Adventures Of Elliot Shows How Flexible HD-2D Can Be

"HD-2D, the retro-cool art style spearheaded by Square Enix and imitated by many others, was originally built as a way to pay homage to classic Super NES-era role-playing games while also making them look distinctly modern. And to that end, it's been used exclusively for RPGs like the Octopath Traveler series and the Live A Live remake."

"I played about two hours of The Adventures of Elliot in a demo that takes place about 3-4 hours into the game. At this point in the game, the main quest was to seek a magical shield, but I was given freedom to roam almost anywhere in the open world across two distinct time periods. Square Enix noted that this build of the game has incorporated some feedback from the public demo released last July--faster movement speed, a weapon-shortcut menu, and a selection of difficulty levels."

"On the topic of menu options, I should mention one more. Your fairy companion, Faie, is very chatty. Her voice is cloying, and she talks frequently, with an odd babytalk affect. It's a lot. Players of the 2025 demo must have given feedback on this too, because the build I played had a menu option devoted to Faie's chattiness. Her default is set to "Chatty" but you can switch her to "Reticent," which tones her down, a little."

"I played the majority of my demo with the default Chatty option but switched to Reticent to see the difference, and she still chimed in quite a bit. I have a high tolerance for these things but even I found Faie a little offputting, so I imagine some players will have a stronger reaction. It does fit within the overall spirit of the world, though, which is very heartfel"

HD-2D, created to honor classic Super NES-era RPGs while giving them a modern look, is used in The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales for a top-down action-adventure. A demo set a few hours into the game centers on finding a magical shield while allowing roaming across an open world in two distinct time periods. The demo build includes public feedback such as faster movement speed, a weapon-shortcut menu, and multiple difficulty levels, with Easy default and Normal available. The fairy companion Faie frequently speaks with a babytalk-like tone, and a menu option lets players switch between “Chatty” and “Reticent,” though Reticent still triggers frequent dialogue.

Read at GameSpot