The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Video Review

[00:00] I love pixel art. I find that even

[00:02] decades later, the best looking games of

[00:04] the '9s, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy

[00:06] 6, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the

[00:08] Past, can still be breathtaking in a way

[00:11] older 3D games usually aren't. That's

[00:14] why I take notice whenever Square Annex

[00:16] uses its signature HD 2D art style, and

[00:19] why it's so exciting to see that

[00:20] aesthetic expand past its turn-based

[00:22] roots with The Adventures of Elliot: The

[00:24] Millennium Tales, the first action

[00:26] adventure game to get this modern retro

[00:28] treatment. Even though its titular hero

[00:31] may be wearing red instead of green, it

[00:33] essentially asks the question, "What if

[00:35] Square made a Link to the Past?" The

[00:37] answer is an adventure I never knew I

[00:40] wanted. One with a compelling story,

[00:42] impressive build customization, and a

[00:45] world I hope we see more of.

[00:53] This light, I can tell it has all sorts

[00:57] of wisdom. And

[01:00] >> I think I got stronger.

[01:02] >> Elliot is an adventurer who helps anyone

[01:04] with a problem to solve.

[01:06] >> More than equipped to deal with beast

[01:07] tribes.

[01:08] >> After a summon by the king, your

[01:10] seemingly routine quest turns into a

[01:12] mission to save both the princess and

[01:14] the kingdom itself.

[01:15] >> Please, Kyifid, stop this madness.

[01:18] You've taken this too far.

[01:20] >> Traveling through time to do so.

[01:26] >> Uh-oh. Better hurry or else it'll be too

[01:29] late.

[01:30] >> Elliot is easy to root for. Charismatic

[01:33] without ever crossing into cheesy.

[01:35] >> Things have changed quite drastically

[01:37] from before I entered the door.

[01:39] Traveling aside our hero in Red is a

[01:41] slightly amnesiatic fairy named Fay.

[01:45] >> You're very welcome. She occasionally

[01:47] falls into the partner who gives you the

[01:49] puzzle answer too soon trope, which is

[01:51] unfortunate.

[01:52] >> Make those flowers bloom,

[01:56] >> but her chattiness can be adjusted if

[01:58] not turned off. And she still has a

[02:00] pleasant companion to have.

[02:02] >> Yeah. Yeah.

[02:04] >> Over the span of the 20-ish hours I

[02:06] spent with Elliot, Fay, and the rest of

[02:08] the supporting cast, I grew to love this

[02:10] world and was invested in the lives of

[02:12] these characters.

[02:13] >> I am Elliot, an adventurer. Time travel

[02:16] can be a tough thing to get right in a

[02:18] game, and it never quite lives up to its

[02:20] promise here. You'll jump from age to

[02:22] age, but the differences between them

[02:24] are rather underwhelming. It's neat to

[02:26] find ruins of a once great building in a

[02:28] later age, but venture outside the city

[02:31] walls, and you'll see the same trees and

[02:33] shrubs regardless of where you find

[02:35] yourself. Stranger still is the lack of

[02:37] any development in the settlements of

[02:39] the Beastmen tribes you frequently

[02:41] visit. You're telling me no one ever set

[02:43] up a few more tents across the hundreds

[02:45] of years?

[02:48] >> Enemies don't change much either.

[02:50] Whether I was exploring dark caves in

[02:52] the present day or the ancient sands of

[02:54] the age of budding, I was swinging my

[02:56] sword at the same slugs, rat people, and

[02:59] weird flying things. Which means you'll

[03:01] have seen a majority of your foes after

[03:02] the first few hours.

[03:04] >> You have them on the run. Elliot, don't

[03:06] stop now. But while the time travel

[03:08] might not alter them much, The

[03:10] Adventures of Elliot is still another

[03:12] beautiful example of Square Enix's HD2D

[03:15] aesthetic and action. The drooping

[03:17] indigo leaves of Grand Tree, the crown

[03:20] of Mount Phoenix volcano, and the

[03:22] glistening structures of the Grand City

[03:24] of Weisen are just a few of the stunning

[03:26] landmarks. Not to mention the creative

[03:29] boss sprites such as the laser shooting

[03:31] lava lizard, Salith Mandra,

[03:34] or my personal favorite, a frog don that

[03:37] rides a turtle around.

