Average Playtime: 3 hours

Xanadu Next

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About

Whenever mist hangs over the waters of Lake Orwell on Harlech Island, sailors catch sight of a phantom castle just out of reach. As they draw near, it fades into the fog like a mirage, leaving only questions for all who have borne witness to this “Castle Strangerock.”

An up-and-coming scholar named Charlotte L. Wells has had her interest piqued by this local legend and desperately wishes to study it in person—but of course, Harlech Island is no place for an unescorted young lady. To aid her in her investigation, therefore, she enlists the help of an old childhood friend and fallen knight who agrees to accompany her on this adventure.

Arriving in Harlech and catching sight of Castle Strangerock almost immediately, Char dives into researching the mystery head-on, leaving her companion to explore the surrounding environs on his own in search of any artifacts that might help trace the origins of this ephemeral stronghold.

Sadly, this almost immediately leads to his death at the hands of a mysterious swordsman seemingly displaced in time...but death is to be only the beginning of his adventure.

Xanadu Next is an exploration-centric action RPG from Nihon Falcom, the acclaimed creators of the Ys and The Legend of Heroes RPG franchises. A late entry in their immensely popular Dragon Slayer series and a spiritual follow-up to the late ‘80s cult classic Faxanadu, Xanadu Next puts players in the shoes of a gravely injured knight given a new lease on life through ancient magic who must now seek a legendary sword called “Dragon Slayer” to ensure his survival.

Players will fight hordes of monsters in real time while exploring the lush, mysterious and perilous environments of Harlech Island, along with the ruins of an ancient paradise known as Xanadu that was partially inspired by tales of the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan. Along the way, players will uncover bits and pieces of Xanadu’s past in the form of ancient stone tablets and memorandums, piecing together a complex tale of magic, war, an ancient dragon, and a mysterious figure known only as the “Black Bride.”Features
An Interconnected World Full of Secrets
  • Icy peaks connect with fiery caverns, old waterways, mystical forests and magical ruins, creating one single giant map to explore with countless secret passageways, alternate routes, shortcuts, hidden items, deadly bosses and new techniques to uncover.

Real-Time Combat with Dozens of Unique Abilities
  • Fight ruthless enemies in real time, using a wide variety of skills to aid you. As in Ys SEVEN, skills are attached to weapons and can be learned through repeated use of those weapons, adding an element of excitement and promise to every new armament found.

Exploration Rewarded with Rich Backstory
  • Stone tablets and old letters are scattered throughout the ruins on Harlech Island, each written in an ancient tongue. Fortunately, your companion is an accomplished scholar who can translate them for you in real time, providing valuable insight into important events and mythologies from the age of Xanadu.

Unique Gameplay Systems that Keep the Experience Fresh
  • Players can choose to level-down in order to tweak their stats, fuse themselves with “Guardians” to gain new passive abilities, learn spells, and even carve keys from monster bones to lessen demand for pre-made keys and keep their prices low.

Atmospheric Visuals and Music in Classic Falcom Tradition
  • Inspired by hardcore dungeon RPGs of the '80s and created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Xanadu, one of Japan's action RPG forefathers, Xanadu Next mimics the gritty, medieval look of its ancestor, but in full 3D and with ample amounts of subtle detailing, as well as a foreboding and wholly unique soundtrack composed by Falcom's venerable Sound Team jdk.

