Tales as old as time.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/76095/the-adventures-of-elliot-the-millennium-tales-switch-2-review
Square Enix's HD-2D art style has to this point been applied to the realm of turn-based RPGs, namely the Octopath games and Triangle Strategy. The Adventures of Elliot is not an RPG like those; it's a Zelda-like, adopting mechanics and conventions from a variety of classic Zelda titles. Fortunately, it also contributes its own unique flavor to a very familiar formula. Despite some repetitive moments and the Magicite system lacking depth, The Millennium Tales is an experience as enjoyable as many of those set in Hyrule.
Adventure is both the name of the game and the well-worn job title of its daring hero, Elliot. No task is too big for him, from rescuing stray cats, retrieving lost heirlooms, and sure, breaking a world-threatening curse. It's easy (and fun) to step away from the main quest involving Princess Heuria, who has the power to protect her kingdom from the surrounding, and encroaching, beast tribes. The relatively small map doesn't take long to cross, but when you discover that your journey takes you to the same world across four different ages, the possibilities and quests multiply. That said, it is a bit disappointing to see how similar the map is in each era, which often left me with a feeling of deja vu, particularly within dungeons and caves.
Different from a typical Zelda, it isn't always a new power or tool you acquire from the dungeons and ruins scattered about. Instead, it might just be an upgrade to your current repertoire of weapons or a heart piece to help bolster your health. On multiple occasions I would wander into a random dungeon and find that I didn't have what I needed to progress; at times, fairy companion Faie would even point out the futility of such excursions, which would push me to explore a new area or get back to the main story. In the first half of the game, I felt compelled to seek out designated temples that would give Faie new powers, reward Elliot with heart pieces, or even serve as a combat trial to increase your capacity for accessories. The designated temples are very reminiscent of Breath of the Wild's shrines and help to power up Elliot for the tougher challenge of the game's second half.
It's not before you acquire the base weapons in Elliot's kit, all of which have their own utility. Bombs, arrows, and a boomerang come as standard hero fare, but the spear, hammer, and chain sickle let players choose their own tool of destruction. Each weapon has a charged special attack that can put out extra damage and effect at the cost of leaving you a bit more vulnerable. The chain sickle and its constant whirling while charging was my preference, but I also loved charging the boomerang and watching it spin in place and whittle down enemy health bars. You can eventually find upgraded weapons, two-star and then three-star, in a variety of locations, and these are worth seeking out for a damage boost and some unique effects.
Another reward and currency relates to Magicite, not to be confused with Final Fantasy 6's crystals of the same name. In The Millenium Tales, Magicite functions as a way of further buffing each weapon and tailoring them to your playstyle, but most just raise your attack power, your crit chance, or your crit damage. The ones for the bomb weapon are a bit more interesting, like freezing enemies who come in contact with the bombs, but the game rarely challenges you to the point where the more novel Magicite are worth chasing or swapping for. You can spend money to raise the number of Magicite you can equip, but I rarely tinkered with my setup past the halfway point. While they do serve as a reward or incentive for exploration, I can’t say the experience would change much at all if Magicite were taken out.
Elliot's version of companion/guide Navi, the very chatty Faie, gains powers of her own, which mostly function as a way of solving different puzzles. Controlled with the right stick, she can catch fire to burn enemies and light torches, warp Elliot to her position, and allow Elliot to sprint by attaching herself to his back. Some of these abilities are more useful than others, and some are found so late into the adventure that I rarely used them. It's possible that completionists will find more utility in Faie's upgrades, but I might have been able to bypass some of these benefits by purchasing an accessory that allowed me to float. If a single accessory can skew the difficulty curve so much as to render your fairy companion obsolete, its inclusion may have been a mistake. It did help me roll credits in under 15 hours, though.
Don't be alarmed by my time to beat the game because multiple endings and hidden secrets compel you to look beyond simply defeating the final boss. Each town in the different eras is struggling with its own conflicts, in addition to their share of the main story. Whether it's a clan fracturing between magic users and non, or technology running amok, all of these issues fall to Elliot's capable shoulders. That's not to mention fully voiced sidequests that can be as heartwarming as heartwrenching, and even if the tangible rewards might not always seem meaningful, the narrative beats are well worth the effort. Who better than Elliot to help a musician improve their craft by visiting with a songwriter from a different time, or to pass the note of a soldier's final words to his family?
In under five minutes, Elliot can visit a forest, frozen tundra, desert, or swamp as each map hides more beneath than it does on the surface. Fast travel points are helpful, but almost feel a bit unnecessary, at least within the map of a single era. It wouldn't be a stretch to think of The Adventures of Elliot as evoking both Oracle of Seasons and Ages in a single breath. But whereas 2D Zelda games in particular can sometimes feel quite linear, The Millennium Tales feels incredibly open in terms of how you can spend your time. If you enjoy Zelda-style gameplay with lots of activities to complete albeit without a ton of distinct rewards and upgrades, the gorgeous aesthetic and soundtrack make for a memorable experience. The presentation and docked performance on Switch 2 are high points for the game, but I did encounter a softlock and noticed framedrops in handheld mode when taking on a larger number of foes. What doesn't work gameplay-wise is the repeated mini-boss fights, an issue made more painful because the unique major boss encounters are quite satisfying.
If The Adventures of Elliot become as numerous as the legends of Zelda, you'll find me a willing participant, despite the shortcomings of this maiden voyage. The inspirations are clear, but so too is the understanding of what makes for enjoyable minute-to-minute gameplay. The longer you play, the more the cracks begin to show, but the story manages to push you forward and the hidden plots beneath it make going out of your way an oft fulfilling detour. The red mage-looking Elliot has made a fan out of me, and if Link ever wants to take a break from stopping Ganon, Square Enix has a capable backup waiting in the wings.
Topic: The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales (Switch 2) Review (Read 26 times)