[03:46] Much of this adventure feels very

[03:47] familiar, but equippable magic to buff

[03:50] your weapons is one of the most

[03:51] interesting twists. This isn't an RPG

[03:54] where your growth is tied to stats that

[03:56] you gain as you level up. Instead, much

[03:59] of your power comes from these crystals

[04:01] that can either be found in chests or

[04:02] crafted at a special shop using shards

[04:05] that are dropped by enemies. Each of the

[04:07] seven weapons has a whopping 15 unique

[04:10] magic options that can be conveniently

[04:12] swapped in or out at any time, even

[04:14] during combat. Perhaps enemies are

[04:17] moving around a bit too much, so you

[04:18] want a stun effect that will let you

[04:20] land hits more easily. Just hop into the

[04:22] menu, equip a magistite that does that,

[04:24] and get right back into the fight. That

[04:26] flexibility is empowering. There are

[04:29] also some awesome combinations of magic

[04:31] that turn Elliot from an adventurer into

[04:33] a weapon of mass destruction. For

[04:35] example, the bow's fire magic will give

[04:38] its arrows a chance to light a target on

[04:40] fire, while the explosion magic causes

[04:42] them to, well, explode when they hit a

[04:45] burning target. It's exciting to

[04:47] experiment and find a powerful combo

[04:49] like this, which can melt a boss's

[04:51] health bar in no time flat.

[04:55] Combat itself is a nostalgic trip to

[04:57] simpler days when all that was involved

[04:58] was looking at an enemy and pressing a

[05:00] button to swing. It feels good to just

[05:02] walk up and spam my sword attacks to

[05:04] take out enemies. But there are still

[05:06] ways to quote get good for those that

[05:09] want to really excel. Elliot can parry

[05:11] with his shield, leaving a foe dazed and

[05:13] open for critical hits.

[05:18] You can cause some enemies to explode

[05:20] and in the process damage their allies,

[05:22] or you can just hurl some pots at their

[05:24] heads for old times sake.

[05:26] >> Come here.

[05:28] >> The Adventures of Elliot is rather

[05:30] gracious with its revives as well,

[05:32] allowing you to pay to have Fay heal you

[05:34] back to full health. The price doubles

[05:36] each time, but resets when you visit

[05:38] certain checkpoints.

[05:40] >> You can't let it end here, Elliot. And

[05:43] this optional safety net proved to be a

[05:45] welcome option against some of the

[05:46] bosses where I needed just a little bit

[05:48] more life to come out victorious.

[05:52] However, Elliot rewards you for playing

[05:54] well and avoiding damage, too. Every

[05:57] enemy you strike down will add to a

[05:59] chain count, and enemies drop more

[06:00] goodies if you reach a high enough

[06:02] number, making this a great way to grind

[06:04] for resources. But the moment you take

[06:07] the slightest bit of damage, the combo

[06:09] breaks, and you have to start all over

[06:11] again. meaning you should never get too

[06:13] overconfident.

[06:18] Outside of combat, The Adventures of

[06:20] Elliot has a surprising amount of

[06:22] platforming. Leaping across gaps, diving

[06:24] underwater, and figuring out how to get

[06:26] up to some nearby plateaus all play a

[06:28] far bigger role than I had anticipated.

[06:31] Dungeons tend to feature at least a few

[06:33] sections that will test your dexterity,

[06:35] requiring you to maneuver around pits or

[06:37] over lava. Thanks to how tight the

[06:38] controls are, I generally had a good

[06:40] time with these sections.

[06:42] >> So, this thing moves for us. I could get

[06:44] used to this.

[06:46] >> There are some handy accessories that

[06:47] can help you out, too. Such as the one

[06:49] that lets you briefly hover, or another

[06:52] that prevents you from taking damage if

[06:54] you drop into those pesky holes. Now,

[06:56] what might be in here?

[06:59] Since many areas of the map can be

[07:00] explored in whatever order you want, you

[07:02] may even encounter places with abilities

[07:04] like phase warp spell

[07:07] >> that let you bypass parts altogether.

[07:13] The varying terrain height also allows

[07:15] for some fun experimentation during

[07:16] combat. When enemies were nearby, ledges

[07:19] stopped being simple hills and instead

[07:21] became high grounds right for the

[07:23] taking.

[07:27] My go-to strategy usually involved

[07:29] chucking bombs down on the enemies below

[07:31] or sending Fay out to beat them up for a

[07:33] bit. Though setting them on fire or

[07:35] exploding nearby bomb slugs with her

[07:37] magic also proved devilishly effective.

[07:42] >> I think we better stay away from this

[07:44] mer.

