The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales

My first instinct when Team Asano announced they were dropping turn-based combat was mild suspicion, because Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default built their reputations on tactical menus and job-system depth. Turns out the suspicion was only half-warranted. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a top-down, real-time action RPG that plays closer to Game Boy-era Zelda and Secret of Mana than anything in the HD-2D back catalogue, and for long stretches that is genuinely exciting news. The combat is the clear high point. You carry two weapons from a pool of seven types, swapping between them mid-fight to exploit weaknesses and break enemy defense bars. Swords and bows are the obvious defaults, but the chains and sickles, which can pull enemies toward you, open up a more aggressive, positional style that rewards actual experimentation. Your fairy companion Faie slots into combat through a Magicite perk system that layers customisation on top of the weapon loadout, and a second player can take direct control of Faie in local co-op, handling puzzle navigation and contributing her own combat abilities. Boss encounters are well-designed and satisfying to crack. The major fights in particular feel earned. The problem is the repeated mini-boss pool, which the game recycles a few times too many, blunting the momentum those major encounters build. Exploration is where Elliot earns its goodwill back. The world of Philabieldia is structured to reward curiosity rather than waypoint-chasing, and the time-travel hook, which sends Elliot and Faie through four distinct historical eras via the Doorway of Time, gives each zone a different political texture and visual feel. Wandering off the critical path feels productive rather than padding. Shrines raise your maximum health, secrets hand out weapon upgrades on a satisfying cadence, and the open structure means accidental 100-percent runs are a real phenomenon among players who simply forget to stop exploring. Here is where I have to be honest about the side of this I care about most: the writing. The narrative premise, a curse on a princess, a thousand-year mystery, time as a literal gameplay mechanic, is fertile ground for the kind of layered storytelling that makes a game worth replaying. Elliot and Faie's journey does not deliver that. The cast is functional rather than memorable, the dialogue rarely surprises, and the conclusion telegraphs itself early enough that the final hours feel more like confirmation than revelation. Faie herself is divisive, with some players finding her companion chatter charming and others finding her actively grating. For an RPG built by the studio that helped shape modern JRPG characterisation, the flatness stings. If you come to this primarily as an action-adventure fan who wants fluid real-time combat wrapped in one of the most visually distinctive art styles in the genre right now, Elliot delivers that cleanly. If you show up hoping for the narrative complexity and character arcs that Team Asano's turn-based work has spoiled us with, manage expectations carefully. The mechanical foundations are strong enough that a sequel with sharper writing could be something special. This first entry is a very competent, frequently fun, but narratively safe start.

Monika · Scout Team

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