Unlocking the Secrets of Xanadu: The Igavania's Forgotten Precursor

This blog entry is part of a series covering games that are featured on my website about the Platform Adventure (aka Metroidvania) subgenre's history. It's a site created mainly as a quick reference guide for those looking for the next game to play or relevant and detailed info on earlier games in the subgenre for their other projects.

The platform adventure subgenre, when seen as a retro revival movement, has had one of the biggest surges in popularity in recent years under its later and more specific name metroidvania, with games like Ori, Bloodstained and Hollow Knight managing to capture what made the classics great while also expanding on them in some ways. More unique games such as Yoku's Island Express (a pinball hybrid) and A Robot Named Fight! (a rogue-lite hybrid) have also seen decent commercial success, proving that the subgenre still has plenty of room for experimentation within its basic framework. The Japanese roots of this beloved subgenre can be traced back to an influential game released in 1985 called Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, itself boldly experimenting with blending different genres that were only a few years old at the time. This time, I'll delve into the historic significance of this trailblazing title and its impact on the birth of the platform adventure subgenre.

Developed by Nihon Falcom for the PC-88, Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu (Multi, 1985) was one of the most successful Japanese PC games of the 1980s and broke new ground in the realm of platform adventure games. This groundbreaking title embraced a unique blend of action, role-playing and dungeon exploration. It presented players with a mostly interconnected and sometimes non-linear world to explore, filled with secrets, creative spells and giant creatures lurking in towers (mini-dungeons) within the large, interconnected main dungeon.

In the game, players assumed the role of a nameless adventurer who ventured into the mystical land of Xanadu, an interconnected world containing a large and dangerous dungeon, used as a base of operations by the evil dragon Galsis. The adventurer's goal was to find four crowns which unlocked entry to the tower within the tenth and final floor of the dungeon, gain the Dragon Slayer sword on that floor and save the kingdom by slaying the dragon.

Xanadu significantly differs from previous games as well as its prequel in several ways: First off it's an ARPG with two kinds of leveling systems: Experience points gained from defeating enemies are used to level up the player character and players are given control over the stat distribution. Stats include the usual stuff one would expect from an ARPG but also charisma which affects shop prices, wisdom which affects the effectiveness of items, and dexterity which here only affects how quickly one can open chests. For spells and weapons, an action-based growth system (see FF2 or Daggerfall for example) is instead used.

Secondly, tying into the RPG mechanics it also introduces a town located above the dungeon, where previously Journey to the Centre of the Earth had an empty surface area, and Below the Root had more of an organic integration of two towns and its overworld, which also made up the vast majority of its game world. Xanadu starts players off in this town, where the first goal is to talk to the king to receive the main quest and some gold, much like in other RPGs of the time. The town is also where one goes back to level up the hero after gaining enough experience points. Make no mistake though, NPC interaction in this game is extremely limited and the focus is almost entirely on the dungeon crawling and stat growth.

Thirdly, it's the first case in the subgenre of a developer experimenting with different game engines and viewpoints within the same game - the main gameplay mode consists of side view exploration with some unusual platforming, while monster encounters (which are also avoidable) as well as the aforementioned towers switch the game to a flip screen top down view mode where players can't jump, but then the game also switches back to side view for the boss fights. This aspect alone was quite influential on Japanese developers of the time, with various games such as Zelda II, Golvellius, Wibarm, Esper Dream 2 and Tales of Phantasia doing some variation of it.

Finally, there is a karma system in place which is rather odd and unforgiving in its execution. Doing something bad actually raises ones karma, and if one raises it too much, one can't level up at the temple in town and also can't get to the Dragon Slayer sword. Bad things include saving without having the money for it (while there is actually an auto-save happening at certain points such as when entering a tower, it's not enough for most players), or killing a "good" enemy. See, every enemy in Xanadu is arbitrarily classified as either good or bad, even though both attack the player unprovoked, and killing the "good" ones will raise the player's karma. To lower karma, one can't just kill "bad" enemies either - one instead needs to drink poisonous black potions which reduce a good chunk of the hero's HP, potions which also cannot be bought.

If the weird karma system wasn't enough, there's also a hunger system, the fact that weapons level up individually, grinding to be able to beat the bosses and to enter the next floor, important and hidden stuff without much in the way of clues (such as the item shop located at the beginning of the dungeon requiring solving a looping segment puzzle), AND resource management due to a finite number of enemies! All of these added up make the game rather unwelcoming to modern players. However, there are later versions that lower the difficulty a bit, such as the MSX one, and that version is also in english (sadly the later Saturn remake is not). There are also consumable teleportation items moving the player either up or down one dungeon floor, as well as some "same floor" teleporters, cutting down on backtracking. Furthermore, an elixir lets you revive where you died (like the fairies in later Zelda games) and there are a few enemy types that can drop these.

Xanadu's ability gating aspect comes in the form of tools and consumable items which can be replenished, and there is decent variety and creativity here: A mattock lets players break brick blocks diagonally below or straight below you, feeling a bit like the main mechanic in Solomon's Key from the next year. A mantle consumable allows players to pass through most walls for a short time. Finally, the winged boots consumable (later seen again in the more well known Faxanadu) allows for time limited flight. This flight ends up being an alternate way of getting out of traps as well as into one of the towers. As an aside, an hourglass consumable stuns enemies and even lets the player stand on them, though the latter is never needed to progress as one can actually stand on them briefly by default without triggering an encounter. Perhaps this inspired the ice beam from Metroid?