[07:46] >> Traveling through time is just as

[07:48] convenient as traveling across the map

[07:50] itself. Special guideposts can be

[07:52] fasttraveled to from your map screen at

[07:54] any point once they're activated. It

[07:56] doesn't matter what age you are in or

[07:58] where your desired locations at, you can

[08:00] get there in a flash. The maps are also

[08:03] covered with various markers pointing

[08:04] towards treasure chests, shrines to

[08:06] upgrade both Fay and Elliot, collectible

[08:08] cats, and a lot more. That's quite

[08:11] helpful for secret hunting, but it's

[08:13] actually so much information that I wish

[08:15] I could filter out the icons out a bit

[08:17] or even turn them off completely for the

[08:19] times I simply wanted to discover things

[08:21] on my own.

[08:25] The door is moving. Will this truly

[08:28] transport me through time?

[08:30] >> Okay, let's address the Moblin in the

[08:33] room. The Adventures of Elliot shares a

[08:35] lot of DNA with A Link to the Past in

[08:37] the Zelda series in general. A lone

[08:39] swordsman on a top-own quest to save a

[08:42] blond-haired princess, wielding the

[08:44] likes of bows, bombs, boomerangs,

[08:47] and even a dash that you can bong into

[08:49] things with. You have a fire dungeon, a

[08:51] water dungeon, and a forest dungeon. All

[08:53] checked off the list, too. And you get a

[08:55] neat glowing sword.

[09:00] >> Frankly, it would take longer to list

[09:02] out all the things it has in common than

[09:04] those it doesn't. Being so reminiscent

[09:06] of one of the greatest video games of

[09:08] all time, and it's hardly a bad thing.

[09:10] And finding all the little nods and

[09:12] callbacks almost became a game of its

[09:14] own for Zelda fans like myself. Elliot

[09:16] does a great job of recreating that

[09:18] formula while also introducing a few

[09:20] twists that help it stand out. But when

[09:23] you follow the overall blueprint so

[09:25] closely like this, it unavoidably puts

[09:27] you into direct comparison with what

[09:30] came before. And Elliot's quality

[09:32] doesn't quite reach up to the same lofty

[09:34] heights. The dungeons tend to lean on

[09:37] the simpler, more straightforward side.

[09:38] And I never found the puzzles to be much

[09:40] of a brain buster. I can only recall a

[09:42] handful of times where trying to figure

[09:44] out how to reach a specific area on the

[09:46] map left me scratching my head. And

[09:48] people who have played a lot of 2D

[09:50] Zeldas like me may not find much of a

[09:52] challenge here in general. Though I can

[09:54] see how this could be a good on-ramp for

[09:56] the genre for that reason.

[10:01] Of course, The Adventures of Elliot

[10:02] differentiates itself significantly by

[10:05] having multiple endings to uncover, the

[10:08] best of which requires a deeper dive

[10:09] into the various ages. There's a good

[10:11] amount of stuff to do and discover here.

[10:13] Playing through on hard, it took me just

[10:15] under 14 hours to get my first ending,

[10:18] and I found the rest within another 10.

[10:21] That was the perfect size I wanted from

[10:22] a game like this. And some of those

[10:24] endings were so good, they may have had

[10:26] me holding back tears.

[10:30] What? The Adventures of Elliot the

[10:33] Millennium Tales isn't without

[10:34] blemishes, but it's still an excellent

[10:36] action adventure game that continues to

[10:38] prove why the HD 2D art style is among

[10:41] the best around. Its interesting time

[10:43] travel concept doesn't quite land and

[10:45] not enough changing between the various

[10:47] time periods to keep its enemies and

[10:49] environments from getting a bit

[10:50] repetitive, but Elliot is a hero I

[10:53] wanted to cheer on with a supporting

[10:55] cast whose stories were more than worth

[10:57] seeing through to the end. The match

[11:00] site system gave me plenty to minmax as

[11:02] I messed around with different builds on

[11:04] the fly, and I can't wait to see all the

[11:06] cool combinations people find. Though, I

[11:08] do wish it let me make a few more

[11:10] discoveries on my own when it came to

[11:11] stuff like finding collectibles. Still,

[11:14] I grew to love this world and the people

[11:16] who call its various ages home, and I

[11:18] truly hope this isn't the last we see of

[11:20] Elliot the Adventurer and his feather

[11:22] red cap.

[11:27] For all things HD 2D, check out our

[11:29] reviews of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD2D

[11:32] remake and Octopath Traveler Zero. And

[11:34] for everything else, stick with IGN.