Elliot Quest Review

Elliot Quest was born as a Kickstarter project that promised to recover the essence of the classic Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for NES. Those who remember that Zelda we do with great affection, despite being a title as loved as hated in equal parts, largely because of its radical change from the first game and to offer one of the most challenging titles of the time. Elliot Quest successfully captures the same sensations of that title, without falling into the mere copy and instilling a spirit and personality of its own that will dazzle the veterans of the world.

Duration

In total, around 15 different areas spread around the world, with 8 large dungeons full of enemies, 16 final bosses - some of them optional - and dozens of secrets. The main dungeons follow the standard pattern of Zelda, that is, we can get a map that uncovers the structure of rooms of the place, collect small keys to open certain doors, and we will need a master key to open the room leading to the final boss . And of course, each dungeon will bring to Elliot a new power that will help him overcome the dungeon's own puzzles, as well as help him reach new places in other scenarios of the game. A metroidvania structure that is always welcome and in Elliot Quest is cared for with care and detail, discovering new shortcuts and secrets with each new power discovered.

Elliot quest counts with a great level of difficulty and to discover all its secrets, it will take time, to which it is added, that we have a game mode "new game +" with more powerful enemies and adding more hours of game

Gameplay

The game presents a structure of levels with 2D gameplay, with special emphasis on platforms and the resolution of small puzzles, but also with its corresponding dose of action against enemies. A perfectly calibrated mixture that will never give us a break, and from this first level we will learn that we should keep an eye out if we don't want to exhaust our reserve of hearts and end the game in a fatal way.

During the game we will travel the island finding places of all kinds, from dungeons to fearsome castles, but also with some other town in which to collect provisions and to chat with the people of the place. The exploration by the world will be done from a map in zenith view, in which we can discover the various scenarios and some secrets hidden behind some hidden pixel. As soon as we walk over to a place we can enter to explore, an icon of admiration will appear above Elliot, and as in Zelda II - which includes this way of moving around the world - after a small mass of pixels can hide the most bloody of the dungeons.

Apart from the powers, Elliot will be able to find - or buy - equipment improvements, such as better helmets or shields to resist more damage, or improvements to his main weapon, a bow that will be the terror of enemies. In addition, a system of gaining experience and leveling is incorporated, with which we can invest level points, in various branches that will cause Elliot to shoot farther with his bow or at greater speed, for example.

Progress through adventure will cause us to dive with more than one moment in which, we will be lost without knowing where to go next. Possibly in many of these cases it's a matter of exploring the map thoroughly in search of some new unexplored place, or revisiting some previous scenario and taking advantage of some new ability to reach new places. The fact is that Elliot Quest is not going to make it easy or intuitive to know the next destination, so it will play to bring out our exploratory skills to gradually progress through all the stages.

Graphics & Design

Technically, Elliot Quest gives off that no-nonsense scent through all of its pores. With its pixels faithfully represents what was Zelda II in its time, although providing some filters here and there to slightly soften the edges and modernize part of the proposal. It has charisma to rage, and its scenes are as varied as peculiar, besides a template of enemies more than satisfactory (near the 35 different types of henchmen).

Musically speaking it's also a remarkable game, with 17 tracks composed by Michael Chait, a great composer of chiptune melodies. Some of these topics are quite catchy, and we end up irrevocably associating them with their respective scenarios and memorizing them to hum them later.

Conclusion

Elliot Quest endorsed with note, it's retro commemorative game status. It's especially aimed at lovers of this kind of games, which will find in it a remarkable homage to the classic Zelda II of NES. In case you aren't lovers of the retro, surely you see it too pixelated or unfairly challenging, but this kind of titles should be like this, an ode to exploration, to know how to look for life, to get lost for a long time to savor the success of find that path by which to continue the adventure. Elliot Quest offers all that and more, and for that we praise it and we highly recommend it for all lovers of the great epics of yesteryear.