The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales

If, like me, you find yourself missing that classic, dungeon-oriented Zelda experience, which the new open-world titles haven't quite managed to deliver yet, then The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is probably on your radar. For me, Octopath Traveler 2 was such a delightful surprise that I immediately became curious upon the announcement of a "Zelda-like" game from Square Enix's HD-2D developers. That said, Elliot isn't directly developed by Team Asano, the studio behind the Octopath games (though they apparently had some input into the game's conceptualisation), but by Claytechworks, the team behind Bravely Default 2, among other titles. It's immediately apparent when you see the game in action.

By now, we're all quite familiar with the iconic "HD-2D" visual style, which many would argue Square Enix has overused in the last... well, quite a few years. Personally, I'm not really tired of it yet, but it seems like a poor fit for this type of game. As Magnus, who has also been on adventures in the world of "Philabieldia" (it's so bad it's almost good...), rightly pointed out, you can't really enjoy the environments in Elliot because of the isometric camera, which only shows the hero's immediate surroundings from above. Furthermore, the game isn't nearly as captivating as the Octopath games. All objects shine excessively, and one might suspect this is some sort of technical compromise because the game's world and the four eras it depicts are far more open and seamless than the worlds in previous HD-2D games.

Four eras, yes. The entire narrative and structural premise of the game is that you, as the adventurer Elliot, travel through time and explore the same world in different eras to save the princess in his own. On paper, it's a nice idea, but the execution itself is peculiar. On a narrative level, the concept simply isn't explored in any particularly compelling way. Characters barely question the fact that Elliot travels back and forth through time, and his actions in one era don't affect the others in any meaningful way. There are a few interesting ideas scattered throughout the story, though, be it robots that turn against their creators, and a race of magical creatures, half-human, half-beast, that real people look down on. But the game merely skims these topics instead of diving into them.

When I wrote that the execution of the game's premise is peculiar, I was primarily referring to its structure and level design. The idea of exploring the same world across four different eras might seem intriguing at first, but you quickly realise it's the same map four times over. Okay, almost the same. The biggest difference between the eras is the single town found in the bottom-right corner, which, for example, is supposed to be a bustling, high-tech metropolis in "The Age of Magic," while in "The Age of Reconstruction" it's little more than a meagre outpost. But the surroundings are the same, and they're in the same locations (they could have "remixed" the map to make it just a little more interesting), the enemies are the same, and the dungeons, ruins, and caves are also broadly similar. I write "broadly" for the latter because they usually have a longer, more open version in one specific era, while in the others they are limited to containing only a single small chest or two. If the developers think they've recreated A Link to the Past's dark world not just once, but three times here, they're sorely mistaken.

Fortunately, the motivation to explore is relatively strong because the combat system in Elliot is excellent, and it feels satisfying to grow stronger by finding new abilities, weapons, and upgrades. Over the course of his adventure, Elliot finds eight heavily Zelda-inspired weapons, which, in addition to classics like swords, bows, and bombs, include a heavy hammer and a fast spear. Each weapon also comes in three versions, and it's exciting to see them in their stronger, more intimidating forms. The game also has its own versions of Zelda's heart pieces and empty flasks, and there are trinkets to acquire through side quests (which, unfortunately, are far too fetch-based), abilities for Elliot's fairy companion (which I'll get into shortly), as well as 50 cats that grant various rewards along the way.

So there's plenty to discover, and I haven't even touched on the Magicite system, which is one of the best parts of the game. You have a box with limited capacity, and for each weapon, you can fill it with gems that grant the weapon various buffs. At the start of the game, your box has a capacity of 20, but you can increase it as you go, and the amount of space individual gems take up varies. Some take up 4, others 7 or 10. It's fun to find or buy new gems and experiment with builds because while many gems provide simple attributes—such as increased damage or a higher chance of critical hits—there are also some that alter a weapon's functions (for example, a spear might strike in three directions instead of one, but deal significantly less damage per strike). And others affect the weapon's synergy with the rest of the arsenal (for example, there's one that makes other weapons temporarily deal more damage after you've thrown the boomerang).

As for exploration, however, I reached a point where I had found the weapons and builds I liked best and felt I had enough health to overcome most challenges. That's when my motivation to explore the same little caves four times began to plummet. Fortunately, the mandatory dungeons are, for the most part, quite solid. Like the game in general, they focus more on combat than puzzle-solving, but they flow well, engage your brain, and stop while the going's good. The bosses are also consistently challenging, well-designed, and generally just a highlight of the game.

I generally would have liked to see more puzzles because while Elliot's weapon unfortunately isn't used much for puzzle-solving, and his Navi-like sidekicks' five abilities show that there's potential. Faie, as she's called, is an infuriating fairy with an insatiable urge to comment on everything in a shrill, childish voice that makes you want to mute the game. It wasn't Fi from Skyward Sword you should've taken notes from, for crying out loud. Anyway, her abilities are pretty interesting and later in the game open up some engaging puzzles in both the mandatory dungeons and the optional shrines you find scattered around. Among other things, the fairy can teleport Elliot between platforms and create a clone of him that copies his movements. The game is at its best when these abilities are put to the test, and I hope that a potential sequel goes all in on puzzle-solving in general. However, the fairy Faie really doesn't need to return.

It's clear that Claytechworks understands what the key ingredients of a good Zelda-like are, but they haven't quite managed to strike the right balance between them in this first attempt. They should have sprinkled a little more puzzle-solving into the mix and a little less combat. However, that's a minor issue compared to the paper-thin story and the bizarre decision to copy-paste the same map four times. It reeks of too much ambition and too few resources, and if that's the case, it can be forgiven because the combat system and the obligatory dungeons and bosses are truly rock-solid here. If Elliot sets off on new adventures in the future, I'd gladly join him again. As long as Faie and Philabieldia are left at home.