Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand (GBA) Preview

Developer	KCEJ
Publisher	Konami
Genre	Role-Playing
Release Date	9/10/03

Every now and then a game comes out that makes everyone think the creator had a little too much wine the preceding night. Boktai is one of the most creative ideas that have hit the video game market in quite some time. The only problem is going to be the practicality of it.

At E3 2003, there were tons of games on display. There was The Sims 2, Conker Live & Uncut, and, what was that other one? Oh yeah, Halo 2. With big titles like these, it was easy for many games to get overlooked, especially GameBoy Advance games, simply because the small system isn't capable of stuff that the home consoles can produce. However, there were some interesting titles announced for the GBA, and Boktai is one of them.

Okay, it's time for a pop quiz: does anyone out there know who Hideo Kojima is? Yeah, he's the one responsible for the ultra popular Metal Gear Solid games; everyone knows them for being quality and fun-to-play games. Well, guess what, he's the one behind Boktai, so if anyone can pull this game off, it's him. Enough beating around the bush; let's get into what makes Boktai so unique. Boktai is a game that actually has a sensor built into it to detect UV rays; that's right -- you're going to need to play outside to get through the game. The idea is, as a vampire hunter, you must use the "Gun Del Sol" to ward off undeads and vampires. The only way to charge up this weapon is to get solar energy stored in your game.

However, not only is it necessary to have solar energy built up, but you must also be in sunlight in the game to charge up the Gun Del Sol. This gets tricky in castles and other buildings. Fortunately, there are cracks in the wall, open windows, etc. that allow you to charge it while in an enclosed area. However, these spots of light inside the buildings will only appear if the sun sensor is getting UV rays.

At first glance, it seems as though the option of playing during road trips, at night, and at school is not possible. However, Kojima has realized this and added a feature where you can store solar energy collected during the day, and at night go back and use the saved energy. Still, there is one problem -- Mr. Kojima thought it would be a really cool idea if you're only able to fight bosses when you're actually outside in the sunlight. So even if you save up a lot of solar energy, it'll only take you to the boss fight, and then you have to wait for a clear day to continue playing.

The game is still under development, so it's unsure if there will be other things to do when it's impossible to get sunlight; and don't even think about it -- artificial light sources such as lamps and flashlights won't be able to fool the censor. So no matter what, if you want to win this game, you're going to have to step outside of your house/cave/box once in a while.

The big question is: is this game practical? Sure it sounds awesome and intriguing, but 99% of the time, video games are being played inside. Maybe this is Kojima's way of getting gamers to actually experience the outside world a little bit, who knows, but in any event, it will be interesting to see how this game does in its final version, which is currently scheduled to hit shelves on September 10, 2003.

Preview by Mark Raby