Kay's Destiny

"Kay's Destiny" is an epic old-school JRPG that fans of the genre should definitely check out. The game's greatest strengths are its huge amount of (diverse and interesting) contents and the excellent self-composed soundtrack. Not only does the game feature 72 side quests (plus quest journal), many of which require multiple steps and a lot of legwork to complete, there's also a ton of secrets to discover. While the rather simple "take revenge and slay the Demon Lord" story gets its job done (and occasionally provides some really serious and funny moments, as well as great world-building), completing all the optional quests is even more enjoyable. Many tools (like shovels and metal detectors) assist the party while adventuring, and the party members' special field abilities can unlock previously unaccessible areas. It's highly recommended to make notes while playing, and even then - and despite the aforementioned quest journal - it's difficult to keep track of everything. Beware, though, that the game throws many (optional) mini-games at the player; these mini-games are well-designed (including many, but not only reaction-based ones), yet they're challenging nonetheless, which means this probably isn't the right game for completionists that don't like mini-games. The turn-based battles are adequately balanced and even more on the easy side for players that take their time and grind to maximum level (99). I'm not a huge fan of RPG Maker XP (the engine this game was made in) and its default battle system, so it's probably one of the game's accomplishments that its battles are enjoyable nonetheless. Many other things in this game, even the so-called quality of life features (like teleportation, different modes of transportation or the "Mode 7" style world map), are a bit clunky and sluggish, which is probably RPG Maker XP's fault again, so patience is advised. The same applies to the game's rather slow beginning - instead, this game shines even brighter towards the end. Ultimately, if you like old-school JRPGs with turn-based battles and don't mind (reaction-based) mini-games or the RPG Maker (XP) engine in general, "Kay's Destiny" can - and hopefully will - provide you with dozens of hours of JRPG fun.