The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Review

I emotion pixel art. I find that, adjacent decades later, the best-looking games of the ‘90s – Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – tin inactive beryllium breathtaking successful a mode older 3D games usually aren’t. That’s wherefore I instrumentality announcement whenever Square Enix uses its signature HD-2D creation style, and wherefore it’s truthful breathtaking to spot that aesthetic grow past its turn-based roots with The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, the archetypal action-adventure crippled to get this modern-retro treatment. Even though its titular leader whitethorn beryllium wearing reddish alternatively of green, it fundamentally asks the question, “What if Square made A Link to the Past?” The reply is an escapade I ne'er knew I wanted – 1 with a compelling story, awesome physique customization, and a satellite I anticipation we spot much of.

Elliot is an adventurer – a information helium makes definite everyone is alert of – who helps anyone that whitethorn beryllium successful occupation oregon has a occupation to solve. After a summons by the king, your seemingly regular quest turns into a ngo to prevention some the princess and the kingdom itself, traveling done clip to bash so. Elliot is is casual to basal for, charismatic without ever crossing implicit into cheesy. Traveling alongside our hero-in-red is Faie, a tiny and somewhat amnesiatic fairy who helps Elliot navigate and faces down foes with her magical abilities. She is simply a spot chatty (how chatty tin beryllium adjusted but ne'er turned disconnected completely) and occasionally falls into the “partner who gives you the puzzle reply excessively soon” trope, which is unfortunate, but is inactive a pleasant companion to have. Over the span of the 20-ish hours I spent with Elliot, Faie, and the remainder of the supporting cast, I grew to emotion this satellite and was invested successful the lives of these characters – adjacent if the astir emotionally impactful moments don’t get until rather late, sometimes not until the post-game portions.

One of the halfway components of The Adventures of Elliot is its clip travel, which tin beryllium a pugnacious happening to get close successful a game, and it ne'er rather lives up to its committedness here. You’ll leap from property to age, and portion that’s reflected successful immoderate ways arsenic definite locations oregon routes alteration depending connected the clip period, these differences are alternatively underwhelming. It’s neat to find the ruins of a erstwhile large gathering from the Age of Magic during the Age of Reconstruction, but task a abbreviated region extracurricular the metropolis walls, and you volition spot the aforesaid trees and shrubs careless of erstwhile you find yourself. Stranger inactive is the deficiency of immoderate benignant of improvement oregon improvement successful the settlements of the beastmen tribes you often visit. You’re telling maine that the wolfish Ulfur, adjacent successful a 1000 years, ne'er figured retired however to acceptable up a fewer much tents?

On the taxable of those pesky beastmen, the enemies of the assorted ages don’t change, either. Whether I was exploring acheronian caves successful the contiguous time oregon the past sands of the Age of Budding, I was swinging my sword astatine the aforesaid slugs, rat people, and weird flying things. You tin astatine slightest skirt astir them beauteous easy if you conscionable privation to get determination successful a hurry (with the objection of the occasional country that requires you to wide retired each the enemies earlier moving on), but the deficiency of assortment does mean that aft the archetypal fewer hours, you volition person seen a bulk of the foes you volition look connected your adventures. The champion Elliot offers successful presumption of age-exclusive enemies is simply a palette swap for the robotic automata units, with their once-shining chassis becoming caked with an aged patina successful the years that travel their invention during the Age of Magic.

This satellite is different beauteous illustration of the HD-2D creation style.“

But portion the clip question mightiness not change them much, the satellite itself and the designs of the characters and enemies wrong it inactive marque this different beauteous illustration of Square Enix’s HD-2D aesthetic successful action. There were occasional encounters wherever a monster would beryllium hidden down a partition oregon different portion of scenery, but that was lone a insignificant inconvenience and was brushed speech whenever I stumbled crossed the adjacent stunning landmark. The drooping indigo leaves of Grandree, the crown of the Mount Phoenix volcano, and the glistening structures of the expansive metropolis of Weyzn are conscionable a fewer specified places. Not to notation the originative brag sprites, specified arsenic the laser-shooting lava lizard Salathmadra, oregon my idiosyncratic favorite, a frog don that rides a turtle around. All of this and much shines connected Nintendo Switch 2 wherever I did my afloat playthrough, astir arsenic good it did during my tests connected the PC build, with lone flimsy slowdown and longer load times being the main noticeable differences with the former.

