Every time I try to run the application, I get told that it cannot run due to a missing nw_elf.dll file despite me being able to see that it is, in fact in the same folder as the exe. Any tips?? It's been affecting me on other games too.

uninstall your town of passion folder and google 7zip file opener. Install 7zip, and now you can right click and extract the town of passion zip using 7zip. 7zip can extract special game files that normal "extract all" cant. Hope it helps