The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is the latest Square Enix title to be developed by Team Asano and Claytechworks. Using the team's signature HD-2D style, which was first introduced in Octopath Traveler, the game offers yet another unique take on a tried-and-true gameplay formula that has captivated players for decades.
While their previously released Bravely Default series was a successor to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light and mirrored classic Final Fantasy gameplay, their Octopath Traveler series was more reminiscent of Square Enix's very own SaGa series. Later, Triangle Strategy arrived as the team's answer to the likes of Tactics Ogre and its spiritual successor, Final Fantasy Tactics. While all of those titles belonged to existing Square Enix IPs, for The Adventures of Elliot, the team set their sights on a different inspiration—namely, The Legend of Zelda, and more specifically, titles like A Link to the Past.
With multiple timelines to traverse, dungeons and puzzles to tackle, and standard equipment like the bow and arrow, bombs, and a boomerang to utilize, the game leans heavily into familiar territory. It even includes a system where obtaining four shards of life grants an additional piece of health, a fairy that serves as your helpful guide and companion, and a princess at the center of the story. However, rather than spending all day drawing parallels to its inspiration, this review will look at the title for what it is: a great first attempt at an action-adventure game in the HD-2D style. Additionally, in a surprising twist for the genre, this isn't a journey you have to make entirely on your own.
The Story Across Ages:
The Adventures of Elliot is a tale that begins in a time period known as the Age of Safekeeping. In this era, the people living in the Kingdom of Huther live their lives behind a protective barrier created by Princess Heuria's magic. Outside of these walls, humanity is at odds with multiple beast tribes, making it unsafe to venture too far into the wilderness. However, there are those who make their living as adventurers, which brings us to our protagonist, Elliot.
Found as a baby in the arms of a dying, mysterious traveler, Elliot was taken in by the local orphanage and raised alongside other children left alone by the cruel nature of the world beyond the walls. Eventually, Elliot also left the safety of his new home, and during his travels, he went on to make quite a name for himself. This is why, when a mysterious door is located within some ruins, the king calls upon him to investigate, setting the game's main events into motion.
After arriving at the door, Elliot discovers that it does indeed appear to be a Doorway of Time, which leads both him and the king to agree that it should not be used. However, the king's aide, Minister Kaifried, has other plans. By using the door himself, Kaifried travels back in time in an attempt to change the past. Fearing what may come of this betrayal, the king asks Elliot to follow him, but this ultimately ends in tragedy. Elliot is slain by Kaifried, only to then be mysteriously revived by a fairy named Faie. Though seemingly unscathed, Elliot returns to the present to find Princess Heuria has fallen ill, and her spell protecting the kingdom is beginning to weaken. Fearing this is a result of Kaifried's interference with the past, he once again heads back to make things right, officially beginning his adventure through time. Throughout his journey, both Elliot and Faie meet a diverse cast of characters spanning four distinct time periods, with his actions having a direct impact on the world as he knows it.
The story itself is told mostly through fully voiced dialogue exchanges, along with additional NPCs to speak to and documents to find and read. Alongside the main narrative, there are multiple side stories to take on, which further develop the world and the characters that inhabit it. All of these pieces eventually come together to create a single, complete story with multiple endings depending on the player's actions and how much of the game was completed.
Exploring The World:
The gameplay for The Adventures of Elliot is best described as a retro-style adventure game; however, rather than being a strictly single-player experience, it can also be played in local co-op with friends or family.
The game itself begins with Elliot on the general overworld map, which is where players will spend the vast majority of their time. The map consists of different regions, such as a forest, desert, volcano, and snow-covered fields, and contains multiple hidden paths. Enemies also litter the world, and defeating them will often drop currency or possibly even restock your resources, such as your health. Similar to other games in the genre, Elliot can cut grass with his sword for additional items, or even break pots and barrels by hitting or throwing them. With many items and abilities being locked behind a paywall, the game encourages you to always be lining your pockets with both Tul and Magicite Shards, the game's two forms of currency, with some treasure chests also offering larger payouts. In addition to the overworld, the game contains a single main town; however, there are in fact four different versions of it, along with four variations of the overworld. Here, players can purchase necessities, such as health potions and upgrades, and also begin most of the game's side stories. As previously discussed, NPCs can be spoken to for additional story context. Thankfully, a speech bubble symbol signifies if they have something new to say, and they also help the world feel a bit more alive.
