So. I was in on the kickstarter, and I opted for the PS4 version. I started playing pretty much right when the PS4 codes went out. I got pretty close to the end but a couple things happened: Started to get a little fatigue with the game, plus there isn't a save anywhere system, just at check points. You can run from most any battle...except bosses. So I was doing my final push towards max level for my characters (I'd already maxed out bond levels), when I accidentally got too close to an optional boss (the most difficult optional in the game). I was not ready/prepped to fight said boss, and didn't really have a good tactic...said boss dropped my party in 3 rounds. So I lost about 1.5 hour of progress. That had happened a couple times playing this game, so it kind of knocked the wind out of my sails. I put the game down and played other stuff.
fast forward a few months (about a week ago at time of writing) and having finished Ori and the Blind Forest, and Cosmic Star Heroine (both of which I loved), I decided to try to pick up where I left off with Earthlock. Took about 30 minutes to get reacclimated to the combat system. I still had a pretty good idea what I needed to do next in the game, and my remaining side quests (last barnacle, last optional boss, get golds in the tournaments) and max my character levels. Just played a little conservatively, and after maybe 5 more hours of effort I did all of that and finished the game with all trophies.
Note that I do sometime put linier games down and come back to then later. I did the same thing with Legend of Dragoon. I was about 2/3rds through the game and got distracted by something. I came back to the game about a year later and finished it...yes, I still remembered what I was doing and what was going on in the story.
What did I think of the game? My main gripe is the losing of progress due to the limitations of check point saving. Otherwise, the story and dialogue is a bit blah. The characters are a bit cliché (I don't hold this against the game too much...this game is purposefully a throw back to PS2 era jRPGs after all). The game took me about 33 hours. It feels like it could of used a little more fleshing out of the story...even an hour or two more would have helped. I also wish the camera in combat could have been pulled out a little bit. Sometimes, when there are a lot of enemies on screen, it can get a little jumbled, and with really large enemies it can be difficult to see their bars.
That said, the combat is really good, can support several differing strategies, and has a nice flow to it. Seeing as this is the majority of the game, it helps a lot that this part of the game is good. There's a nice enemy variety, and a nice variety of character abilities to deal with different situations. The gardening/crafting systems are pretty good...nice set of extra abilities and not too complex to deal with. Soundtrack is understated, but really good. It reminds me of Yasunori Matusuda's soundtrack for Legaia 2 (A really subtle, understated, and underappreciated OST).
Another thought: Groups of PCs greater then what can be part of your active party. It really bugs me when your inactive members don't get experience. I feel it artificially forces more grinding (thus artificially lengthening the game...as an aside, thanks Robert, for not doing this with Cosmic Star Heroine. It was greatly appreciated). That said the level cap of 20 mitigates some of my gripes...you can't get too much character imbalance...the ultimate level cap prevents it.
I'd give this game a solid 8/10.
If Snowcastle were to make a sequel, I'd buy it in an instant, and I'd be happy to get in on any kickstarter they want to do.
