Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand

"An awesome game..."

Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand is a unique game. It is also fantastic! You use the sun for your gun's ammo. Check the weather before you play. A tip that you will find useful.

Story: 9/10
You are a vampire hunter on a quest to vanquish the undead and immortals from the world. Your father was the last vampire hunter but he died in battle so you are avenging him too. It has some good plot twists. It may be simple but it is pretty good.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics in this game are really good. It is easy to identify everything. The surroundings have good detail. For example in the morning the trees look colorful and pleasant. At night they look dark, mysterious, and forbidding. The scenery changes too. When there is not much sunlight puddles will form. When the sunlight is strong there will be no puddles. No flaws in graphics here.

Sound: 10/10
The sound in this game is really good. Occasionally people talk but their voices sound amazing coming from a GBA. All the enemies’ have their own squeak or growl. The music fits the mood of this game.

Control: 9/10
The controls in this game are good. At first you might have trouble with the controls but you will get used to it.

Game play: 10/10
The game play in Boktai is really fun. You sneak around dungeons and purify the immortal that is in the dungeon. Your gun’s name is the Gun Del Sol. You can attack and fire stun shots with the Gun Del Sol. What is really unique is that you use sunlight for your gun's ammo (you can’t trick the solar sensor with normal light). You can customize your gun by changing its lenses, batteries, frames, and grenades. Sunlight cannot come inside dungeons but occasionally there is a skylight in which you can charge your gun and enemies cannot hurt you while you are in it. You NEED to play in the sun while using a pile driver to defeat bosses (unless you use a black light, a black light is the only light that can trick the solar sensor). Stealth is a big element in this game. While you are sneaking around dungeons you can knock on walls to get enemies’ attention and you can flatten yourself against walls so enemies will not hear you. You don’t have a lot of ammo in dungeons so use it wisely. You can only recharge your gun in dungeons if there is a skylight, a solar station, and you can consume a limited supply of solar nuts. The only flaw in Boktai’s game play is that if the sun is not out you’ll have a hard time playing and you won’t be able to beat any bosses (unless you use a black light). Other than that Boktai’s game play is awesome.

Replay Value: 10/10
The replay value in this game is great! There are a lot of difficulty settings and extras once you beat the game. There are a lot of optional dungeons. To top it all off there are multiplayer game modes for 2-4 players. This game offers a lot of replay value.

Buy or Rent
Buy Boktai. It will last you some time. Boktai is not a short game. You won’t be able to beat Boktai quickly if you try to do all the side quests. This is an amazing game that you will not regret buying.

Overall: 10/10
Boktai is a must own for all GBA owners unless you live in a place where there is not much sun (you can beat the bosses without the sun if you own a black light). I recommend that you buy Boktai. You won’t regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/22/03