System requirements for PC

Minimum:
  • OS: Windows XP
  • Processor: Pentium III 866 MHz
  • Memory: 1 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 32 MB VRAM, 3D accelerator compatible w/ DirectX 9.0c
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 2 GB available space
  • Sound Card: Compatible with DirectX 9.0c
Recommended:
  • OS: Windows Vista or later (64-bit supported)
  • Processor: Core 2 Duo 2GHz or higher
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 64 MB VRAM, 3D accelerator compatible w/ DirectX 9.0c
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 2 GB available space
  • Sound Card: Compatible with DirectX 9.0c
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Last Modified: Aug 28, 2019

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Cartographer
Mapped 100% of the game.
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Guardians' Crusader
Found and maxed out all Guardians.
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Expertly Trained
Innately learned all skills and acquired all levels of all spells.
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Lore Lord
Found and translated all tabulae and memoirs.
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Out of Breath
Barely made it back to shore after almost drowning.
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[Guest Streamer] Kaurtube Plays Xanadu Next!
Xanadu Next [PC] - #1
Xanadu Next Any% PB/WR (5/21/2018) 1:43:18.xx
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Xanadu Next reviews and comments

Translated by
Microsoft from French
Finished at 8:30. I accidentally stumbled upon it. I never look at the news on steam, there's just too much but there passing for once for months, PAF, a game Falcom/XSEED: o. Moderate surprise because it's not a YS but I got a little inquired about it and it still looked nice. Enough for me to crack a few days after it's out. We stay in the A-RPG, but with his own mechanics that different well from YS. For example for fights, you will often want to attack sideways/in the back while waiting for the mob to attack before otherwise it will turn as fast as you. All your skills will come from weapons, skill books and accessories. Each weapon will give you a special skill. You will have this skill as long as you have the corresponding weapon, but you can also learn it definitively by force to use the-so-called weapon (reaching 100% in proficiency). The stat proficiency that there is on each weapon can rise to 200%, but from 100% the only interest is to increase the attack power of the weapon. There are also guards (12), to be seen as big passive. You can equip only one at a time, and there's everything: up HP, XP gain, proficiency, drop rate, potions effectiveness, etc. At any time you will not be able to have more than 4 skills in your bar, and 4 accessories. By progressing you will have via some accessories new capabilities that will open you access to the sequel of the adventure and to various bonus chests, much like in a notes if one wants, but light all the same. You can switch them anytime. On the other hand when you play the joystick (I found it more comfortable), it's pretty painful as it is because the position of the mouse is reset every time you move to the center of the screen, do not move the shot. I do not know if it will be changed, there are some minor bugs that need to be corrected ATM. At first I was not convinced by the game, but it became more interesting progressively. After I still have to go visit the Dungeon "bonus", I think I missed the entry in a previous area of the game but you can go back when you want (there are several TP a little everywhere). The last area of the game is just immense and it is she who should have had "Labyrinth" in the name, not the previous. The bosses are not very numerous nor at the height of the YS unfortunately, just as the difficulty is not at the level of YS but it still remains good and it is clearly not impossible to die. As much with some armor we take nothing more with physical damage as the magic continues to sting. After some mobs will always be there to get you screwed no matter what you wear. Small special mention to the liches, I got robbed a level like this, it's free. Apparently it is if you are too close that they can do this, first time I see such a mechanics in a game. There are some puzzles scattered in the game too, either to progress in the main adventure or for various treasures. As many are of the level of a Zelda, as many others are a less obvious hair. In short, overall it was cool. As said I will go and see a little Dungeon bonus 26 storeys. I will also try to catch the few skills I miss (3 or 4 seems to me from the holes in the interface), climb to the Max rank the guardians who are not yet, maybe look for the 8% of treasures not found (at the ending screen it indicated to me 92% found ) and then voilou. No 100%, already because the successes are bugged for a good part ATM, but also because one of them asks to have the maximum rank by finishing the game, and it seems rather infamous to catch in fact. One is noted on the time put (13h31 IGT, I had D), the level reached (C, LVL 18), the skills obtained (B, 38), the treasures found (C, 92%), the potions used (D), the damage suffered (D), the dead (D) and the number of backups (D). Original message on CPC [forum.canardpc.com].
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I really, really enjoyed this start to finish. Incredibly satisfying last castle and boss. it's hard to mark as Exceptional because it's "just another Falcom game," but it's also another great Falcom game. If you dig the formula, you'll dig this.
«Can’t stop playing»
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