Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django - GBA

Last year’s ‘Boktai: The sun is in your hand’ was the latest in a line of Game Boy games experimenting with some sort of gimmick or gadget in the cartridge itself. Whilst ‘Kirby Tilt and Tumble’ and ‘Marawu Made in Wario’ featured devices sensitive to movement, Boktai used a light-sensitive device which meant that some parts of the game could not be completed unless the player was actually outside in direct sunlight. In part the brainchild of Metal Gear Solid inventor Hideo Kojima, it’s no surprise that Boktai also included and fair amount of stealth-based gameplay. Whilst in the first version the player used the ‘Gun de Sol’ to vanquish the zombie enemies, the dynamic is different this time round – Django must use more conventional weapons – swords, spears, hammers (the game includes more than 60 weapons in total) to defeat the undead through the puzzle and action-based adventure. As in the original, sunlight is used to charge up the character’s energy, and unless the player is outside in broad daylight Django’s energy is not constantly replenished, though it is possible to ‘charge up’, like a battery, so that play can be continued inside or overnight. The game also features password connectivity with its predecessor, and supports the link cable for a battle mode for up to four players as well as the ability to trade with another player. more