think Xanadu actually sounds pretty fun?
@EdmondDantes224 Well, I'm glad you think so. Give it a try!
...or maybe I just didn't do a good enough job conveying how brutally difficult it is?
It can be fun enough to just go around defeating enemies in the first stage, especially in Revival Xanadu or the Saturn version.
Those gold foil stickers on the floppy disks just scream 'you've made a good financial decision'
Can we all appreciate Falcom's god-tier boxart. I can also see the DNA for Faxanadu in this game.
I just found out your channel and I'm so in love with your content 😍😍
My biggest experience with Xanadu was through _Fa_ Xanadu because my uncles were playing it on NES. Good stuff.
Yes Mr. Basement... I must undertake this journey myself!
*TO XANADU WE GO!* ... But uh, another day! Since it's 2 AM right now. But to Xanadu we will go!
----- Especially since I bought Xanadu Next on steam some year ago and I own the Saturn Falcom Game collections..
Now on Switch, apparently: EGGCONSOLE XANADU PC-8801
Легендарная игра, которая сделала большой вклад в индустрию игр
The friggin BGM in this game is giving me an anxiety attack.
I was just born a few years too late to really enjoy the height of these masterpieces.
Oh God I've been waiting for a Xanadu review! Sorcerian and Popful Mail when?
nice literally just finished playing Tokyo Xanadu EX+ and saw this uploaded lol
Thanks for another great and informative video. I wanted know more about this game, because i heard that it's skyrocket Falcom to it's glory. I now playing Ys series and it's awesome, but i'll probably never play those ancient Falcom games myself. Thanks to videos like this at least i know how they looks, how they were played and why they were so important for developing of Japan video game market. I like saying that age of the game isn't important for me if it is pleasent for me to play, but early 80's games are mostly basicaly too archaic for me to be pleasent.
Yeah, I feel like I kind of have a "cut-off date" when it comes to old games I am able to enjoy. I got my first NES in 1987, and most games made much before then just feel like they are "before my time". Can't enjoy many of them (other than maybe single-screen arcade games that pretty much anyone can enjoy). This game was a bit of a chore for me to learn, but after finishing it I'm feeling like I could probably do most old RPG's if I put in the effort. The original 1984 Dragonslayer is probably at least quite a bit shorter and simpler. Hopefully I'll buy that one too someday.
@@BasementBrothers I can imagine that was great feeling to beat game that wasn't exactly design to be beaten. And I will gladly watch more videos about Falcom ancient stuff :D
Thanks for this fantastic, very informative video..keep up!
Not sure if your interested but dead of the brain 2 holds a lot of curiosity for me! That era and graphical style is so satisfying! I humbly request something of that Ilk too!!
Yeah I want to do Dead of the Brain 2 and Marine Philt someday, but I need to obtain them first... and neither of them are especially cheap.
@@BasementBrothers totally understand, you’ll get there. Your channel is very gripping and fun. I know you’ll do good!
Another excellent video, thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us! I've wanted to play the Saturn version for years, but was put off by the original games' legendary difficulty. I wonder is the Saturn remake is any easier or simplified in some way? It certainly is beautiful.
I played revival Xanadu on pc98. I loved it, but it was too stinking hard. I picked up the Saturn version. Recently picked it back up, now I have to try and level my gear before beating king jerk face dragon.
Nice Otto voice!
Faxanadu is one of my favorite games, and I knew it was a completely different game, but it's interesting to see the similarities that do exist. The Dragon Slayer and Battle Suit, of course, as well as the black onyx, magic rod and glove. And the fact that you start the game by seeing the king and getting stuff (or just 1500 golds) to start your adventure. Even the different training facilities in the starting town, which are completely pointless in Faxanadu.
5:43 King Dragon sends his regards. As does ProZD.
Loved this. I played Faxanadu at one point and loved it, and always wanted to play the entire series, but (unfortunately?) I always start with this one and get frustrated and burned out, subsequently quitting. Your video gave me a lot of insight into why 😂
I look forward to these videos. Keep it up.🎉
Finally!! The king of PC-88 games!!
