48 Hours In The Sun: My Frustrating Time With Boktai

I got a Gameboy Micro in the mail last week, and I wanted to start my hunt for GBA games as soon as possible. I had browsed overpriced auctions on Ebay and searched Gamestop, but to no avail. I eventually ended up at my local Play N Trade and started browsing their selection of games for the console. I decided on Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hands, and quickly plunked down the $10.89 for the game. I had heard great things about Boktai and it's innovative game design that makes use of a built in solar sensor to use actual sunlight in the gameplay. As the cashier rang me up, she informed me that I had 48 hours if I didn't like the game to bring it back. I didn't realize how much I would need that policy with this game.

I also didn't realize is that I would have to literally stand out in the sun and have direct sunlight strike the cartridge. This led to me twirling around in my front yard like an idiot trying to get light to strike the sensor that was smaller than an eraser. Because I could never actually get the sun to hit the cartridge, I could solve the first major puzzle in the game. I was stuck at 13 minutes into the only game I owned for the GBA. That Wednesday, I immediately brought the game back to Play N Trade and started looking again. This time I used the same $10.89 to get two games, both compilation carts. It's safe to say that I'll be trusting my gut more on these things now.

I wanted to review Boktai, but I didn't play enough of it to actually play it, mainly because the concept was flawed in it's execution. What could have been a cool implementation of a real time clock coupled with a solar sensor to reflect actual sunlight, turned out to be a broken experience that a gamer looking for genuine fun can ill afford when starting a library on a new console. If you have actually played and enjoyed Boktai, let me know in the comments section, because I know I didn't.