The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales - All endings, step-by-step guide to reaching the true ending

Today marks the global launch of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, the title developed by Team Asano and Claytechworks for Square Enix, which offers a classic action-platforming adventure in an HD-2D style - the first of its kind in this visual genre.

We've already told you what we thought of the game as a whole, and we've also given you some tips on which weapons, powers, and items to choose to tackle it with ease. But now it's time to guide you to the true ending: the hidden truth behind the world of Philabieldia and the role Elliot and his friends play in it.

As you can imagine, we recommend you stop reading right now if you haven't seen the in-game credits at least once yet; I'll come back to this point after the page break following the image. From here on, there are massive spoilers regarding the plot and the conclusion of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, although I'll try to leave out as many plot details as possible so that you can discover them for yourselves. You've been warned.

Reaching the credits is just the beginning

In The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, there are a total of three endings, and none of them is mutually exclusive 'per se' within the game. The game assumes it's natural to reach each of them in a certain order, although only the third and final one is the canonical ending. I'm going to describe each of them, and then I'll talk about my own experience of reaching the true ending, which wasn't as straightforward as it might seem.

First ending - Bad ending

This ending is the logical path you would follow in any video game story. The path leads you to the Tower of Albanorte in the Age of Safekeeping to face the Beast of Resentment, which is responsible for the spell that has encased Princess Heuria in ice and threatens to end her life and, consequently, that of the magical seal protecting the Huans from extinction at the hands of the beasts. Travelling through the Tower of Albanorte and battling the Taumatas, you'll reach the lower floor, where four mechanisms guard the door. To unlock each of them, you'll have to face four 'experimental' beasts, which are like the mini-bosses you've already faced in the ruins and caves so far, but slightly stronger. Once they've all been defeated, the path to the Beast of Resentment lies open.

Curiously, the beast can speak, and reveals a deep hatred for humanity, which it wishes to see suffer. Ultimately, when you defeat it, it addresses you directly, calling you by your name, Elliot, before succumbing. Confused, yet triumphant, you return to Huther's castle, where you see that the ice around the princess has indeed melted, but she remains in a deep slumber from which she does not awaken. The protective spell is barely holding, so Elliot and Faie set out once more, determined to find answers.

Second ending - Good ending

The answers are unclear, but perhaps someone from another era knows how to proceed. At this point, whilst travelling through the three previous Eras, you discover that to defeat the Beast of Resentment once and for all, you must resort to the arcane combat technique of the Myu, a race of humanoid beasts with feline features, such as cat ears and tails. Only through this technique will you be able to face the final boss. But you also need the sacred weapon, the Leitstaff sword. A weapon that is familiar to you, as it was the one with which Kaifried—the usurping minister whom you have already defeated—pierced you when you first crossed the Gate of Time. In your own era, the sword was lost when it fell off a cliff, so you must travel to an earlier era to find it.

In the Age of Reconstruction, within the Water Ruins (near where the Diving Manual is found), you will discover the Leitstaff sword. With it, you'll need to travel through the Age of Reconstruction to find the three Sages of the Myu, so they can teach you the sacred technique to seal the evil within the Beast of Resentment.

I won't go into too much detail about this path, as it's clearly marked by the quest line provided by the game. Just bear in mind that you must help Hirk and Kai in the Age of Budding, as well as Lyudmila. You'll need to complete all the main events in this era. To trigger the quests, simply enter the Hitoyori settlement.

Eventually, you'll need to go to the Great Tree and find the cat there. In the Age of Reconstruction, you'll have to defend the city against wave after wave of beast attacks alongside Heurich. Make sure you're well prepared with potions and weapons of at least two stars. Once you've completed the quest, head to Phoenix Mount to find the second sage and obtain the second tome to learn the secret technique. Finally, in the Age of Magic, you'll need to deactivate the crazed taumata using a similar wave-based system. Once you've done that, you'll need to enter the Geared Ruins and defeat the boss there. Behind him will be the third sage, holding the third tome. This is how you obtain the secret sealing technique. You can now return to the Age of Awakening and face the Beast of Resentment once more. The key here is that you must deliver the final blow using the technique you've learnt, whilst the sword is equipped.

After your victory, Heuria will speak to you to tell you that the spell has been broken and that everything has returned to normal. It's a good ending, but you're left with the feeling that you could have saved the Beast of Resentment, whose identity you're beginning to sense...

True ending

And this is when you realise that this ending actually conceals the game's true finale, as there is a long chain of quests - much longer than those leading to the previous endings - to complete before you can see the credits for the third and final time.

To piece together all the parts of the story's puzzle, you'll have to go right back to the beginning. Head to the Age of Budding and go to Lyudmila's cabin to speak to her and accept her quest. You'll need to head to Dragonpillar and from there to the Great Tree, where you'll defeat the big boss at the treetop (be careful, it's possibly the most gruelling battle in the whole game). After this, return to Lyudmila and head back to Hitoyori to watch a cutscene and follow the events from there.

Note: There's a special event in Hitoyori village involving a countdown. If you can't find the solution in time, make sure to push the block all the way to the end to extinguish the flames as you go.

In the Age of Magic, return to Mao and Carter's cabin and retrieve the earring. Afterwards, head to the tower in North Alban and follow the events there, which will then lead you to the Southern Caves and then the Western Caves. You can't go wrong.

In the Age of Reconstruction, return to the cottage, where you'll find Mao unconscious. You'll need to take her to the village and fetch the medicinal items the doctor asks for. They'll be by the lake and in the volcano area. If you're having trouble getting there in this Era, you can still find them in the same place in all of them. Once you've completed all the quests, all that remains is to return to the Era of Safekeeping, enter the city, head to the orphanage, and then go to the throne room in Huther Castle. Then, go out and head left, collect Mao's earring from Heuria's chambers and, this time, return to the Albanorte Tower for the third time. It's time to save Mao.

In the final battle, perform a perfect block with your shield to trigger the earring's memories. The little girl will gradually come to her senses and eventually transform back into Mao, at which point Elliot will reveal the truth about Carter and his son. Afterwards, return to the castle.

It seems that peace is returning to the kingdom of Huther, and the Myu and humans can begin to think about living in peace. But Faie has a strange vision of a global threat. It seems that the end of days is nigh: Demise, the dragon sealed away during the Age of Myths, is about to awaken, and to stand any chance, both humans and Myu must join forces.

Do you remember rescuing cats throughout the adventure? Now is when you'll see how useful they are. I'm not sure of the exact number of cats you need to unlock the final quest, but at this stage of my playthrough I already had 38 out of 50. The only way to fight the End-of-Time Dragon is to restore the magic to the Phoenix in the volcano, so you'll need to go back and reach the final section of the dungeon. Once the Phoenix awakens, the final battle lies ahead (featuring a great homage to Panzer Dragoon).

If you defeat Demise, all that's left is to enjoy a series of cutscenes with your loved ones in the Age of Safekeeping, and that's it. You've just completed the story right through to its true ending in The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales.