The Adventures of Elliot: Tales of the Millennium – A Nostalgic Dive into Heroic Fantasy
Yesou can’t help but wonder if developer Team Asano is in a private competition with itself to come up with the most ridiculous name for a video game. After Project Triangle Strategy and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, we have this bite: Elliot’s Adventures: Tales of the Millennium. It’s a playable love letter to the Zelda adventures of yesteryear rendered in the studio’s glorious 2D-HD art style, blending evocative pixel sprites with modern visual effects.
A Journey Through Time and Fantasy
Originally from western Philabieldia, born and raised, our hero is the adventurer Elliot. The antagonist creating trouble in the neighborhood is a king’s dastardly aide who intends to invoke an ancient evil. The story is pure after-school TV schlock, fully voiced but still unafraid to sit you through reams and reams of text, and the action includes a treasure hunt, roaming temples, and dispatching monsters. It’s part Chrono Trigger, part Oracle of Seasons as our almost obnoxiously optimistic hero travels through the ages to solve puzzles, rock his fedora, and of course, save a princess.
Exploring a World of Possibilities
During each of the four world periods, your environment changes depending on your age, helping you discover new abilities and the mysteries of the realm. While there’s scope for a darker story to be told, it’s all incredibly saccharine. It’s a world where everyone is pure of heart, except for the mustachioed villain. Side quests allow you to save cats and run errands for orphans.
Engaging Combat and Customization
Fortunately, it’s great to play. What begins as a simple exercise in Zelda worship later has a surprisingly deep and customizable combat system. Equippable gems allow you to modify your weapons and mix up your gameplay, from increasing a sword’s critical hit rate to adding flames to your arrows; The combination of these different fun effects can result in total smile-inducing carnage on screen later in the game. Even the weapons themselves are pretty inspired. Alongside your quintessential classics like a shield, sword, bow and boomerang, there’s a wildly swinging scythe and a totally devastating hammer.
Streamlined Adventure with a Touch of Charm
Some friction is introduced by challenging and refreshing end-game bosses, but everything else about this adventure is designed to speed players through until the credits roll. With Breath of the Wild-style temples spread across the map, fast travel, and constant clues about your next destination, Team Asano sacrifices retro mystique for satisfying momentum. A controllable fairy companion helps you solve puzzles, such as setting herself on fire to light candles, but she also constantly notices every new dungeon and cave, letting you know if it’s worth exploring. Such constant, good-natured help may cause Hollow Knight players to be mocked, but Asano has made the decision to keep the good vibes going, also ensuring that younger players are never hopelessly lost.
A Comforting Fantasy Escape
The Adventures of Elliot is not particularly ambitious. It’s a comforting balm in turbulent times. If you can stomach its sometimes nauseating seriousness, this rich fantasy world is a comfortable place to retreat to. And despite my knee-jerk reaction to the off-putting, cheesy dialogue, this charming world eventually began to warm even my cold, cynical English heart, thanks to inspired dungeons and rewarding, customizable combat.
The Adventures of Elliot: Tales of the Millennium is now available; £49.99
For further insights into this delightful adventure, visit the original review here.
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