I feel the platforming of the game could use a bit of explaining too, considering how it's both pretty odd, and allows for unexpected maneuverability that can even lead to some sequence breaking. Movement in the game is tile-based, and normally, the hero can only jump 1 tile's length, which is almost useless. However, jumping three times and on the third one holding the button down actually allows for a 2x long jump, and pressing diagonally this can either be used to cross single tile gaps, or to jump up and on top of a block platform right above the player avatar. While falling, one can also nudge the player avatar to the left or right to enter paths this way, and while on the ground one can move diagonally downwards into a single tile space even if there are walls to all sides of it. Getting into another less intuitive aspect, it's also possible to escape the separate enemy encounters and have the direction used actually put you on that side of the enemy, which can sometimes be used to access otherwise inaccessible parts of the game. Which parts is something I won't spoil here.

In conclusion, Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu holds a prominent place in the history of video games, specifically within the two subgenres mentioned here. The release of the game paved the way for future platform adventure games that combined elements of platforming, action and RPG, although the action part is very basic by today's standards. Its impact on the gaming landscape of Japan was significant, as it inspired many subsequent titles that would further define the genre. Also, due to how convoluted some of its gameplay was it led to what can be called guide culture, where guides would be sold to make the games beatable in a reasonable amount of time and creating more buzz around them at the same time, something that would soon pop up in the west as well through popular gaming magazines like Nintendo Power. As we continue to enjoy the immersive worlds of modern platform adventure games, let us pay homage to this influential pioneer that helped set the stage for the "Igavania" part of metroidvania.

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The following year, an expansion pack called Xanadu Scenario II: Resurrection of the Dragon was released, one of the first in gaming. While I haven't played it, it's apparently very non-linear in structure meaning you can explore any of its 11 dungeon floors from the get go, however you'll get crushed if you start with the later ones. It also introduced a weight mechanic, effectively limiting the amount of items you can carry, so it might be even more frustrating to play.

Some games that may have influenced Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu (besides its prequel):

-Early Ultima and Wizardry series: Xanadu and these series share the role-playing mechanics and fantasy theme from D&D, which the latter two popularized in a digital form focusing on the dungeon crawling aspect. However, Xanadu introduced several unique or different elements such as its side view perspective, real-time combat, distinctive platforming mechanics and various items, which set it apart from these games. Fun fact: A lot of the shopkeeper graphics in the original Xanadu releases were actually traced from the manual for Ultima III.

-Pitfall II: Pitfall II and Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu both embraced the concept of exploration within an interconnected world. But while Pitfall II was a maze platformer, Xanadu introduced RPG mechanics, tool gating and a more complex world to explore.

Some games that may have been influenced by it:

-Legacy of the Wizard/Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family (1987): Both games feature interconnected worlds, a surface area above and vendors within the dungeon, some non-linear exploration, and platforming puzzles. The diagonal aspect to movement in Xanadu was also revisited in Legacy of the Wizard. However, Legacy of the Wizard ditched most of the RPG elements from Xanadu and instead added multiple playable characters with different abilities, while focusing on the puzzles. It actually feels more like a Lolo or Solomon's Key game placed in a platform adventure world at times. Finally, it kept the gameplay side view throughout.

-Romancia/Dragon Slayer Jr. (1986): Romancia, also developed by Nihon Falcom, can be considered a spiritual successor to Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu. It continued the tradition of blending action, platforming, and RPG elements, while introducing a harsh time limit to the main quest, and a more fleshed out narrative. It too kept the gameplay side view throughout.

-Faxanadu (1987): Actually developed by Hudson Soft, this game expanded upon some of Xanadu's concepts while streamlining others for an overall more accessible experience. Both games feature interconnected worlds, platforming and RPG mechanics, and using consumables for their ability/tool gating. Faxanadu further developed its world building with multiple towns and a variety of NPCs, and it incorporated a greater emphasis on side view platforming action while also keeping the gameplay side view throughout.

-Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987): Xanadu and Zelda II share some similarities in that both games explored using multiple perspectives and avoidable enemy encounters in an ARPG, and both allowed for manual stat allocation after leveling up. However while Xanadu features a mostly interconnected world, Zelda II features a large, top down view overworld containing a variety of side view dungeons and towns. Furthermore, its combat is more advanced, featuring high and low attacks, blocking, and up- and downstab moves (which it probably got from Dragon Buster from 1985). It also let players gain several permanent abilities with which to progress, such as a high jump spell and a fairy transformation spell.

-Castlevania II (1987) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997): These entries in the Castlevania series probably drew inspiration from Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu's (and perhaps some of its sequels') gameplay structure, emphasizing exploration and character progression. Symphony of the Night, now seen as the first Igavania, seems to have borrowed the Spectacles item idea in particular. This item lets you read an enemy’s stats and inventory in Xanadu, whereas in Symphony, the Faerie Scroll shows an enemy's name instead. Castlevania II unfortunately took the obscure puzzles and expanded on that aspect, making it more of a guide game as well. It is also structured more like a Zelda game, with most of its game world consisting of an overworld.

-Zeliard (1987) - This ARPG by Game Arts follows the structure of Xanadu quite closely, starting you off in a small town, making you return to town to level up and even copying the transitional scenes when moving between sub areas as well as one of the boss designs. As for differences, it does streamline the leveling and make the dungeon to dungeon progression linear (unless you sequence break which is possible at a couple of points). While there are some permanent upgrades such as high jump boots added, there is also less ability gating than in Xanadu. Furthermore, the combat is a bit more advanced (like Zelda II it features up- and downstab moves), it adds multiple towns, stays side view throughout, and removes some frustrating elements like the finite enemies.

For a brief overview of the game's features, see its page on my Platform Adventure history website.