I really enjoy the presentation of HD 2D games, so the visuals of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales made me really interested in trying out the demo. I was in awe of the game right away and decided to purchase the full version, and I’m happy to share my thoughts on the entire game. This is a story that stars Elliot the adventurer, who discovers a doorway to time, which has him meeting the mysterious fairy Faie, and the two set off on an adventure spanning the ages.

I was absolutely impressed by the story. You go through four different ages of the world map, and each one has its own key historical moments, layout, and characters. The plot perfectly shows how it’s important to really understand what happened in each individual age and how those moments impacted history. I found the tale to be quite emotional at times, but what really impressed me was how seamlessly each moment fit together. As you start the game, you get bits and pieces of events that transpired in the past, only to then, much later in the story, see how those moments actually took place. It’s a slow-burn type of story that really benefits from the methodical approach. For a tale to be as far from linear as this one is, it doesn’t get confusing or overcomplicated. It’s a tale that spans centuries and is not told in order from oldest event to newest, but it’s rather easy to follow and enjoy. I love time travel stories, and in my opinion, this one is one of the best iterations of time travel in a video game, period.

It technically features three endings, but to me, explaining it like that is misleading. The game will feature multiple endings on its path to an overall satisfying conclusion to the story. It’s not a title where you play the entire story for one ending only to play it again to do something different. You can, and likely will, see each ending on your way to the end of the story. The game does a great job in guiding you to each one, so you don’t miss any of them.

The gameplay is also rather good, but we do have a mixture of praise and criticism here. The good is in its simplicity. It’s a top-down view of the map as you use two equipped weapons to fend off monsters. You have swords, lances, hammers, bombs, and more, so there are plenty of options. Faie also learns her own power-ups, such as warp and fire, which are great for both combat and exploration.

Exploration is a lot of fun as there’s plenty to see and to find. The world is full of shrines that yield Faie power-ups, but mainly shards that, when you get four of, yield extra health. Because the maps are so beautiful, I really liked seeing them. However, that does lead me to the first critique. It’s the same map four times, and while each one is different visually, the routes are almost entirely the same. I had a great time exploring the world until I got to the fourth one, and I noticed my motivation to keep looking around dropped dramatically.

The game features plenty of characters. All of the characters are fleshed out really well, as the key characters literally provide history-changing moments. We get to watch as their legendary stories unfold in each era. The characters are the heart and soul of this game, and even Elliot is quite a well fleshed out character too. He’s not a silent protagonist, and not only does he have plenty to say, but he’s very charismatic, fun to watch, and has an incredible story to see throughout the game. I’m also aware that Faie tends to annoy players, and I have my thoughts on that as well. She’s a chatty companion that many people find too chatty. In my opinion, she really didn’t chat that often; it was the things she said that got a bit old. She explains useful tips for early game moments and will continue to do so every time it comes up. So anytime you need to reveal a very obvious hidden path, find a save point, etc., she will point it out. I was never annoyed by it personally, but it does get old, and I tuned her out after a very short amount of time.

You also get side quests that I suggest doing as soon as possible, as many of them are limited-time events. These quests may seem simple at first, but they all serve a purpose to expand on the lore and characters within the game. There’s a lot to enjoy with these quests, and some of my favorite moments in the game actually came from the stories I saw upon completing them.

Overall, this is a game that has a masterful use of time travel to tell a phenomenal story. It features amazing characters, simple and easy-to-follow gameplay, with side quests that perfectly expand on an already massive tale. Exploration is fun up to a point, as it’s the same world map four times. I honestly still haven’t explored half of the last map and instead decided to dive headfirst into finishing the story. I think it’s amazing, and what few shortcomings it has are not a problem at all.