Crystal Combat

Much of what The Adventures of Elliot does feels precise familiar, but equipable Magicite buffs and the “crafting” strategy you tin usage to marque much of them is 1 of the astir absorbing twists it introduces. You would beryllium forgiven if you assumed Elliot to beryllium an RPG upon proceeding it was developed by Square Enix and Team Asano, but it really has precise small successful communal with the genre those teams are champion known for. Instead of gaining levels to go stronger, your maturation is tied much to Magicite that you slot into your weapons, granting antithetic modifiers and enhancements.

These crystals tin beryllium recovered successful chests oregon crafted astatine a peculiar store utilizing shards that are dropped by enemies. Coming successful progressively rarer and stronger tiers, each of the 7 imaginable weapons has a whopping 15 unsocial Magicite options that tin beryllium swapped successful oregon retired astatine immoderate time, adjacent during combat. Perhaps enemies are moving astir a spot excessively much, truthful you privation a stun effect that volition fto you onshore hits much easy – conscionable hop into the intermission menu, equip the Magicite that does that, and get close backmost into the fight. That flexibility is empowering.

There are besides immoderate awesome combinations of crystals that crook Elliot from an adventurer into a limb of wide destruction. For example, the bow’s Fire Shot Magicite volition springiness its arrows a accidental to airy a people connected fire, portion the Explosion Magicite causes, well… an detonation erstwhile you deed a burning target. It’s breathtaking to experimentation and find a almighty combo similar this, which tin melt a boss’ wellness barroom successful nary clip flat. Between being capable to person 2 weapons equipped astatine a clip (each assigned to a circumstantial button) and the quality to swap their Magicite quickly, arsenic good arsenic a assortment of adjuvant magical spells from Faie, I ever felt acceptable for immoderate brushwood awaited maine next.

Team Asano truly knocked it retired of the parkland erstwhile it comes to conscionable however seamless and casual each this swapping tin be, too. A convenient radial paper tin beryllium popped up astatine immoderate clip to swap weapons, and akin screens are utilized for your potion vials and Faie’s magic arsenic well. All 3 are accessible from the others with a elemental fastener press, and opening these menus freezes the enactment astir you. During tricky fights wherever I needed to program and prepare, oregon conscionable halt and analyse the situation, it each worked splendidly. At the aforesaid time, though, hot-swapping weapons and guzzling potions fundamentally became musculus representation by the extremity of the campaign, truthful I ne'er felt similar those menus slowed things down oregon took maine retired of the enactment unless I specifically wanted them to.

Some awesome crystal combos crook Elliot from adventurer to limb of wide destruction.“

Combat itself is simply a nostalgic travel to simpler days erstwhile each that was progressive was looking astatine an force and pressing a fastener to swing. It feels bully to conscionable locomotion up and spam my sword attacks to instrumentality retired enemies, but determination are inactive ways to punctuation “get good” for those who privation to truly excel. Elliot tin parry with his shield, leaving a foe dazed and unfastened for captious hits; you tin origin immoderate enemies to detonate and, successful the process, harm their allies; oregon you tin conscionable hurl immoderate pots astatine their heads for aged times' sake.

If you bash find yourself having occupation connected a brag oregon different annoying mob, The Adventures of Elliot is alternatively gracious with its revives, allowing you to wage to person Faie heal you backmost to full. The terms doubles each time, but resets erstwhile you sojourn definite checkpoints (unless you are playing connected the Very Hard difficulty). The champion portion is that this is wholly optional, alternatively giving you the enactment to simply respawn astatine the past prevention point. This revive proved to beryllium a invited enactment against immoderate of the bosses wherever I needed conscionable a spot much beingness to travel retired victorious. As agelong arsenic you person the money, you tin conscionable brute-force your mode done anything, but it ne'er feels similar you need to bash that.

However, Elliot rewards you for playing good and avoiding damage, too. Every force you onslaught down volition adhd to a concatenation count, and enemies driblet much goodies erstwhile they’re defeated if you scope a precocious capable number, making this a large mode to grind for resources – but the infinitesimal you instrumentality the slightest spot of damage, the combo breaks, and you person to commencement each over. I had precocious combos interruption much times than I attraction to admit owed to becoming overconfident and overlooking the dangers astir me.

For those conflict masters that privation to truly trial their mettle, Elliot offers a peculiar Temple of Trials. This pits you against not lone erstwhile bosses but besides progressively hard mobs of enemies. The rewards are worthy it, and it's a large spot to trial retired those limb combo ideas, but they are not for the faint of heart!

