---
title: 'The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Video Review'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=2ITCqA1b0f0'
video_id: '2ITCqA1b0f0'
date: 2026-06-18
duration_sec: 698
---

# The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Video Review

> Source: [The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Video Review](https://youtube.com/watch?v=2ITCqA1b0f0)

## Summary

The video reviews *The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales*, a new action-adventure game from Square Enix that uses the HD-2D art style. The reviewer praises its nostalgic feel, customization system, and world, while noting flaws in time travel execution and enemy variety.

### Key Points

- **HD-2D in Action-Adventure** [0:14] — The game is the first action-adventure to use Square Enix's HD-2D art style, previously seen in turn-based RPGs.
- **Story and Characters** [1:02] — The story involves Elliot saving a princess and kingdom through time travel, with a charismatic hero and a fairy companion named Fay.
- **Time Travel Flaws** [2:18] — Time travel is underutilized; environments and enemies barely change across ages, leading to repetition.
- **Customizable Magic System** [3:50] — The magic system uses equippable 'magistites' that can be swapped anytime, offering 15 options per weapon and powerful combos.
- **Combat Mechanics** [4:55] — Combat is simple but satisfying, with a combo system that rewards avoiding damage and a safety net for revives.
- **Platforming and Exploration** [6:18] — Platforming is a significant element, with tight controls and accessories that aid exploration.
- **Zelda Comparisons** [8:33] — The game heavily resembles A Link to the Past, sharing items, dungeons, and structure, but is simpler and less challenging.
- **Multiple Endings** [10:01] — Multiple endings add replay value; the reviewer took 14 hours for the first ending and 10 more for the rest.

