Links to the past.
It is nearly impossible to talk about The Adventures of Elliot without mentioning Nintendo’s fabled franchise. Ever since the game debuted, I was intrigued by the fact that we were getting a 2D-HD Zelda-inspired adventure from Team Asano. It sounds like a match made in Heaven, and for the most part it is. The game borrows a lot of elements from the aforementioned series while adding a bit of its own spice that combines to create a memorable adventure with a few blemishes that keep it from being a timeless classic.
As the name implies, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales follows our protagonist Elliot as he traverses through time in his world of Philabieldia to, of course, save the world. This mechanic has an interesting premise but fails to capitalize on it. For example, there are four time periods players will visit over the course of the 25–30-hour adventure with each one containing a major plot point that Elliot is tasked with solving. The thing is none of it seems to have the impact I was expecting. I wanted more player accountability for my actions. Outside of the true ending, which takes quite a bit to achieve, I never got that sense of satisfaction.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
What makes the time travelling mechanic feel even more like a missed opportunity is that things don’t really change that much. The first ten hours or so of the game have some decent variety when it comes to enemies and bosses, but after that it starts to really repeat. Once I gained access to a new timeline, it was a lot of speaking to townspeople, then taking down the same bad guys over and over.
Speaking of combat, this is where I think this game excels. There are a variety of weapons that Elliot will obtain throughout the game, each with their own unique style. You can equip two at a time as well as upgrading them with abilities like increased critical damage or even augmenting their attacks. This whole system is a bit confusing at first. Collecting crystals will allow players to upgrade the weapons, this unlocks new abilities on them, but the menu and system of doing this is really perplexing at first. It took me a solid few hours to get the hang of how it worked.
The bosses are neat, but they also repeat at times. I did enjoy the system that increased drop rates if I could manage to not take hits during combat, it really spices things up and rewards learning the systems. You also have a fairy companion that uses various magic attacks and can be controlled with the right analog stick. She can also be upgraded and actually serves a purpose in combat.
If there is one thing that drove me absolutely bananas during this game though is that it never shuts up. The dialogue in this game is excessive. The story is interesting, but it never stops telling you. Simple conversations take longer than they should, and every NPC has 2000 lines of dialogue to explain how to do something simple. This brings me to the biggest gripe I have, Faie. Much like Link, Elliot has a fairy companion named Faie and she never stops talking. If you thought Navi was annoying, nothing compares to this. She will literally comment on every single thing you do, including breaking barrels and cutting grass. You can turn this down in the options menu, which means they knew it was an issue, but even on the lowest setting, it is still too much.
Visually, Team Asano has once again crafted an absolutely gorgeous game. The 2D-HD aesthetic continues to impress with each new game. The world is hand-crafted and gorgeous. I love the style and the design of enemies and NPCs is gorgeous. The game has some minor slowdowns at times when things are hectic, but it never hinders game play. The world is really striking at times, and the large bosses look outstanding in high resolution. This is truly a treat. The voice work is solid if a bit abundant. The performances are fantastic, but this game seriously needed an editor for the excessive dialogue.
The Adventures of Elliot is a great progression of the 2D-HD style. It brings a new genre into the mix with solid results. There are things here I would definitely change, the excessive dialogue being at the top of that list, but for a first effort, it stands out. If you are like me and craving that Zelda-style adventure, this is definitely worth a look.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