Outside of town, multiple dungeons, caves, and challenge rooms can be visited, with each providing a different obstacle for players to overcome. While caves are mostly connecting paths for the different regions of the map, they often still contain treasures and other items that are useful to Elliot. Dungeons, on the other hand, are more puzzle-based, offer more rewards, and typically contain a key item or new piece of equipment. These in turn usually open up additional paths to explore, which gives players a reason to revisit previous areas, and in some cases, also help give you an edge in battle. These dungeons are also impacted by the time travel system, which plays a major role throughout the entire game.
Traveling Through Time:
Although there is a singular world, all four of the game's main time periods can be fully explored.
Each era is locked behind major story events, but upon accessing them, they can be freely swapped to at any time. By touching one of the fast travel points located throughout the world, which also act as save points, that location can be instantly warped to by simply selecting it from the world map, and that includes any era. While in theory having multiple eras would greatly increase the scale of the world itself, sadly they are all actually very similar, with only minor differences. The previously mentioned dungeons and caves remain nearly identical, with the standard routes in the overworld mostly seeing cosmetic differences; however, there are times where a path or door will be locked in one era, but will contain a new piece of treasure in another. This means to fully complete a dungeon it must be visited during all points of time, and the same can be said for the overworld as well. Just because one path might lead to a dead end in your current time period, that doesn't mean there isn't something awaiting you at the same location in another.
Thankfully, the map itself isn't too large, and fast travel points make it even easier to get back to key locations, but there's no denying that the lack of variety does get a bit old with all the backtracking one must do. Despite this, treasure hunting still becomes strangely addicting, and as the game progresses, one can't help but want to fully uncover every nook and cranny of the map to see what awaits them. Exploring early can also help speed up later sections of the game as well—especially as more side stories become unlocked and they start asking you to travel to the far reaches of the map. If you already have a fast travel point for the area, these quests can be completed within a matter of minutes; if not, then accepting the quest will be the perfect excuse to finally explore the new locations. Either way, you'll need to make your way across the map in each era at some point, and the game allows players to do so at their own pace.
As each time period becomes unlocked, the game does evolve in a way that requires players to constantly switch between them. While initial visits have a main questline that is self-contained to that specific era, it doesn't take long for the stories to span multiple generations. Characters in one era might ask for an item that no longer exists, so simply traveling to the past is the clear answer. Of course, not everything is this straightforward, and as Elliot makes his way both forward and backward through time, we get to see just how his actions are impacting the world. This is where Elliot himself becomes involved in events that were previously just legends in his own time, and we as players get to see pieces of an overall mystery start to fall into place. This is where the time travel mechanic truly shines, but it does take a while for certain realizations to come to light. Thankfully, despite us as players already expecting specific plot twists due to the time-traveling nature of the game, many of the game's plot points still manage to be quite surprising, which was a pleasant revelation.
Combat, Bosses, and Equipment:
When it comes to the actual combat in The Adventures of Elliot, the game feels as if it is taking a page out of the Ys series' book, and less like The Legend of Zelda.
By default, Elliot has a jump button and a shield that not only blocks attacks but also allows for parrying when used with perfect timing. At the beginning of the game, he only has access to a sword, which can be charged for a shockwave-type blast, but additional weapon types become unlocked as well—each with its own pros and cons. To complement these main weapon types, sub-weapons such as bombs and a bow and arrow can be obtained, adding yet another layer to the combat. By using all of the tools at your disposal, enemies can be taken out in a variety of ways, but it is the boss fights themselves where the action really shines.
Despite normal enemies being quite weak and a bit lacking in variety, the boss fights push players' skills to the limit and ask that they use everything within their power to win. Although the earlier encounters have simplified attack patterns that typically require you to jump over attacks or block specific strikes, the difficulty ramps up rather quickly, with almost MMO-like mechanics coming into play. AOE markers begin lining the floors, signifying that something dangerous is about to happen; bullets and energy blasts fly across the screen, making the game feel almost like a shoot-'em-up; wind blasts throw Elliot around; and boss weak points eventually require the use of tools like bombs. These fights become quite hectic, with players needing to constantly be on the move while striking when the perfect opportunity presents itself. They are simply exhilarating and show that the combat system is much more than it seems at face value. These types of battles are never seen during general overworld or dungeon exploration, which definitely helps make the bosses all the more memorable. Of course, players are more likely to fall during these encounters, but thankfully, Elliot's trusty partner Faie is there to help.
