The Adventures of Elliot Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

The Adventures of Elliot from developers Square Enix and Claytechworks is quietly one of the more anticipated releases of the summer, at least in its niche. 

Millennium Tales, after all, hails from teams behind RPG greatness like Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default. 

Add on the most common point of comparison onlookers make for good measure, too: 

The Legend of Zelda. 

An old-school RPG with some obvious inspirations, Millennium Tales has all the hallmarks of a sleeper hit that stands the test of time. Execution, though, will determine if it exits the niche and becomes that type of hit.

Graphics and Gameplay

The world of Philabieldia (go Eagles?) is engrossing, to say the least. It's a colorful HD-2D romp that feels familiar from the studios, yet refreshingly unique at the same time. 

Millennium Tales takes advantage of its captivating art style to explore not just different biomes, but distinct eras via time traveling: 

• Age of Safekeeping
• Age of Reconstruction
• Age of Magic
• Age of Budding

All of the hallmarks of these expert studios are at play here, with storybook-like visuals, staggering details in the 2D-yet-dense locales and an exhilarating soundtrack that never misses a chance to emphasize the necessary emotions. 

Exploration can be very old-school in many ways, such as the ability to swim, but not initially unlocking the ability to dive under the water. 

Along the way, Elliot can wield seven different types of weapons. It runs the expected gamut, for the most part, looping in bows, boomerangs, bombs, hammers and spears, among others.

This is not a turn-based RPG, nor is it an RPG where there's a separate battle screen. Fights unfold in real time in the world, with players asked to trigger well-timed attacks, dodges and parries. 

Refreshingly, at least for some, these real-world fights can be big traps, as enemies can chunk down HP by half at times. It's not hard, and the perspective can create some unexpected whiffs on attacks at times, but there's some surprising depth hidden beneath the overall fun. 

A magicite system is where things get really interesting. These are items that buff a specific weapon type with additional effects such as, say, spawning fireballs that do damage around said weapon. There are many to discover and experiment with while contemplating builds (each has a cost to equip, with only so many points available), perhaps for specific battles, too. 

Faie could've been a simple quiet companion without much agency. But the gameplay here weaves her into the fray in interesting ways. She has, for example, a teleport ability to help Elliot navigate the battlefield. Or a fire-based spell that deals damage over time. They're usable during boss fights and can be critical. 

Tack on fun little puzzles that get creative with these abilities and Millennium Tales feels like it stretched the limits of what the perspective and style here can do in the best way possible. 

Story and more

Elliott and Faie, a fairy companion, depart the Kingdom of Huther to explore some ruins and stumble upon the Doorway of Time. 

Things spiral across eras from there as the heroes attempt to navigate their situation and solve the issue hanging over the world. It's pretty standard stuff, but it's fun to get little lore drops about the realm and the key characters within it. 

Where some games might have lore drops tucked into books and such, Millennium Tales uses its clever time travel story point to literally travel across ages and give players a near-overdose of environmental storytelling. 

Exploration always feels rewarding, too, and it's not just background info. There's the Zelda-like ability to find Shrines of Life that help increase Elliot's permanent HP. But there are also extras like an arena where players fight waves of enemies for rewards, including must-have additional accessory slots. 

Similarly, side quests offer notable rewards and fun world-building opportunities, though they can be easy to miss. 

Beyond the expected good performance, there's a strong suite of options that include expected things, as well as proof the developers listen to feedback, considering there's hilariously a toggle to adjust "Faie's chattiness."

Conclusion

Millennium Tales is an often whimsical, heartfelt first effort in what could turn into a series with serious staying power. 

Granted, it's not going to shake Zelda comparisons or side-by-sides with similar RPGs. But it gets clever enough with the companion, magicite and other systems to stand on its own two feet and perhaps inspire other games in the space, too.

A fun RPG simple enough for younger audiences, but with some pretty sneaky depth for those who care to try harder difficulties, Millennium Tales is a fantastic entry in a genre that just can't stop winning over the last few years.