Compilation of Falcom classics (Dragon Slayer, Xanadu, Romancia, Dragon Slayer II) with careful emulation. Exceptional historical value for fans of Japanese RPG history. Well-conceived museum interface.
Your verdict
Category
Compilation1 player12+
Description
Compilation bringing together three Falcom classics in their original versions. Published by Falcom, released in Japan in 1998. Dragon Slayer, Xanadu and Ys I are presented in their MSX and PC-88 editions, with period visuals enhanced, music remixed by the JDK Band and archive galleries. A tribute to the origins of the Japanese RPG by Falcom.
Falcom Classics review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
The first volume cares as much about the games as about their casing: restored period artwork, selection screens echoing the layout of the original boxes, galleries of scanned documents. The titles themselves keep their home computer graphics, with those limited palettes and square tiles that the museum-style presentation showcases instead of hiding.
The collection's strength lies in the re-recordings by Falcom's in-house band: the original synthesised themes are replayed with guitars, keyboards and drums in rock arrangements that keep the melody intact. Being able to switch between the period version and the live rereading gives the whole thing the value of a sound archive as much as a pleasure to hear.
Gathering these founding titles amounts to letting a genre's birth be read: dungeon quests whose rules still sit close to tabletop role-playing, threatened kingdoms described in a few lines of text, heroes without a past that the player is left to embody. The collection owns that narrative dryness and documents it instead of modernising it.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"Mild"
Addictiveness
"Captivating"
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Bringing three Falcom classics onto a single disc instantly doubles the material to explore, between vast dungeons, towns and turn-based battles. Seeing each adventure through and growing your heroes takes many hours. That generous compilation, rich in founding RPGs, offers a lifespan fans of bygone JRPGs appreciate.
A Saturn compilation by Falcom that restages its founding Dragon Slayer, Xanadu and Ys with reworked graphics, a Japan exclusive never ported elsewhere. Its interest rests on the studio's prestige, the care put into the remakes and a heavy reliance on the Falcom audience that kept circulation thin. Sought by Japanese RPG collectors who want these foundational classics handled on Sega's console.
Is Falcom Classics still worth playing in 2026?
Falcom Classics gathers on Saturn three pillars of Nihon Falcom's action RPG, including Dragon Slayer, Xanadu and Ys, offered in their original and sometimes updated versions. The compilation offers a precious dive into the foundations of the JRPG, with pioneering adventures of assertive retro charm. The language barrier and the age of the mechanics limit access. Kept exclusive to Japan, it will fascinate fans of Japanese RPG history and Falcom gems, eager to trace the genre's sources.
