Radaxian » Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django

Boktai: The Sun is in your Hand did not just stand out for being one of the most unique games of the generation, it was an all-time classic thanks to an ingenious blend of gameplay styles and innovation. Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django, which Konami released one year and one month later (when the weather has already grown too cold to play outside over much of the continent), rather surprisingly shook up the formula which was so successful in the first outing.

Boktai 2 is a victim of its own ambitiousness. It is chock full of fun new ideas. Taken in a vacuum, gameplay systems such as the solar forging, Vampire Boy abilities, and creature transformations are clever additions. Yet collectively all of the apparent innovations asphyxiate the overall fun-factor. The new weapons and melée style combat erode the unique solar/stealth style gameplay which propelled the original to classic status. In Boktai 2 there is little incentive to sneak around and ambush your enemies, and lacking your precious Gun del Sol from the first game - doing so is simply not very enjoyable anyway.

In spite of these significant problems Boktai 2 would still be an above average game if it simply kept its focus. The plot and world are all over the place and puzzles less frequent and satisfying. If having to consult a FAQ frequently only to discover the solution to your problem was arbitrary and obscure supercedes the fun, you just have to give up sometimes.

The ultimate failure of Boktai 2 is that it feels like a chore to play. The only motivation for pushing forward is the memory of the intense fun of the legendary first game. Hopefully Boktai 3 will get back to basics, pushing the memory of this sub par sequel out of mind. [Aug05]