So it looks like this game is gonna be relevant again soon.. I was just browsing the Switch eShop and it listed a game called (and I've got the page in front of me to get this right) "EGGCONSOLE XANADU PC-8801 PC-8801mkIISR" which.... yeah, the screenshots make it clear its THIS Xanadu.
Same publisher also released Thexder and a game called Relics.
Yeah. It's the first Project EGG release on the Switch in the West.
@@BasementBrothers So what is Project EGG?
A website where you can buy emulated versions of old Japanese PC games that run on Windows (and some on Switch now too). It was started by the company that currently owns all the old Bothtec titles (like Relics) and they work with the other current copyright holders of the games so that they are able to sell them legally.
@@BasementBrothers Since Thexder and Relics are on the US Switch eShop... are those games playable without needing to know much Japanese?
I believe all of those games have zero Japanese in them already in the Japanese versions. That's probably why they're available on the US Switch shop.
Man, this was a fun one to watch! As an old-school Falcom fan myself, Xanadu has always been one of those games I've greatly admired and appreciated, but have NEVER been able to beat. I actually kind of love how absurdly player-hostile it is, though -- you rarely see any game, even from that era, quite as uncompromisingly cruel as this one. You covered just about everything that makes it such a cruel game, but one thing that I think is worth adding:
If you kill one of the "good" enemies, you gain 6 karma.
If you drink one bottle of poison, you lose... 5 karma.
They actively made the accidental murder of a "good" enemy cost ONE KARMA MORE than a single bottle of poison can cure, requiring you to find TWO bottles of poison and halve your HP TWICE in order to recover from it.
That's not just a slap in the face, it's a gut punch followed by a big SPIT in the face. And I honestly kind of love it. Like, I don't love it when it happens to me! But I love that Falcom was just like, you know what? Screw the players! We're going to make them suffer as much as humanly possible, and they're going to LIKE it! ;) That level of pure vindictiveness in game design is weirdly kind of admirable, in a world that usually coddles players nowadays -- where there are tutorials for everything, unlimited continues, etc. Xanadu wasn't about that life. Xanadu filled your pockets with iron weights, then tossed you into a lake, and didn't say "Sink or swim"... they just said, "Sink." ;)
Incidentally, I'm really grateful to own the MSX1 version of this game, not only because of the varied soundtrack (there are actually unique boss themes for every single boss, unnecessarily!), but also because of the NON-EYE-SEARING COLOR PALETTE. For the life of me, I will never understand why Falcom decided to make the primary screen color for both Dragon Slayer and Xanadu frigging BRIGHT TEAL in just about every release. I also don't know what possessed them to finally give the game a more reasonable (and atmospherically appropriate) color scheme for its MSX1 iteration, but I am SO grateful they did, because I think I'd go blind playing any of the other versions. Heheh.
Thanks for the praise. There was one other commenter who said they actually really like the bluish color palette. Me, I don't know.... it's certainly... unique. I can tolerate it.
The amount of karma you get depends on the enemy. Uinals give 5, but Sylphs give 25 if you kill just one! This is one of the only pages I found that lists the exact amount of karma each enemy gives.
psyzans.com/Testsite/XanaduMSX/XanaMSX_11.html
@@BasementBrothers Ah, I didn't realize that! I thought it was 6 across the board, for some reason. Wonder what I killed that made me conclude as such? ;) Or I wonder if perhaps they changed that for the MSX1 version? Because I swear it was an Uinal that gave me 6 when I played, but it's been a while now, so I can't say for sure.
Sadly, it seems the special names you can enter to trigger various easter eggs don't apply to either the MSX1 or MSX2 version of the game -- I tried a few of them on each last night, just out of curiosity. I wonder if either version has any of its own, though! Or if Falcom just decided they were being too "nice," so they'd just eliminate those cheats altogether. Heheheh.
The page I linked is for the MSX1 version, so I don't know. I think it is 3(?) karma for each time you save or load without enough money, so maybe you did that twice to get 6?
Yeah, the easter egg names aren't in every version of the game. I did read that somewhere.
@@BasementBrothers Ah, that was probably it. Apologies for the misinformation on my part! Glad to know the reality is better -- but also simultaneously worse -- than I remember it being. Heheh.
I thought the title of the game you were playing was called Faxanadu but i still watched because Xanadu still looks interesting.