Team Asano Fixed Everything I Didn't Like — The Adventures of Elliot

Team Asano's latest HD-2D project, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, caught my attention when it was first announced alongside Octopath Traveler 0 at a Nintendo Direct in 2025. I covered the first demo at the time and had some real criticisms — particularly around the magicite system's clunky weapon switching and a shield that felt almost useless. So when a second demo dropped with significant improvements, I had to go back in. Four hours later I have a lot to say. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a top-down action RPG developed by Team Asano and Claytechworks under Square Enix's Creative Studio 5, featuring the HD-2D visual style that Team Asano has become known for through Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy, and Live A Live. This game takes direct inspiration from classic Ys and early Mana — a style that Falcom and Square Enix themselves have largely abandoned in favor of 3D gameplay. That makes this one of the most interesting new IPs in years for fans of that classic top-down action RPG style. The core gameplay is deceptively simple — two attack buttons, a shield, and a jump. But the magicite system adds significant depth, letting you customize each of your two equipped weapons with specialized crystals that can add elements, status ailments, extra hits, and more. A gacha system converts magicite shards into crystals, levels up over time, and recycles duplicates back into shards. The magicite box feature — one of the key fixes from the first demo — now lets you save dedicated loadouts for each weapon, eliminating the constant menuing that slowed the first demo down considerably. The shield has also been significantly improved and feels genuinely essential on higher difficulties. The game features manual saves alongside autosaves at guideposts, a combo drop rate system that rewards clean play, strong enemy variety, and a companion character who handles navigation support. A fairy companion named Faie becomes available later in the game and is said to have a much larger role than the demo suggests — I'm deliberately not going into details on that front. The world looks stunning in HD-2D, with two larger explorable sections and numerous interior areas in the demo alone. The quest system rewards thorough players with richly developed side content — a standout quest about a gardener's lost hat manages to develop the kingdom's princess in a single cutscene. The story maintains interest without grabbing you by the collar, though I'm watching the time travel elements closely before passing judgment. The music, composed by Yuto Moritani and Tomohiro Nakamachi, is fantastic — younger composers without the legendary status of a Yuzo Koshiro or Kenji Ito, but what they've produced for this game already sounds incredible. My one reservation is the $60 price point. Based on my demo progress and the game's stated four major world areas, I estimate a thorough playthrough at around 40 to 45 hours — which feels more like a $50 game to me. I'll be watching reviews closely on that front. That said, the production quality is undeniably there, and this is exactly the kind of brand new IP in a forgotten style that deserves support. Progress from the second demo carries over into the full game — so if you're interested, I'd encourage you to download the free demo and try it for yourself. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales releases June 18th, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X and S, and Windows. #AdventuresOfElliot #TeamAsano #JRPG ► Subscribe:    / @gaiusisidoro   Team Asano Fixed Everything I Didn't Like — The Adventures of Elliot