Octopath Traveler might not have turned out to be quite what I hoped for, but there are quite a few RPGs out there aiming for that old school turn-based JRPG feeling.

I’d like to talk about a recent one I particularly enjoyed, Earthlock from Snowcastle Games.

Two years ago, I reviewed a game called Earthlock: Festival of Magic for MonsterVine. I appreciated its combat system and the inspiration it took from classic JRPGs, but its story fell short of the mark.

Eventually, the developers announced a “should have been” edition. This new version was simply called Earthlock, and owners of the old game got the new one for free. (Although I believe Wii U owners got the Switch version, since the new Earthlock never came to the Wii U.)

I once again reviewed it for MonsterVine, and I was blown away by the changes.

It still has the classic JRPG style and unusual combat system, but it added repeatable side quests, things to do on the world map, cute creatures to collect and populate the home base with, buried treasure to find, and optional conversations between the characters (something I always enjoy).

It also smoothed out the storytelling, filled in the gaps in the plot, and generally made it into a story I was much more interested in this time around.

Earthlock is on all major platforms now, and if you’re interested in nostalgic turn-based RPGs, I recommend giving it a look. In particular, if you decided to avoid the original Earthlock: Festival of Magic because of its reception, you should know that the improvements made to Earthlock are staggering.

The developers are working on an Earthlock 2, and I’m looking forward to it – not only because I enjoyed Earthlock and can’t wait to see what they do with its sequel, but also because I appreciate how they responded when their game didn’t turn out to be quite what it should have been at first.