Ultimately, what makes Earthlock so essential is just how earnest it is in its love for classic JRPGs. It’s worth sitting through its more cumbersome features in order to appreciate the hard work that a team of people who clearly love the genre have sweated over to refine the game to the point where it’s not only a homage to the greats of old, but it adds just a little to what makes the genre so wonderful.

Technically it's not the best game around, but keep in mind that Earthlock is an independent production, and as such it must be treated. If you're looking for a light and not too demanding experience, with an intriguing battle system, fun to play from the beginning to the end, Earthlock is the right choice.

In the end, while the story is regrettably un-memorable and fairly lacking, the game play makes up for it with several clever, strategic spins on time-tested game play mechanics. Back that up with solid graphics and audio and you have yourself an old-school RPG that should scratch that itch you've been having.

A surprisingly hardcore RPG that belies its child-friendly surface. Teeth-gnashing boss battles can almost always be overcome with careful consideration and patience, and, when you find the solution, you'll wonder why you were even annoyed in the first place. The story is guff with a set of bland characters that do little more than move you from place to place, but you could do worse.

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a cute JRPG inspired by a bunch of very old-school mechanics, but that fails in delivering a satisfying experience.

Earthlock: Festival of Magic has some neat ideas of its own to add to those it borrows from its inspiration. Boss battles are a highlight but general dungeon exploring feels slow and laborious. The story and characters are also weak but there is some fun here, just not for everyone.

A loving homage to PS one era JRPGs, but its small innovations are suffocated beneath a dead weight of clichés and conventions that in most cases were better off left to the past.