by Myles ObenzaI recently had the opportunity to visit the Square Enix offices in Los Angeles to play a couple hours of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, where I came away impressed and excited to finally explore the world of Philabieldia in full. You can read my full thoughts on my hands-on preview here, where I dive deeper into the game’s mechanics, structure, and time travel elements.
But this opportunity also came with the chance to have a quick chat with a couple of upcoming real-time RPG’s creators, much like I did with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi about the game’s upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 port. I spoke with head of Team Asano, Tomoya Asano (of Octopath Traveler fame), and producer Naofomi Matsushita, and you can see the full interview below.
Myles Obenza, SmashPad (SP): What went into the decision to make the next HD-2D game real time instead of turn based?
Tomoya Asano, head of Team Asano (TA): Through the HD-2D visual style, we first explored the RPG genre with Octopath Traveler, followed by the strategy genre with Triangle Strategy. Building on that progression, we wanted to reach an even broader, newer audience with this latest entry, which led us to adopt the action RPG genre for this title.
SP: What are some of the game’s inspirations and influences?
Naofumi Matsushita, producer on The Adventures of Elliot (NM): From the early stages of development right through to the end, the Game Boy version of Final Fantasy Adventure was something we consistently kept in mind. Even the overall feel of the weapons wielded by the protagonist was inspired by the gameplay experience of that time.
SP: Do you anticipate this game will create a franchise, similar to Octopath Traveler?
NM: At this time, there’s nothing I can share regarding future projects. That said, feedback from fans who have played our games is always our greatest source of encouragement when we begin working on something new. If you enjoy the game after trying it out, we’d be very grateful if you shared your support with us!
SP: What made you want to tell a time travel story?
NM: Asano has worked extensively on RPGs over the years, and he has always believed that the past plays a crucial role in storytelling. From the idea of allowing players to actually experience that past, the concept of a storyline that takes players through different eras via the Doorway of Time was born. As a result, rather than exploring every corner of the world, this story focuses on unraveling the history of a single nation within a specific region.
SP: Will there be an online or cooperative component to the game?
NM: The full game supports local two-player co-op only, and there are no plans to add online support at this time. While the game is designed to be a complete single-player experience, it also offers an optional co-op mode in which two players can split the controls between Elliot and Faie using separate controllers. In single-player mode, Faie is typically moved using the right analog stick, with spells cast via a button assigned to magic. In two-player mode, however, these actions can be freely controlled by the second player using their own controller, effectively sharing actions that would normally be handled by a single player. While coordinating closely and playing in sync with a partner can sometimes be tricky in any game, we hope this mode offers players an opportunity to enjoy the game together with friends and family.
Thank you to Tomoya Asano and Naofumi Matsushita for taking the time to answer our questions. We also want to thank Square Enix for the invite to their LA offices for the hands-on opportunity.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales launches June 18 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