Faie, Her Abilities, Revival and Co-op:
Faie is a constant companion throughout the game, and someone Elliot cannot live without—literally. While health items can be obtained by filling an empty glass vial (basically a bottle), Faie herself can revive Elliot if he dies. This does cost a small fee, however, and the amount required increases with each death—though the counter resets upon touching a fast travel point—but it allows players to continue fighting even after they fall. This is a full-on revival mechanic that does not reset progress when used. Bosses will keep their remaining health, and dying in a dungeon will simply bring you right back to where Elliot was last standing. The only downside here is the currency lost, but it can always be regained with a little bit of work—making it a great tradeoff compared to the amount of progress you might lose otherwise.
Of course, this revival trick of Faie's is extremely useful, but it isn't her only ability, nor is it her only use. In fact, Faie is host to a multitude of attacks and magical powers, which also have synergy with Elliot himself. While the game doesn't explain this, players who get creative can learn how to use her in unique ways and gain an even sharper edge in battle.
When playing single-player, Faie can be controlled by using the right analog stick on a controller, and running her into enemies will cause her to perform a basic attack. In addition to this attack, one of the first abilities she gains is fire, which allows her to burst into flames and run into things. Not only is this used for additional attack damage, but it can also be used to light torches in dark caves or dungeons and solve puzzles. Along with this, if Elliot throws a bomb, which has a delayed detonation time, Faie can set it off manually by running into it. This is just one example of how she can be used outside of the norm, and it doesn't stop here. To avoid ruining the other abilities she gains access to, let's just say there are some pretty cool ones to play around with, and they do become instrumental during puzzle solving. Often, areas that Elliot cannot access while exploring are locked simply because Faie is required to advance, and until she gains access to the ability needed, there's no moving forward in that direction. Of course, Elliot's own tools come into play here as well, but his are gained at a faster rate in general. It doesn't take long for his full arsenal to be under his belt, while Faie's are drip-fed throughout the entire adventure.
As previously mentioned, Faie can also be controlled by a second player in local co-op. When using this option, she can move and attack fully independently from player one. Rather than auto-attacking nearby enemies, an attack button must be physically pressed, and her abilities can be swapped on the fly. Though she cannot stray too far from Elliot himself, having another player take direct control can allow for additional shortcuts when exploring and attack combos that are difficult to pull off on your own. Sadly, Faie cannot cut the grass, but everything else is fair game. Additionally, Faie can recall herself to Elliot by using the "hide" option, which is quite useful when playing co-op. While Faie does a good job of navigating the world during normal play, in co-op it is very easy to become stuck on objects, especially as Elliot strays farther away from her; simply putting her to "rest" will get her right back in the action.
The final thing players should be aware of with Faie is the fact that she can honestly be a bit annoying. Thankfully, you can tone down her chatter in the options, but even then, her English voice often comes off as being a bit too whiny. The actress's performance does improve as the game progresses, especially as the story starts to take a more serious tone, but hearing "ooooh kitty" every time you pass by a cat does get old fast—even though this piece of dialogue eventually changes quite early on. Overall, it isn't terrible by any means, but some players will find themselves either switching over to Japanese or possibly even turning off the voice audio entirely.
Elliot's Abilities and Customization:
As mentioned earlier in the review, although The Adventures of Elliot does not contain a standard level-up system, it does have a customization and ability system that stems from the Magicite Shards picked up from breaking objects and killing enemies.
Magicite Shards can be taken to one of the shops located in town and cashed in for randomly formed Magicite abilities. These abilities can be attached to each of Elliot's pieces of equipment, further enhancing them by providing passive skills. For example, one obtainable bomb ability applies an ice element to the bomb itself, freezing enemies who come near it. Other abilities will simply increase the attack power or critical rate of a weapon, or decrease the charge time needed to pull off its special attack. Of course, equipping these powers requires a set amount of points, with each weapon category having its own limit, but players can increase their maximum point limit by spending Tul—making it almost just as important as the Magicite Shards themselves. As more Magicite is formed, Elliot's overall ranking will also increase, eventually allowing for both stronger Magicite to be created and for players to target specific Magicite types. Rather than relying on the random draw all the time, the Sword Magicite can be chosen instead, though it will require additional Shards as a payoff.
