Mothergamer Plays Tokyo Xanadu Ex+

 I had never played the first Tokyo Xanadu so I picked up Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ which is an enhanced version of the game. I looked up what was different from the original and they are: New difficulty, new items, two new playable characters, new content in the main story, and a new after story chapter with a challenging boss. The game is set in an alternate reality where a huge earthquake hit Tokyo in 2005 that took ten years to recover from. So when we start the story it is 2015 and we are introduced to the main character, Kou Tokisaka who lives in Morimiya on the outskirts of Tokyo. Kou lives alone and has a lot of part time jobs. One night after work, Kou sees his classmate Asuka being harassed by a group of boys and tries to intervene. This does not go well for him because he is sucked into a vortex that brings him to a nightmare realm known as Eclipse. Kou runs into Asuka there and they have to fight a monster known as a Greed. Asuka explains that she is a member of a group called Nemesis that is trying to close the Eclipse vortexes permanently. 

Kou and Asuka fight a Greed.

This gives a good introduction into how the battle system works. The tutorial is fairly straightforward explaining that different Greeds have elemental weaknesses and the weapon that each party member has a set element. Characters are able to summon their weapons in the Eclipse from their mobile phone called a Xiphone. Kou's weapon is a combination of sword and whip with the fire element while Asuka's weapon is a rapier and her element is ice. Combat is a lot of fun and you can have three members in your party which means you can switch between the character according to the element you need to fight the different Greeds. The user menu is easy to navigate so you can set up abilities as well as use items for healing or enhancing attacks. 

Explanation of elemental weaknesses.

When not exploring Eclipse dungeons, Kou is a regular high school student and this is where a bit of a Persona element kicks in. The story is set into episodic chapters. Each chapter begins with an introduction with the main story goal that Kou and his friends are supposed to do. Then Kou has free time which allows him to wander the city, talk with people, spend time with his friends to increase his affinity with them, do some side quests, or work at one of his many part time jobs. The game makes it easy to travel just by opening the map and picking the location where you want to go. There is a lot of back and forth in some of the quests and story, but having the fast travel option makes things easier. 

Click on the map and fast travel. 

Each dungeon is fairly linear and has a set elemental theme so it's a good idea to plan your party of three really well for this. One character is active, but you can switch between characters with the press of a button and this is a big part of the strategy in combat so that you can win each battle until the Eclipse dungeon is complete. The game is not too punishing with the battles and gives you the time to adapt and switch things up. The action in the game is a lot of fun and the game allows you to experiment a bit with different tactics for the boss battles. 

Kou explores a dark element Eclipse dungeon. 

The music for the game is great and matches each area very well. The story itself is good and I found myself wanting to keep playing to see what happened next. There are also mini games such as a cooking mini game, an arcade mini game, and a skateboarding mini game. These were a lot of fun and rewarded you with items and accessories for your party members. Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ has a lot of charm because of the story and the characters themselves. It's very easy to dive in and enjoy the game because of the solid gameplay, story, and overall atmosphere. 

A good game overall. 

*Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ is available to play on the following platforms: Playstation 4, PC

*Join our community on twitch as we play games and talk about mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer 

Spiritfarer A Beautiful Journey

 I was intrigued by the concept of Spiritfarer when it was described as a cozy time management game about death. The story introduces Stella with her cat Daffodil who is taking over the job of Spiritfarer from Charon. This means Stella is the new ferrymaster and her job is find spirits and fulfill their last wishes before taking them to the Everdoor, a gate to the afterlife. 

Stella and Daffodil meet Charon. 

Spiritfarer is clearly inspired by the mythology surrounding Charon and the river Styx. Charon's explanation is that he's retiring and it will be up to Stella and Daffodil to sail the sea exploring each island looking for spirits and helping them on their journey to the Everdoor. This begins Stella's journey as a Spiritfarer. One of the first spirits she meets is Gwen who acts as a guide for the tutorial of how to do things on her ship such as building things like a guest room, crafting materials for the ship, or cooking food for spirits. I love Gwen. She is one of my favorite characters in the game because of her fierce sass and quick wit as well as her genuine love and respect for Stella. Gwen's epic take down of a merchant raccoon named Theodore who is clearly trying to rip off Stella is hilarious and the small nod to Tom Nook in Animal Crossing makes it even funnier.