Watch Out for Pit Falls

Outside of combat, Elliot has a astonishing magnitude of platforming. Leaping crossed gaps, diving underwater, and figuring retired however to get up to immoderate adjacent plateau each play a acold bigger relation successful this escapade than I had anticipated. Dungeons thin to diagnostic astatine slightest a fewer sections that volition trial your dexterity, requiring you to maneuver astir pits oregon implicit lava. Thanks to however choky Elliot’s controls are, I mostly had a bully clip with these sections. There are immoderate useful accessories that tin assistance you retired too, specified arsenic 1 that lets you concisely hover oregon different that prevents you from taking harm if you driblet into those pesky holes. Since galore areas of the representation tin beryllium explored successful immoderate bid you want, you whitethorn adjacent brushwood places with abilities similar Faie’s Warp spell that fto you bypass parts altogether.

The varying terrain tallness besides allows for immoderate amusive experimentation during combat. When enemies were nearby, ledges stopped being elemental hills and alternatively became precocious grounds, ripe for the taking. My go-to strategy usually progressive chucking bombs down connected the enemies beneath oregon sending Faie retired to bushed connected them for a bit. Though mounting them connected occurrence oregon exploding adjacent weaponry slugs with her magic besides proved devilishly effective.

Traveling done clip is conscionable arsenic convenient arsenic traveling crossed the representation itself. Special guideposts are placed astir the satellite that, erstwhile activated manually the archetypal time, tin beryllium fast-traveled to from your representation surface astatine immoderate point. It doesn’t substance what property you oregon your desired determination are in, you tin get determination successful a flash. The maps are besides covered with assorted markers pointing towards treasure chests, shrines to upgrade some Faie and Elliot, collectible cats, and tons more. That’s rather adjuvant for concealed hunting, but it’s really so overmuch information that I privation I could filter the icons oregon adjacent crook them disconnected wholly for the times I simply privation to observe things connected my own.

The maps wrong dungeons person each of the aforesaid adjuvant features, with icons pointing retired each the chests oregon cats and guideposts positioned astatine some the beforehand entranceway and close earlier the boss. You won’t beryllium capable to teleport into a dungeon from the satellite map, oregon to the extracurricular from wrong one, but astir of the beefier dungeons person a convenient guidepost nearby. It was ever conscionable a abbreviated detour to heal up oregon restock astatine a colony if I recovered my resources lacking earlier a brag fight, which I appreciated a lot.

Link? No, I’m Elliot

Okay, it’s clip to code the moblin successful the room: The Adventures of Elliot shares a lot of DNA with A Link to the Past, and the Zelda bid successful general. It would frankly instrumentality longer to database retired each the things it has successful communal with that SNES classical than those it doesn’t. Calling this “The Legend of Elliot: A Link to the Pasts” truly wouldn’t beryllium excessively disconnected base. A lone swordsman connected a top-down quest to prevention a blonde-haired princess, wielding the likes of bows, bombs, boomerangs, and adjacent a dash you tin usage to bonk into things. You person your occurrence dungeon, h2o dungeon, and wood dungeon each checked disconnected the list, and you get a neat glowing magic sword, too. Being truthful reminiscent of 1 of the top video games of each clip is hardly a atrocious thing, and uncovering each the small nods and callbacks astir became a crippled of its ain for a large Zelda instrumentality similar myself. Elliot adjacent manages to propulsion disconnected a convincing “hyah!” erstwhile helium swings his sword that would marque Link proud.

I americium each for much Zelda-style games similar this, and Elliot does a large occupation of recreating that look portion besides introducing a fewer twists that assistance it basal out. But erstwhile you travel the wide blueprint truthful intimately similar this, it unavoidably puts you into nonstop examination with what came before, and Elliot’s prime doesn’t rather scope the aforesaid lofty heights arsenic its inspirations. The dungeons thin to thin connected the simpler, much straightforward side, and I ne'er recovered the “puzzles” to beryllium overmuch of a encephalon buster. (Though, besides successful emblematic Zelda fashion, Elliot’s equivalent to the Water Temple did diagnostic h2o level shenanigans that made maine grumble a bit.) I tin lone callback a fistful of times wherever trying to fig retired however to scope a circumstantial country connected the representation near maine scratching my head, and radical who grew up with oregon often played 2D Zeldas whitethorn not find overmuch of a situation present successful general, but I tin spot however The Adventures of Elliot could beryllium an on-ramp to the genre.

Of course, Elliot differentiates itself importantly by having aggregate endings to uncover, the champion of which necessitate a deeper dive into the assorted ages. There is simply a bully magnitude of worldly to bash and observe here; playing done connected Hard, which felt akin to a modular 2D Zelda level of trouble for me, it took conscionable nether 14 hours to get my archetypal ending, and I recovered the remainder of the endings wrong different 10. That was the cleanable size I wanted from a crippled similar this, and immoderate of those endings were truthful bully they whitethorn person had maine holding backmost tears.