Since its big reveal during July 2025's Nintendo Direct, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales has been relentlessly compared to The Legend of Zelda. Of course, there are far worse things to compare it to, and to see Square Enix and Team Asano's iconic HD-2D presentation move on from the turn-based RPG format it's been associated with since its launch Octopath Traveler 2018 is a much-needed breath of fresh air. It also helps with that Elliot's Adventures Producer Naofumi Matsushita has already been quite open about the team's anticipation of these comparisons, even saying they were “really honored by these parallels” in a May 2026 interview with RPGFan.
But as painful as it is to admit, The Legend of Zelda has not always been perfect during its 40-year lifespan. Sure, it's considered one of the most beloved video game franchises of all time, and Nintendo clearly owes a lot of its own success to it. But for every ten amazing things you can find in The Legend of Zeldathere are almost always one or two not so good things, and now The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales has already found a way around one of the franchise's most frustrating habits before it could define the adventure for the wrong reasons.
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The Legend of Zelda has had a companion problem
The Legend of Zeldas relationship with companions has been quite troubled for decades. While not every entry in the series has given Link a companion, when they do, that character is meant to help with tasks like solving puzzles and helping players remember – or figure out for the first time – what to do next. IN Zelda games where missing a crucial detail can turn valuable game time into aimless wandering, they can be really good.
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Ocarina of Time's Navi is the most problematic
The problem, however, is when these characters start to feel more like a tutorial system with a face than an actual companion. Ocarina of time's Navi is easily one of the most recognizable examples, largely for the “Hey! Listen!” quickly became the poster child for how not to design video game companions. Navi's purpose made sense in 1998 – and it was much more understandable then, as many players simply didn't know any better – but she was still remembered for her superior, interruptive guidance in the long run.
Skyward Sword's Fi was somehow worse than Navi
Skyward sword's Fi pushed that issue even further with a new take on what it meant to be a companion Zelda universe. Navi may have become notorious for interrupting players at every turn, but Fi was more like a glorified babysitter, telling players how to solve puzzles, where to go and how to get there, how items worked, and then just about any other basic reminder imaginable. When one Zelda companion tells players what to do before they've even had enough space to think through a problem. The satisfaction that would normally come from discovering things is of course greatly diminished.
Fortunately, Skyward Sword HD took player feedback seriously and made Fi's help less intrusive. Nintendo's listed quality-of-life changes for the game included “Optional help from Fi”, where Fi only appears in cutscenes or when necessary, while otherwise being able to be manually summoned for advice or guidance. The remaster also added faster dialogue, skippable cutscenes, streamlined item explanations, and less intrusive tutorial dialogue, all of which mitigated the original game's handheld issues.
Twilight Princess' Midna was a Zelda companion done right
Midna from Twilight Princess could be thrown in there too, though her role ultimately complicates Zeldas patterns with overly helpful companions. She still guides Link through the world and story, and she still fits the companion role, but her primary purpose is character driven. She has her own character arc, a distinct personality, and a genuine place in the story, so rather than being an automatic clue machine, she's more like someone who actually takes the journey with Link.
It is a difference worth noting, however, because it shows what it is that effectively becomes one Zelda companions—and any other video game companion for that matter—to a problem. For the most part, players are willing to accept guidance from a character when it feels like the character has a significant place in the story rather than just being a helper. It's when that companion starts interrupting the adventure too often, explaining things the player already understands, or ruining the reward for discovery that it becomes frustratingly annoying.
Other Zelda companions include Tatl from Majora's maskThe King of Red Lions from The wind watcherEzlo from The Minish capCiela from Phantom HourglassLinebeck from Phantom Hourglassand Tri from Echo of wisdom.
And this is the problem that anyone Zelda-like games Elliot's Adventures risks inheriting when it gives the hero a chatty guide. A companion can add a lot to the adventure and even be used as an instrument of growth for the main character, but they can also quickly become the most intrusive part of the game if their guidance is too prominent. Zeldas best companion shows how much a sidekick can add to the overall experience, while its most infamous shows how easily help can become unwanted hand holding.
Elliot's Adventure solved Zelda's companion problem before it became one
When its demo was released and players started getting their hands on it The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales for the first time Zelda the comparisons increased tenfold when they noticed that Elliot's elf companion Faie was almost as talkative as someone like Navi or Fi. Of course, it wasn't long before it became a bit of an issue and Square Enix and Team Asano received waves of negative feedback regarding the frequency of the companion's dialogue. For a game that was already in Zeldas shadow, an elf companion who talks too much was almost destined to invite one of the least flattering comparisons possible.
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However, Elliot's Adventures have already done what classic Zelda eventually had to learn to do later. After players commented that Faie talked too much, Team Asano added an option in the game's Settings menu to reduce the frequency of her dialogue from “Talkative” to “Reticent”, giving more direct control over how often she talks. Funnily enough, Elliot's Adventures is not the first Square Enix game to implement a muzzle for a chatty companion, which Forbidden's Cuff was in a similar situation in 2023.
It is likely that some players who have already spent time with the game are not yet aware of the fixes that Team Asano implemented, as some reviews for The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales still described Faie as too talkative. Fortunately, though, there's a solution, should anyone find Elliot's elf companion a little too much. At least if Elliot's Adventures will continue to invite Zelda comparisons, then solve one of Zeldas most frustrating companion problem before it actually became one of its own is a good place to start.
- Released
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18 June 2026
- ESRB
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Teen violence/fantasy, mild language, use of alcohol