In addition to these abilities, Elliot can also obtain accessories which further enhance both his and Faie's capabilities. One of the most useful accessories can be purchased from the first shop in the game, and it allows Elliot to hover for a short amount of time. This greatly improves his platforming capabilities, which especially comes in handy as the platforming sections themselves become more demanding. It can also be used to potentially access areas that would typically require the use of another ability, opening up more options to the player earlier on. Sadly, there are only three accessory slots in the game, with the other two needing to be unlocked, so you really do need to consider what will be the most helpful in your current situation. Thankfully, swapping them is as easy as opening the menu and hitting equip.
Mini Games and Challenges:
Surprisingly, along with everything else the title has to offer, The Adventures of Elliot also contains multiple challenges and minigames which reward players for completing them.
When it comes to the challenge rooms, these are mini puzzle dungeons hidden throughout the world, which then either enhance Elliot's health or provide an upgrade or key item. Each one is different, but the goal is always the same—reach the end. To do this, players must either clear out all of the enemies while contending with specialized conditions, such as a conveyor-belt-type floor, or solve a puzzle to open the final door. While none of these are especially long—in fact, most can be cleared in less than a minute—they provide challenges not normally encountered during the main game. They also serve as a great way to teach you how to use the new toys you've obtained, or even make use of Faie's magic.
As for the minigames, these are directly tied to Faie, with different score-based games opening up for each ability. These truly put her skills to the test and ask players to race against the clock to pick up as many items as possible while also taking out enemies. This mode rewards players by giving them tracks from the game's soundtrack to listen to, with a little fewer than 100 songs in total to be unlocked. While the OST might not contain as many standout tracks as past Square Enix titles, it is atmospheric and fits the title perfectly, and players will most likely find at least a song or two they'd like to listen to again.
Along with this, there are a few other one-off moments that can be considered minigames, along with a battle arena that players can take on. I won't ruin the surprise here, but just know that the game still has a bit more to offer.
Should you play it?
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a game I didn't know I needed in my life. As a huge fan of the 2D The Legend of Zelda titles and similar adventure series—many of which have now gone full 3D—it is the type of title I have been really missing. With an overworld to explore, dungeons to take on, and cool new toys to unlock along the way, from a gameplay standpoint it already ticked many of the boxes of what I'd love to see. However, what I didn't expect was to become so invested in its story, which managed to still surprise me in the end. Even so, it isn't a game that I can call perfect, nor will it be for everyone.
Despite having such an interesting premise of containing four eras to explore, the reality is that all four of them are nearly identical. Yes, specific locations can only be accessed if visited during the right time period, but the mechanic isn't used to its fullest. If anything, it makes one wonder what the team could have accomplished if they doubled down on a single location but greatly expanded upon the overall world instead. The lack of enemy variety is also a bit disappointing, but thankfully the very well-done boss fights make up for it. Exploring in general is also a lot of fun, so it is easy to forgive seeing the same enemies repeating. Also, while I personally enjoyed the story and loved how every side story felt like a complete mini personal tale, some might not fully like how dialogue-heavy it can become. While the vast majority of time is spent on the actual gameplay itself, there are moments where the game turns into non-stop cutscenes, with plenty of additional dialogue to read while exploring the towns. With the voice acting feeling a bit like an audiobook, something that's a common occurrence for Team Asano, it too might not be to everyone's liking. I, on the other hand, thought the vast majority of actors did a great job with their performances, but Faie's chatter was a bit much. I never expected to use the option to tone her down, but after a little over ten hours of listening to her, I did just that. I will say that she seemed to improve as the main story progressed, but that didn't stop all of the random quotes she yells from feeling like a bit too much.
Putting these issues aside, the game is quite lengthy and will easily offer dozens of hours' worth of content for a standard playthrough—and that's without obtaining every single piece of treasure or hidden item, including the hidden cats in the world. There's a lot to dive into here, and the game almost always offers incentives to go off the beaten path to see what you can find. It lets players embrace Elliot's life as an adventurer, which is where the game truly shines.
Overall, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is an excellent adventure game that will bring players back to the glory days of the genre. With multiple eras to explore, over-the-top boss fights to take on, and a surprisingly captivating story, it is a journey well worth taking despite its few shortcomings.
VERDICT: Recommended
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
Review Copy was Provided
Post a Comment