Games Database
GBA
Adventure
| Viewed: | 2D Isometric, Scrolling | Genre: | Adventure |
| Arcade origin: | No | ||
| Developer: | Konami | Soft. Co.: | Konami |
| Publishers: | Konami
(JP/GB) |
Released: | 2003
(JP) 14 May 2004 (GB) |
| Ratings: | PEGI 3+ | ||
| No Accessories: | No Accessories | ||
Summary
Anyone concerned with the oft-purported lack of innovation in video games lately need look no further than this latest Konami release for GBA. Conceived by the legendary Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, and inspired by his desire to combine the natural and gaming worlds in some way, Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand is the world's first solar-sensitive game, utilising a light sensor on the cartridge itself, which subsequently has a direct influence on the actual gameplay within. Read on and we'll shed some light on the matter!
The game is essentially an arcade adventure affair, casting you as young hero Django, who embarks on a quest to clear his village of its vampire overlords. Entering a series of vampire strongholds, you must battle your way through the catacombs of a number of castles, before exposing their inhabitants to the fatal rays of the sun. And this is where the rather nifty light-sensing gadgetry comes in, as in order to defeat the vampiric hordes and their undead underlings, you must use actual sunlight to destroy them.
Consequently, Boktai encourages you to play the game outside, in order to stand a better chance of success. The fact that exposing your Game Boy to direct sunlight infuses rooms within the game with deadly light means that you can apply strategies such as luring vampires under holes in roofs, before quickly reducing them to ashes.
The use of sunlight is also paramount to destroying the Master Vampires that dominate each stage. You must first locate the coffins of the beasts and store enough sunlight to power the different weapons within your inventory. The resulting battle then sees you using the stored light to force the vampire overlords into their coffins, which you must then drag outside, where a special sun-powered weapon can be found to finish the job.
Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand represents a real step in gaming innovation, making for a quite unique experience - if you own a GBA, this is something you need to check out. Unless of course you're agoraphobic. Or in prison. Or living in northern Scandinavia.
The game is essentially an arcade adventure affair, casting you as young hero Django, who embarks on a quest to clear his village of its vampire overlords. Entering a series of vampire strongholds, you must battle your way through the catacombs of a number of castles, before exposing their inhabitants to the fatal rays of the sun. And this is where the rather nifty light-sensing gadgetry comes in, as in order to defeat the vampiric hordes and their undead underlings, you must use actual sunlight to destroy them.
Consequently, Boktai encourages you to play the game outside, in order to stand a better chance of success. The fact that exposing your Game Boy to direct sunlight infuses rooms within the game with deadly light means that you can apply strategies such as luring vampires under holes in roofs, before quickly reducing them to ashes.
The use of sunlight is also paramount to destroying the Master Vampires that dominate each stage. You must first locate the coffins of the beasts and store enough sunlight to power the different weapons within your inventory. The resulting battle then sees you using the stored light to force the vampire overlords into their coffins, which you must then drag outside, where a special sun-powered weapon can be found to finish the job.
Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand represents a real step in gaming innovation, making for a quite unique experience - if you own a GBA, this is something you need to check out. Unless of course you're agoraphobic. Or in prison. Or living in northern Scandinavia.