Gwen shows the raccoon who's boss. 

Each spirit that Stella meets has their own unique personality and story about who they were and who they are. They also teach Stella different things like growing crops in a garden and playing beautiful music to make the plants grow faster. Each spirit will also give Stella hints on what kind of food they like and you can click on the character to check their stats. This shows you if a spirit is hungry, their current mood, and what their favorite foods are. I loved the cooking in the game. It was nice creating different recipes, giving the spirits their favorite dish, and seeing how happy it made them. 

Of course as Stella picked up more spirits on each island, they began requesting things such as their own room and workshops. This is where upgrading the ship and building come in. This introduces a shark that loves silly puns and the ship building yard. There are certain materials that need to be crafted, ores to be mined, and certain items to be found in order to get these upgrades. You will also need glims which is Spiritfarer's currency to upgrade the ship. 

Purchasing upgrades for the ship. 

I enjoyed exploring the islands and the areas on the sea. The world of Spiritfarer is beautiful and charming. Each island has its own style and a variety of things that make it stand out. One island had sheep that Stella can put on her ship and she can shear the sheep in order to make wool thread. There are of course ingredients on some of the islands too such as strawberries which Stella can use for cooking. There is fishing that can be done too and I liked having Stella sit down on her ship and catch fish after fish while traveling all over the sea. 

Stella enjoys some fishing. 

There are mini games in Spiritfarer as well that are so much fun. These mini games give Stella materials needed for the crafting in the game. Stella has various abilities that help make it easier to accomplish. Standing outside a storm to catch lightning in a bottle or running around in a meteor shower to get comet rocks add to the whimsical beauty of this game. 

Running around in a meteor shower. 

As the ship gets bigger and as more buildings are added, you can move everything around with the build command. It plays like a game of Tetris moving each building around and stacking them on top of each other. It adds to the happiness of the spirits as well depending on where you put the buildings as well as adding the crafting rooms they ask for such as a lumber mill or a loom. 

Moving buildings around on the ship. 

Exploring the world of Spiritfarer is wonderful because of how detailed each area is with the artwork. The music in Spiritfarer is pretty and fitting for the various places Stella visits. The map is detailed and you can fast travel via a bus stop managed by a cute magical seal named Alex. I preferred sailing because you can find a lot of interesting things and new locations that way, but the fast travel option was convenient when I wanted to get where I was going quickly. 

Checking the map. 

With all of these wonderful things in the game, it's easy to forget that Spiritfarer is about death. We are reminded of it with each conversation that Stella has with the spirits on her ship. Stella doesn't talk so the spirits talk to her constantly and we get to hear their perspective about decisions they made in their lives as well as their hopes and fears. Each spirit is connected to Stella in some way and I appreciated the thoughtfulness that was put into the story of each one. There was one spirit character that reminded me so much of my grandmother it brought a smile to my face remembering her. 

Spiritfarer does such an amazing job of talking about death in a gentle manner showing that while it's understandable to be scared, that it doesn't have to be scary. For one spirit it's about accepting that their life may not have been perfect, but they did everything they wanted to do or for another finding love and peace after a difficult time. Stella is their guide through all of it, being a kind and caring presence during their time with her. I cried many times during Spiritfarer because I genuinely appreciated the beautiful journey that was shown in the story and getting to know the characters. While it is never easy to say goodbye, the lesson that people live on in our hearts and memories is a good one for each of us to learn. I appreciate the love, thought, and mindfulness that went into this game and it was clearly a labor of love for everyone at Thunder Lotus games. Spiritfarer is a true gem of a game. 

Stella says goodbye. 

*Spiritfarer is available to play on all platforms: Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo   Switch

*Come join our community on twitch as we enjoy games and talk about mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer