Incredible rpg here. It wears its Mother 3 influence on its sleeve while also doing its own thing. The dungeon segments worked really well and felt fresher than other Zelda-likes. Of course the plot/atmosphere/characters/music/vibe are the real stars.

It’s a slow game for sure, It took me ~32hrs, this is a full length rpg. The town segments have a lot of running back and forth. There’s so much charm and magic in the world that I didn’t really mind it, it’s just rare for a Zelda-like to be this length.

I got the true ending of Earthborn, the interesting and cool randomized arcade-style 8bit rpg in the game. It took me a while to figure out all the mechanics to it, for so long it felt like it wouldn’t happen, but once it clicked I beat the true dark lord on the first try. Really cool extra-rpg experience. For people who played it the one time and the story and weren’t into it, you can skip it, the only awards are two achievements.

Overall I enjoyed my time with this game a lot. It didn’t rip out my heart and leave me emotionally wrecked the way Mother 3 did, but there’s a lot of tears and laughs and love in there, with fun gameplay, beautiful graphics and music and charming writing and just a whole lot of good stuff going for it. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re a fan of long rpgs and 2d Zelda games, this is one for you.