Picture: Nintendo LifeTwo of my favorite video games rising up have been The Legend of Zelda: A Hyperlink to the Previous and Secret of Mana. Lush inexperienced worlds, curious — and typically cute — enemies, and fluid motion fight for the time; as somebody who had largely solely performed turn-based RPGs for the primary eight years of their life, the SNES period of motion RPGs confirmed me a glimpse of what video video games have been able to. These video games particularly made me really feel daring and adventurous, and every time I revisit them as an grownup, they fill me with a childlike sense of surprise.
So I’m very a lot the target market for the upcoming motion RPG, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. I like HD-2D, and Octopath Traveler II is one in all my favorite Change video games and RPGs of all time. However on the similar time, I wished Staff Asano and Sq. Enix to do one thing a bit totally different with this lovely artwork model; I used to be a bit frightened concerning the course it gave the impression to be taking.
Nonetheless, I wasted no time downloading the demo after the July Associate Showcase, and even after spending two hours with it, and recognising a number of kinks that should be ironed out, The Adventures of Elliot seems like a shot within the arm for this aesthetic model, and I am itching for extra.
Pictures: Nintendo Life / Sq. Enix
Like Octopath earlier than it, The Adventures of Elliot is aiming to recapture a few of that SNES magic, however within the motion division slightly than the turn-based. Suppose Phantasm of Gaia, Terranigma, Ys III, Past Oasis; all of that ilk feed into top-down Japanese-developed motion RPG historical past, and it is on present right here. However the Zelda love is overwhelming — in any case, the eponymous hero is carrying pink as an alternative of inexperienced, he has a fairy companion, you possibly can throw pots… it is all right here, simply with a number of distinctive wrinkles.
The very best a part of the Debut Demo is the world itself. Exploring this small nook of Philabieldia (not a typo) is extraordinarily moreish for me, and offers us a bit perception into what’s to return. In fact, the very first thing I did was reduce some grass, however whereas mowing the garden, I ignored my quest marker and headed south in the direction of a desert space, the place I discovered cracked partitions to bomb and shrubs to take away. I discovered a problem tomb which gave me a well being enhance alongside the way in which, too. Ultimately, I stumbled right into a cave, which acted like a miniature dungeon.
There are fight rooms to clear and some puzzle-platforming sections which pressured me to think about the dungeon’s structure; dropping down sure sand dunes took me to decrease flooring, however sure areas have been solely accessible by dropping down sure holes. The final dungeon of the demo does one thing comparable with lily pads and switches. All commonplace stuff, however made extra enjoyable because of your fairy companion.
Pictures: Nintendo Life / Sq. Enix
No, Faie is not Navi; she may communicate a bit an excessive amount of, however Faie is a essential a part of Elliot’s journey as a result of she comes with the power to struggle enemies, collect gadgets. She spends more often than not following you round, however you may also transfer her through the use of the suitable stick. Alternatively, you possibly can command her to fly forward, cease, disappear, or come again to you. Or, if you would like a bit Secret of Mana magic, a buddy can be a part of you for some sofa co-op and take management of her.
Faie’s finest property come from her abilities, nonetheless. Certainly one of these is a splash that lets you run at a particularly quick pace for a restricted time, essential for getting round quick or for traversing crumbling flooring. The opposite is a warp which is extraordinarily helpful for getting throughout bigger gaps. It makes dungeon exploration genuinely fascinating, going past simply strolling via caves and corridors and combating enemies.
It is a comparable story with fight, which has a number of little touches to make Elliot’s journey really feel a bit distinctive. The fundamentals are acquainted — you’ve commonplace and charged assaults, however selection is available in from weapons and upgrades you possibly can equip and purchase. Together with a sword and protect, you begin with some bombs and a bow (see the Hyperlink right here?), although my noodling across the map and an non-obligatory boss led me to a model new weapon: a series and sickle.
Pictures: Nintendo Life / Sq. Enix
The chain and sickle guidelines and was instantly extra highly effective than my sword. A faucet of the ‘X’ button and the sickle would swing round me in a large radius. Maintain it down, and it spins round Elliot a brief distance, successfully performing as a protect. Cost the sickle up, and you’ll pull enemies in the direction of you. It is so satisfying to tug off. Besides once you handle to tug a giant enemy with a membership in the direction of you simply because it’s about to bonk you on the pinnacle.
There’s really loads of risk-reward stuff happening right here, which made the in any other case easy fight that little bit extra partaking. Earlier than I even left the opening city, I purchased an adjunct that elevated my motion pace barely, but additionally meant I took some further injury from enemies. Couple that with diving into the thick of it with the sickle, and it meant I needed to be a bit extra cautious on how I took out huge teams of enemies.
Magicite, equippable gems that present stat will increase and weapon buffs, additionally include varied help-and-hinder results. One piece of sword magicite elevated my base assault energy, however at the price of slowing down my protect restoration time. One other allowed arrows to pierce via enemies, however diminished the injury they did. It meant I needed to weigh up my gear choices extra fastidiously and — like badges in Paper Mario — I additionally had a set quantity I may equip.
Pictures: Nintendo Life / Sq. Enix
I am not a lot of a blocker in video video games, which in all probability explains my rusty fighting-game abilities, however in The Adventures of Elliot, blocking is fairly vital. There is not any dodge, which took me a minute to regulate to, however a perfectly-timed block stuns an enemy and offers you a number of free hits. For an motion RPG, it pays to be affected person and suppose issues via, particularly within the boss fights, that are successfully like little puzzles. Similar to many, many Zelda bosses, there are semi-obvious weak factors that it’s important to exploit with all of your instruments after which strike away to win. The 2 I fought weren’t difficult, however they did make me smile.
There are some things that Sq. Enix and Claytechworks must iron out, however that is what this demo is for; the body price is a bit inconsistent, out within the open world, issues are a bit blurry, and the fast menu is not precisely zippy. However, as an appetizer for issues to return, it is the proper begin to whet my urge for food. Even with a brand new Octopath announcement in the course of the Direct, The Adventures of Elliot was the standout reveal for me, and taking part in it has solely cemented it as one in all my most-anticipated video games for Change 2 in 2026.
Have you ever tried The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales demo but? Shock us within the feedback together with your ideas.
Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and whereas RPGs are her past love, Nintendo is a detailed second. She enjoys nothing greater than overthinking battle methods, characters, and tales. She additionally needs she was a Sega air pirate.
