![]() ![]() ![]() It’s a classic formula, but a big part of what makes Earthlock so fun is that it improves on the genre’s conventions in tangible, modern ways. In terms of its gameplay, Earthlock builds off of a solid JRPG base: you’ll move your party of adventurers through a traversable overworld, entering cities, towns, and villages to progress the plot, pick-up quests, and refuel, in-between exploring monster-ridden dungeons and fighting turn-based battles with enemies and occasional bosses. Still, it’s an entertaining narrative, and its strong characters kept us interested throughout. The writing can be oddly hit-or-miss dialogue ranges from excellent to just okay, and there’s little linguistic coherence among invented place names and terms. The characters - from a kindly ‘hogbunny’ named Gnart and capable military captain Ive to Taika, her loyal dog - are interesting and likable, and we quickly become invested in seeing their stories through. ![]() It’s an enjoyable tale that shows strong parallels to Final Fantasy IX, especially in its six playable party members. A routine mission gone awry turns Amon’s world on its head and sends him spiralling into conflict with empires, and it’s your job to guide him - along with an ever-growing cast of characters - on his journey to save his family, and ultimately, Umbra. After a brief playable in situ introduction, you’ll begin your journey in earnest as Amon, a young scavenger living with his uncle in the town of Zaber. A love letter to the genre, it plays like a thoughtfully modern take on PS1-era Square adventures, and will be a real treat for JRPG fans.Įarthlock takes place in Umbra, a world bearing the scars of past catastrophe and an imbalance of ‘amri’, a magical energy. After a successful 2014 Kickstarter run that saw Earthlock: Festival Of Magic release on Wii U (among other platforms), this significantly updated version has landed on the Switch. That’s also the case with Earthlock, from Norwegian developer Snowcastle Games. ![]() While the ‘J’ in ‘JRPG’ ostensibly stands for 'Japanese', it refers to a style of role-playing game rather than country of origin strong, often linear stories and turn-based combat are the calling cards of the genre, and Western-made games such as Child Of Light and Cosmic Star Heroine follow its conventions just as much as classic Japanese examples a la Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. ![]()
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