Nintendo has everyone talking about one missing word. Square Enix, on the other hand, just walked into the room with a sword, a fairy companion, dungeons, time travel, and an all new adventure that feels like it knows exactly what classic Zelda fans have been asking for.
That is what makes The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales so interesting right now. Nintendo is teasing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 with careful language like “reborn,” while fans argue over whether it is a remake, a remaster, or something in between. Square Enix didn’t need to win that argument. It simply released a new HD-2D action RPG that looks at the old Zelda formula and says, fine, two can play at that game.
The Timing Could Not Be Better
The Adventures of Elliot launched on June 18, 2026, across Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. That already makes it more accessible than many nostalgic Nintendo-style adventures, which often live and die on one platform. It also arrives at the perfect moment, right when Zelda fans are obsessed with the question of what a modern Ocarina of Time should even be. I mean, I’ve loved the game, but for some Ocarina is everything to them.
That timing matters because Nintendo is in a strange place with Zelda. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom changed the series forever, but they also moved it far away from the classic dungeon and item structure many fans grew up loving. Those games are masterpieces in their own way, but if you miss older Zelda, you may still be waiting for Nintendo to fully come back to that version of the series. Something like Link’s Awakening or Echoes of Wisdom, but better.
This Is Not Zelda, But It Knows the Language
The Adventures of Elliot is not trying to hide its influences. Reviews are already calling it Zelda-inspired, with real-time combat, dungeon exploration, environmental puzzles, a fairy-like companion named Faie, and a world built around discovery. The Verge framed it as a Final Fantasy meets Zelda kind of adventure, while The Guardian called it a playable love letter to Zelda.
That doesn’t mean Square Enix made a clone. What makes Elliot interesting is that it mixes those classic adventure ideas with Square’s own RPG habits. You get HD-2D visuals, weapon customization, magicite-style slot-based equipment upgrades, time travel across four eras, and the kind of cozy fantasy storytelling that feels closer to Octopath Traveler or Bravely Default than anything Nintendo would usually make.
Square Enix Found the Safe Kind of Nostalgia
Nintendo has to be careful when it touches Ocarina of Time. If it changes too much, fans will accuse it of messing with their childhood. If it changes too little, fans will ask why this needed to exist in the first place. Nostalgia? Better lighting? 4K? And of course “What the heck have you been spending all that money on from those $80 games, Nintendo?” That is the curse of remaking one of the most beloved games ever made. Dare I say, “Best game of all time?”
Square Enix does not have that problem with Elliot. Because this is a new game, it can borrow the feeling without carrying the burden. It can have a fairy companion without being Navi. It can have dungeons without being the Forest Temple. It can use time travel without asking people to compare every moment to young Link pulling the Master Sword for the first time. Wait…was that a spoiler? Oops, ma bad!
That is the advantage of spiritual successors. They can make you feel something familiar without forcing you to grade them like a vintage Pokémon card. Elliot gets to be nostalgic and new at the same time, which is exactly the space Nintendo is trying to navigate with Ocarina of Time on Switch 2.
The HD-2D Style Finally Feels Like More Than a Gimmick
Square Enix has used HD-2D for years now, starting with Octopath Traveler and expanding through games like Triangle Strategy, Live A Live, and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Sometimes the style feels magical. Sometimes it starts to feel like a very pretty filter over a very familiar structure.
Elliot seems more interesting because it pushes that look into action-adventure territory. This is not just turn-based battles in a glowing diorama. It’ is’s got real-time movement and combat…can I get an Amen! It’s got puzzles, environments, lighting, ruins, forests, and dungeon spaces, all presented through that modern retro lens. That matters because the style fits the exact emotional gap classic Zelda fans are living in right now.
A fully realistic Zelda remake could feel wrong if it loses the storybook quality of the original. A basic remaster could feel too small for Switch 2. HD-2D sits in the middle, giving players nostalgia without making everything look like plastic nostalgia bait. Square Enix may have found the visual language Nintendo is currently dancing around.
There Is a Physical Media Catch
There is one part of this that physical collectors like myself will certainly hate. The Switch 2 physical release has been listed as a….wait for it….game-key card. Booooo!!! This means it’s not the kind of complete-on-cartridge release preservation fans want. For a game that feels like a love letter to old-school adventure design, that is a little disappointing.
That is especially true because this kind of game seems perfect for the shelf. It has that classic RPG energy, the kind that makes you want a real case, a real cart, and a copy you can still play years from now without wondering what server or license is involved. If Square Enix wants to court nostalgic players, the physical release matters too.
Nintendo Should Be Paying Attention
The bigger story is not that Square Enix beat Nintendo at Zelda. It did not. Zelda is Zelda, and Ocarina of Time still carries a weight that almost no game in history can match. The bigger story is that Square Enix seems willing to serve the specific version of adventure gaming that Nintendo has mostly left behind.
That could make Elliot more important than it looks. If players respond to it, Nintendo will have another signal that people still want guided adventures, dungeons, items, magical companions, and handcrafted worlds that are not just giant physics sandboxes. Breath of the Wild opened Zelda up, but there is still room for the old-style too.
The Hero Hyrule Deserves, But Not The One It Needs Right Now
The funny thing is that The Adventures of Elliot may benefit from not being Zelda. It does not have to answer for decades of expectations. It does not have to be compared to Ocarina of Time frame by frame. It can simply be a warm, colorful, dungeon-filled adventure at a time when players are suddenly asking what happened to that kind of game.
That is why this story is worth watching. Nintendo is carefully choosing words around one of its most legendary games, while Square Enix just released something that feels like it wandered out of the same childhood memory and brought its own ideas with it. Maybe Elliot is not the Zelda remake fans are waiting for, but it might be the reminder that the old formula still works when someone actually commits to it.
