Nihon Falcom’s newest game Kyoto Xanadu moves away from the pure 3D ARPG style of its predecessor, Tokyo Xanadu, by implementing a hybrid 2D/3D gameplay system. In a joint interview with Chinese media outlets, attended by 4gamers and AUTOMATON China, Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo revealed that the approach was conceived as an homage to the original Xanadu series. (Please note that this article is based on machine translation, so exact nuances should be taken with a grain of salt).
As Kondo explains, the early Xanadu titles from the 80s and 90s created a major sensation at the time for using a top-down perspective for exploration, while seamlessly switching to a 2D side-scrolling view during boss battles. Inspired by this, the development team, made up mostly of younger hires to fulfill Falcom’s ambitions of creating future successors, proposed to use a similar dual-perspective switch in the new game as well.
Initially, Kondo had some reservations, mainly concerning the outdated style, the high cost of developing 3D boss battles, and creating detailed maps. However, he changed his mind after seeing a prototype demo in which the team showed that removing the need for manual camera adjustments allowed players to put “100% of their focus into gauging the distance between the enemy and themselves, as well as on evasion maneuvers.” Furthermore, modern hardware allowed for physics and visual effects that were impossible on retro platforms.
According to Kondo, the development director of Kyoto Xanadu is a longtime Castlevania player, which is the reason why players might sense some Metroidvania influences playing through the 2D portion of the game. He also added that the development team deeply analyzed many modern 2D indie titles while working on the project, with the goal to explore how they could introduce something fresh to the genre instead of following existing conventions.
Kyoto Xanadu -the Blooming Phantom- released in Japan and Asia on July 16, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam. The specific release date for Western regions has not been yet determined.
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