Norton Commander set me on the path to building Gusco: https://intestinate.com/gusco/

NC tribute theme included.

Give it a shot if you wish Midnight Commander felt closer to Total Commander.

I remember when Total Commander (originally Windows Commander) arrived and immediately made NC on Windows obsolete.

Symantec really knew how to trash a good product.

While I haven't had to deal with Windows professionally for a very long time, I still miss the feel of Total Commander and DOS NC.