One of the charms about the indie scene is that developers are more than happy to wear their hearts on their sleeves. Ansimuz Games/Luis Zuno makes it clear that Elliot Quest is an homage to the Legend of Zelda series. This isn’t the first time an indie developer has based a game on the infamous series. but it’s not often that a game is proud to say it’s based on the red-headed stepchild of the original trilogy, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
It’s only surprising because many 2D platforming games you play these days feature mechanics first seen in the sophomore effort; RPG elements of magic, armor, and weapons are all heavily indebted to it – Elliot Quest has all of these elements as you would imagine.
The game exists inside an open world, leaving you free to explore as you please (or are allowed to begin with). The first area to visit where you can really do anything is – both in visuals and audio - Link to the Past’s Lost Woods. What it lacks in originality though, it makes up for in visual charm and its simplicity in setting you up with the gameplay mechanics.
Elliot is paired up with a bow and arrow to begin with, and it works effectively. The arrow has a decent enough range, and basic enemies can be toppled with a few shots. The trailer shows off several other weapons that will be available as well, and it seems like certain weapons will help with traversing the environment and killing enemies.
While the forest music is a modified version of the Lost Woods, the rest of the soundtrack (currently available here) is more akin to the work of Nobuo Uematsu (composer of the Final Fantasy series) and it’s some seriously impressive stuff. Michael Chait has a keen ear for melody and is someone to keep a note on for the future.
The actual plot of the game doesn’t exist yet, but that’s a minor complaint (and really, who is going to be that concerned).
The official online demo is available to play here.
Elliot Quest is currently up on Steam’s Greenlight if you feel so inclined to vote for it.
Also, Zuno has put up a pledge on Indiegogo with the aim of raising $6,000. The packages go from $1 up to $1,400, and if you like what you see I would suggest going for the $8 package, as this includes a free copy of the game (Windows, Linux or Mac), the original soundtrack, and a PDF with drawn illustrations.
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