Square Enix’s The Adventures of Elliot Isn’t the Studio’s Take on Zelda, It’s Something Else Entirely

The recent Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase capped things off with a duo of debut trailers for upcoming Square Enix projects. And while seeing that Octopath Traveler 0 was on the way was a welcome surprise, what was arguably more exciting was the reveal of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. An action RPG that utilizes the same HD-2D art style popularized by the Octopath Traveler games (and used in the recent crop of Dragon Quest remakes), The Adventures of Elliot‘s shadow-dropped demo drew a lot of comparisons to classic Legend of Zelda, but it likely struck a stronger chord with fans of a beloved, and often overlooked, action RPG series: Ys.

Despite having been around as long or longer than some of the most popular and enduring RPG franchises, Nihon Falcom’s Ys has surprisingly remained fairly niche in the West. That’s changed slightly in recent years as the Ys series‘ 3D entries have gained traction, and this year’s PS5 and Switch launch of the beloved Ys: The Oath in Felghana positioned the action RPG franchise to finally catch up with the rise in popularity of its turn-based cousin, The Legend of Heroes/Trails games. With The Adventures of Elliot, Square Enix is throwing its hat into a very specific kind of action RPG ring that should please longtime fans of the overlooked Ys series, and maybe even help drive new players to it.

The Adventures of Elliot Isn’t Shy About Its Ys Influence

It makes sense for players to draw comparisons between The Adventures of Elliot and The Legend of Zelda, especially given how relatively unknown Ys is in the West, but it actually shares much more in common with the latter than the former. To be fair, even Ys and The Legend of Zelda share quite a bit in common with one another, but where the Zelda series focuses on atmosphere, exploration, and a sense of adventure, Ys has historically placed a greater emphasis on combat and deeper RPG mechanics. In that regard, The Adventures of Elliot ultimately skews more Ys than classic Zelda.

Players who are intimately familiar with Nihon Falcom‘s Ys games, especially the first 4 entries in the series, will no doubt pick up on The Adventures of Elliot‘s Ys influence in its gameplay and atmosphere. Even the main character, Elliot, seems similar to the iconic hero of the Ys franchise, Adol. But the biggest link between Square Enix’s upcoming ARPG and the best Ys games is its simplistic, yet visceral, combat that takes precedence over other elements like puzzles or exploration.

Anyone Who Enjoyed the Demo for Adventures of Elliot Has Some Great Games to Tide Them Over

Team Asano’s choice to tackle an action RPG for its next game is exciting for anyone who’s a fan of both Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler (or any of Team Asano‘s other great works with Square Enix), but it’s also exciting for fans of the Ys series. Despite its longevity, Ys remains far less appreciated in the West than most of its contemporaries, and there’s every chance that drawing a clear line between the classic Ys games and the latest project from Square Enix and Team Asano could draw players to check it out who otherwise wouldn’t have. Best of all, with no firm release date for The Adventures of Elliot beyond knowing it’s coming in 2026, anyone who enjoyed The Adventures of Elliot​​​​​​’s demo on Switch 2 has plenty of games to dive into to keep them busy.

Nihon Falcom has done some commendable work toward localizing and preserving some of the more classic entries in its back catalog, both for the Ys series and the Legend of Heroes series. As such, just about every game in the Ys series is playable on Steam, and nearly all the modern games in the series from Ys: Origin and onward are available on the PlayStation Store or Nintendo Switch. The Ys series is actually more accessible than it’s ever been, and the hype leading up to The Adventures of Elliot‘s release could see it primed to get the recognition longtime fans know it deserves.