## Transcript

I love pixel art. I find that even
decades later, the best looking games of
the '9s, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy
6, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the
Past, can still be breathtaking in a way
older 3D games usually aren't. That's
why I take notice whenever Square Annex
uses its signature HD 2D art style, and
why it's so exciting to see that
aesthetic expand past its turn-based
roots with The Adventures of Elliot: The
Millennium Tales, the first action
adventure game to get this modern retro
treatment. Even though its titular hero
may be wearing red instead of green, it
essentially asks the question, "What if
Square made a Link to the Past?" The
answer is an adventure I never knew I
wanted. One with a compelling story,
impressive build customization, and a
world I hope we see more of.
This light, I can tell it has all sorts
of wisdom. And
>> I think I got stronger.
>> Elliot is an adventurer who helps anyone
with a problem to solve.
>> More than equipped to deal with beast
tribes.
>> After a summon by the king, your
seemingly routine quest turns into a
mission to save both the princess and
the kingdom itself.
>> Please, Kyifid, stop this madness.
You've taken this too far.
>> Traveling through time to do so.
>> Uh-oh. Better hurry or else it'll be too
late.
>> Elliot is easy to root for. Charismatic
without ever crossing into cheesy.
>> Things have changed quite drastically
from before I entered the door.
Traveling aside our hero in Red is a
slightly amnesiatic fairy named Fay.
>> You're very welcome. She occasionally
falls into the partner who gives you the
puzzle answer too soon trope, which is
unfortunate.
>> Make those flowers bloom,
>> but her chattiness can be adjusted if
not turned off. And she still has a
pleasant companion to have.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> Over the span of the 20-ish hours I
spent with Elliot, Fay, and the rest of
the supporting cast, I grew to love this
world and was invested in the lives of
these characters.
>> I am Elliot, an adventurer. Time travel
can be a tough thing to get right in a
game, and it never quite lives up to its
promise here. You'll jump from age to
age, but the differences between them
are rather underwhelming. It's neat to
find ruins of a once great building in a
later age, but venture outside the city
walls, and you'll see the same trees and
shrubs regardless of where you find
yourself. Stranger still is the lack of
any development in the settlements of
the Beastmen tribes you frequently
visit. You're telling me no one ever set
up a few more tents across the hundreds
of years?
>> Enemies don't change much either.
Whether I was exploring dark caves in
the present day or the ancient sands of
the age of budding, I was swinging my
sword at the same slugs, rat people, and
weird flying things. Which means you'll
have seen a majority of your foes after
the first few hours.
>> You have them on the run. Elliot, don't
stop now. But while the time travel
might not alter them much, The
Adventures of Elliot is still another
beautiful example of Square Enix's HD2D
aesthetic and action. The drooping
indigo leaves of Grand Tree, the crown
of Mount Phoenix volcano, and the
glistening structures of the Grand City
of Weisen are just a few of the stunning
landmarks. Not to mention the creative
boss sprites such as the laser shooting
lava lizard, Salith Mandra,
or my personal favorite, a frog don that
rides a turtle around.
Much of this adventure feels very
familiar, but equippable magic to buff
your weapons is one of the most
interesting twists. This isn't an RPG
where your growth is tied to stats that
you gain as you level up. Instead, much
of your power comes from these crystals
that can either be found in chests or
crafted at a special shop using shards
that are dropped by enemies. Each of the
seven weapons has a whopping 15 unique
magic options that can be conveniently
swapped in or out at any time, even
during combat. Perhaps enemies are
moving around a bit too much, so you
want a stun effect that will let you
land hits more easily. Just hop into the
menu, equip a magistite that does that,
and get right back into the fight. That
flexibility is empowering. There are
also some awesome combinations of magic
that turn Elliot from an adventurer into
a weapon of mass destruction. For
example, the bow's fire magic will give
its arrows a chance to light a target on
fire, while the explosion magic causes
them to, well, explode when they hit a
burning target. It's exciting to
experiment and find a powerful combo
like this, which can melt a boss's
health bar in no time flat.
Combat itself is a nostalgic trip to
simpler days when all that was involved
was looking at an enemy and pressing a
button to swing. It feels good to just
walk up and spam my sword attacks to
take out enemies. But there are still
ways to quote get good for those that
want to really excel. Elliot can parry
with his shield, leaving a foe dazed and
open for critical hits.
You can cause some enemies to explode
and in the process damage their allies,
or you can just hurl some pots at their
heads for old times sake.
>> Come here.
>> The Adventures of Elliot is rather
gracious with its revives as well,
allowing you to pay to have Fay heal you
back to full health. The price doubles
each time, but resets when you visit
certain checkpoints.
>> You can't let it end here, Elliot. And
this optional safety net proved to be a
welcome option against some of the
bosses where I needed just a little bit
more life to come out victorious.
However, Elliot rewards you for playing
well and avoiding damage, too. Every
enemy you strike down will add to a
chain count, and enemies drop more
goodies if you reach a high enough
number, making this a great way to grind
for resources. But the moment you take
the slightest bit of damage, the combo
breaks, and you have to start all over
again. meaning you should never get too
overconfident.
Outside of combat, The Adventures of
Elliot has a surprising amount of
platforming. Leaping across gaps, diving
underwater, and figuring out how to get
up to some nearby plateaus all play a
far bigger role than I had anticipated.
Dungeons tend to feature at least a few
sections that will test your dexterity,
requiring you to maneuver around pits or
over lava. Thanks to how tight the
controls are, I generally had a good
time with these sections.
>> So, this thing moves for us. I could get
used to this.
>> There are some handy accessories that
can help you out, too. Such as the one
that lets you briefly hover, or another
that prevents you from taking damage if
you drop into those pesky holes. Now,
what might be in here?
Since many areas of the map can be
explored in whatever order you want, you
may even encounter places with abilities
like phase warp spell
>> that let you bypass parts altogether.
The varying terrain height also allows
for some fun experimentation during
combat. When enemies were nearby, ledges
stopped being simple hills and instead
became high grounds right for the
taking.
My go-to strategy usually involved
chucking bombs down on the enemies below
or sending Fay out to beat them up for a
bit. Though setting them on fire or
exploding nearby bomb slugs with her
magic also proved devilishly effective.
>> I think we better stay away from this
mer.
>> Traveling through time is just as
convenient as traveling across the map
itself. Special guideposts can be
fasttraveled to from your map screen at
any point once they're activated. It
doesn't matter what age you are in or
where your desired locations at, you can
get there in a flash. The maps are also
covered with various markers pointing
towards treasure chests, shrines to
upgrade both Fay and Elliot, collectible
cats, and a lot more. That's quite
helpful for secret hunting, but it's
actually so much information that I wish
I could filter out the icons out a bit
or even turn them off completely for the
times I simply wanted to discover things
on my own.
The door is moving. Will this truly
transport me through time?
>> Okay, let's address the Moblin in the
room. The Adventures of Elliot shares a
lot of DNA with A Link to the Past in
the Zelda series in general. A lone
swordsman on a top-own quest to save a
blond-haired princess, wielding the
likes of bows, bombs, boomerangs,
and even a dash that you can bong into
things with. You have a fire dungeon, a
water dungeon, and a forest dungeon. All
checked off the list, too. And you get a
neat glowing sword.
>> Frankly, it would take longer to list
out all the things it has in common than
those it doesn't. Being so reminiscent
of one of the greatest video games of
all time, and it's hardly a bad thing.
And finding all the little nods and
callbacks almost became a game of its
own for Zelda fans like myself. Elliot
does a great job of recreating that
formula while also introducing a few
twists that help it stand out. But when
you follow the overall blueprint so
closely like this, it unavoidably puts
you into direct comparison with what
came before. And Elliot's quality
doesn't quite reach up to the same lofty
heights. The dungeons tend to lean on
the simpler, more straightforward side.
And I never found the puzzles to be much
of a brain buster. I can only recall a
handful of times where trying to figure
out how to reach a specific area on the
map left me scratching my head. And
people who have played a lot of 2D
Zeldas like me may not find much of a
challenge here in general. Though I can
see how this could be a good on-ramp for
the genre for that reason.
Of course, The Adventures of Elliot
differentiates itself significantly by
having multiple endings to uncover, the
best of which requires a deeper dive
into the various ages. There's a good
amount of stuff to do and discover here.
Playing through on hard, it took me just
under 14 hours to get my first ending,
and I found the rest within another 10.
That was the perfect size I wanted from
a game like this. And some of those
endings were so good, they may have had
me holding back tears.
What? The Adventures of Elliot the
Millennium Tales isn't without
blemishes, but it's still an excellent
action adventure game that continues to
prove why the HD 2D art style is among
the best around. Its interesting time
travel concept doesn't quite land and
not enough changing between the various
time periods to keep its enemies and
environments from getting a bit
repetitive, but Elliot is a hero I
wanted to cheer on with a supporting
cast whose stories were more than worth
seeing through to the end. The match
site system gave me plenty to minmax as
I messed around with different builds on
the fly, and I can't wait to see all the
cool combinations people find. Though, I
do wish it let me make a few more
discoveries on my own when it came to
stuff like finding collectibles. Still,
I grew to love this world and the people
who call its various ages home, and I
truly hope this isn't the last we see of
Elliot the Adventurer and his feather
red cap.
For all things HD 2D, check out our
reviews of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD2D
remake and Octopath Traveler Zero. And
for everything else, stick with IGN.