The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is an Excellent Action RPG Experience (Review)

By Anthony Franklin II

(Screenshot: Square Enix)

Square Enix’s HD-2D run has provided a couple of great games already. Both Octopath Traveler and its sequel are loved RPGs and the classic gameplay shines through in the graphical style. Their latest game, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, continues that tradition and raises the bar. I had the opportunity to play it prior to release and from the opening moments of the game, Adventures of Elliot managed to tug on a few nostalgia nerves and carve out its own place as a top tier Action-RPG experience.

I’ll get the comparison out the way now. Even in the early stages of the game, I could feel the DNA of Nintendo’s A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. That’s completely ignoring that Elliot has a fairy companion and has a sword and shield. The feel of the game and the world is where it’s felt the most. Set in the kingdom of Philabieldia (GO BIRDS), every aspect of the world says that it has existed long before I ever touched the game.

It’s an important step in engaging players all in the way the introduction of the characters is handled. It’s fairly quick, but also substantial enough to give a reason to care what’s happening and why it’s happening.

(Screenshot: Square Enix)

I’m Going on an Adventure!

Elliot is an Adventurer. Which from what I can glean, is just a really nice mercenary. And he’s as genuine as they come. He looks out for the kids at the orphanage he was raised in, and he adheres to a moral code that demands he helps anyone in need. So naturally when the King of Philabieldia comes calling with a mission, he shows up without delay.

Central to the early portion of the game is Elliot’s relationship to Princess Heuria, who is capable of powerful magic, specifically the Spell of Safekeeping which prevents the beast tribes of the world from penetrating the walls of the city. It’s her spellcasting that provides some of the initial stakes.

Magic is a tool of great importance in this world and the very obviously evil and power hungry Minister Kaifried constantly protests King Hichard’s measured approach to handling procuring it. This results in some mustache twirling and some pretty awesome time tracking shenanigans. He’s a pretty predictable character the moment he appears, but it doesn’t dampen any of the events that follow. And when he does make that turn, he still feels like a villain worth chasing. It’s a story that kept me fully engaged all the way through and left me hanging on every gameplay moment.

Traveling through time is a significant mechanic in the game and plays a part in some puzzle solving and dungeon traversal. Some sections of a dungeon have to be accessed in a different age, requiring you to complete them at confidently different points in the history of Philabieldia. It’s an awesome mechanic that helps to maintain the sense of urgency that builds throughout the story.

(Screenshot: Square Enix)

Friends, How Many of Us Have Them?

Elliot isn’t alone in his journey. Early on, he’s gifted the ability to speak directly to Princess Heuria even while she remains at the castle. She can heal him from a distance and is a constant source of commentary on the path to complete the King’s mission. This is the first half of the Ocarina of Time comparison. Heuria can TALK. She will often remark on a treasure chest that is clearly in view expressing her curiosity at what’s in the chest. I completed this portion of the game before realizing there was an option to make companions a little less talkative.

But given that this a young lady who has spent her whole life shut away, tasked with keeping an entire Kingdom safe with her powers, I chose to take it as a function of storytelling more than an over abundance of explanations and hints.

I won’t talk too much about how the story unfolds because I think it’s worth paying attention to dialogue and really locking in on. After catching up to Kaifried because of course he took matters into his own hands, things get messy quickly. Elliot finds himself partnered up with Faie, a fairy that only he can see and hear. The intro to her character is pretty humorous, and the interactions between her and Elliot are well written. She’s a fun companion to have even she also is a bit on the talkative side.

Tag Team Adventuring

Elliot is a skilled fighter and has a vast arsenal. He isn’t limited to a sword and shield. Spears, bows, boomerangs, hammers and more are at his disposal. And while only two weapons can be equipped at any time, they are all accessible and available to be switched to at any time. This isn’t a game where just attacking will get the job done though. The shield is a necessity. I’ve had to hammer this point home for myself multiple times as enemies are aggressive and will test your pattern recognition. It’s not enough to just brute force your way through combat. Fortunately, there’s some help.

Faie plays an important role in gameplay. She can be controlled with the right stick in single player action, or with another controller in co-op play. Faie can be used to pick up items and attack enemies. She also has her own sets of abilities that help Elliot navigate the world and solve puzzles, like a sprint that makes timed puzzles a breeze or an ignite power that lights lamps and dark pathways. And these abilities are mapped to a button so it’s not automatic. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once it clicks, the synergy between Fair and Elliot feels natural.

There are also fragments of crystals called magicite that play a significant part in enhancing combat capabilities. These fragments are dropped by enemies and can be formed into full magicite that is used to upgrade weapons via a box assigned to each weapon. Every box has a set cost for what you can equip. But the boxes can be upgraded to equip more. This is a necessary step in progressing through the game and adds a layer of strategy in building your ideal adventurer for a given situation. The Magicite can be swapped out at anytime so there is no feeling locked into a particular set of upgrades.

(Screenshot: Square Enix)

Sidequest Shorty Throughout the game, Elliot will have the chance to take on various sidequests ranging from helping a kid heal a scratch, to helping a woman grieve her fiancee and move on, to befriending cats. They provide pretty solid rewards and are fairly quick. They also provide a pretty decent amount of information about Elliot in completing them.

Adventures of Elliot does provide something that makes it much easier to complete these side quests and that’s the ability to warp around to any of the Adventurer Signposts in the game once they’ve been activated. Doubling as an automatic/manual save point, these provide fast access to areas in the game you’ve visited, and often, a side quest’s mission ends up pretty close to one. It’s a small step towards making them worth going after. And in an RPG, that makes all the difference.

Conclusion

On the surface, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales feels like Square Enix’s love letter to the Zelda series. But it’s much more than that. It’s a confident, and clear vision for what an action RPG can be from a gameplay and story telling perspective. Taking Elliot through the four ages that make up the game’s story never gets tiring and using Faie as a legitimate gameplay assist keeps the combat fresh.

If I have any complaints about it, the loading times can be a bit long. It’s a jarring feeling to be making progress through an area and get hit with one just entering a cave. Even if the animations in them are pretty cool. But beyond that? It’s about as good as it gets in this genre.

It’s the kind of game that makes you want to see more of the world. Even after completing multiple playthroughs to see all the endings. Square Enix has another banger on their hands and I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see this turn into something they can expand. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a must play RPG and a game I could see sitting comfortably at the top of my favorite games list at the end of the year.

Score: 9/10

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales releases on June 18th for Xbox Series S/X, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam. A code was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2

-Anthony