The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is the newest original adventure from Square Enix, pioneers of the Japanese RPG since the very beginning.

Taking a page from the likes of Octopath Traveler and the Final Fantasy HD2D remakes, The Adventures of Elliot is set in a beautiful world where the low-resolution sprites and textures of retro RPGs are juxtaposed against all the bells and whistles of the Unreal Engine. As expected, this game is completely stunning.

And with the benefit of a Prologue Demo, I dug in for a taste of this June release. It has all the typical RPG beats you’ve come to expect from a Square Enix production. A kingdom in peril, a magical princess, and time travel are all present and accounted for within the first few hours of The Adventures of Elliot.

Elliot’s name initially caught me off guard. It just feels like such a standard, boring, modern name next to names like Heuria, Euygene, Hichard, and Kaifried. Would it really be so different if it were titled: The Journey of Blake?

Chuckling to myself as the opening world-building moments of the game are spent verbally confirming to the player just how likable Elliot is, it took some time before the game shows exactly who Elliot is, rather than states who he is. Rest assured, though, the protagonist’s Elmwood tree backstory (the source of his namesake) and the sincerity of the storytelling melted my skepticism away with time.

The story is the main driving force in the demo, as is common of the genre, with fully voice-acted cutscenes, a wide variety of characters, and a save-the-world quest that sends you into action relatively quickly.

To keep it straightforward, King Hichard’s kingdom of Huthard on the continent of Philabieldia is under constant threat from the neighboring beast tribes. In order to protect Huthard from the beasts without, Princess Heuria is bound to her prayer room for hours on end, praying for the land’s safety. Most townsfolk are too afraid or ill-equipped to venture outside the city walls. This is why they need adventurers like Elliot.

Allow me to introduce you to Minister Kaifried, the most obviously evil man I’ve ever witnessed. Dressed in black, gray, and purple (the most evil colors), donning a wicked mustache and a slicked-back hair style (the most evil follicular combination), he serves as King Hichard’s lead advisor (the most evil position in the kingdom), and the fact that he audibly mumbles to himself about power every 30 seconds or so, I quickly made up my mind about Kaifried. Behold, our villain.

As you, a brave adventurer, are tasked to investigate newly-discovered ruins (which are a convenient two-minute stroll west of the city walls), Princess Heuria enchants your earrings to allow for constant communication.

She insists that you drop the “Princess” title while exploring, and you cautiously oblige. From anywhere in the world, she’s along for the adventure.

The princess — er, sorry, Heuria — has plenty to say at first. She suffered a bit from Navi symptom, frequently chiming in to tell you something that was either painfully obvious, or a brief pop-up tutorial had already explained to you just a few seconds earlier.

Things like “A key! Let’s look for what it will open” or “This appears to be a switch”. Still, I couldn’t help but chuckle when I’d get smacked in the face by some minor creature, and she’d gently suggest, “Have you considered using your shield instead?”

I either got used to this quickly, or her interjections became less frequent as the story progressed. The mechanic is very charming, and her presence is a welcome inclusion.

She’s much more cheerleader than tour guide, and it’s fun to feel like I have someone back home cheering me on directly. She even brings the power to heal you at any given moment, provided you’ve waited for the cooldown counter to reset, which became very handy while I was still learning the rhythm of combat.

With Heuria’s guidance, I reached the immovable door of the instigating ruins. It wouldn’t budge, but after a few seconds of searching we discovered the puzzle’s solution!…a pressure plate any random beast could have stumbled upon in a patch of grass 10 feet to the left. Maximum security, this ruin.

More Sword of Mana or Legend of Zelda in its style than Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, there’s nothing turn-based about this game’s battle system. Or I was totally playing unfairly — sorry about that, murder snails roaming the plain.

You’ll find plenty of ruins and caves to explore, but this title is much more focused on combat than puzzles — at least through the three or so hours of gameplay the demo provides. That’s not a bad thing, as the combat is very engaging, but it’s something to keep in mind when drawing comparisons to the likes of Zelda.

Swinging your sword to kill monsters, lifting your shield to defend from enemy attacks, and using ranged weapons like a boomerang or a bow all felt very natural for fans of top-down Zelda (A Link Between Worlds feels like an appropriate comparison).

Add a great kill streak mechanic, where enemy drops became better, and the better the longer you went without taking damage during your killing sprees, and the combat feels incredibly satisfying as you improve your skills.

The swelling orchestral soundtrack — especially within the castle walls and the main town area — is breathtaking. Maybe I’m a sucker for the climbing melodies of a live orchestra, but I feel myself instinctively swaying back and forth in my chair; I’m completely under the spell of the incredible score.

Seriously, is it just me, or is the Huther Castle theme obviously inspired by Super Mario Galaxy‘s Comet Observatory theme? That can only be a good thing.

But then you enter the ruins, and the smacking guitar strings immediately transform the atmosphere from leisurely to active. I tighten my shoulders and smirk while braving the mist-shrouded catacombs and pause for an arrogant yawn between foe-clearing swipes. It was a fantastic first look into Square Enix’s latest masterstroke.

The Prologue Demo is available now. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales releases on June 18 for PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch 2.