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[Drinky Crow]

man, what a kickass little GBA game. It's like Landstalker meets Metal Gear with a seriously stellar soundtrack. A friend of mine loaned it to me to play while we were stuck at the transfer station, and I got hooked immediately. Geezus, HIDEOS Kojima can produce killer games when they aren't called Snatcher or Policenauts.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about the retards that say that handhelds shouldn't or can't have games as deep as their console brethren. Boktai 2 seems a heckuva lot deeper and bigger than any SNES action RPG I've played. Same goes for Golden Sun 2, Minish Cap, Metroid Fusion and even Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The best GBA games are easily as good or better than their SNES equivalents. So when did this bullshit about preferring handheld games to be shallow start? Oh yeah, when the Nintentwat brigade started trying to justify the existence of the DS next to the PSP.

Anyway, boktai 2 rocks. My daughter agrees, and she also notes that the instruction manual tastes AWESOME. Fuck mini-games, fuck puzzlers ad nauseum, and bring on the console-quality content like this.

 

[Memles]

Fuck mini-games, fuck puzzlers ad nauseum, and bring on the console-quality content like this.

I totally expected that sentence to end with "Edible Instruction Booklets".

 

[Drinky Crow]

That too.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I HOPE IT RAINS!

DW5!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Drinky Crow]

it got kinda cloudy out.

I got to the third map in COW PIE's Musou Mode this morning.

 

[snapty00]

Did you play the first one? If so, did you like it? I fucking hated it overall. So, I'm wondering if I'd like the second one.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Never played the first one -- the sun gimmick plus the apparent brevity turned me off. This version adds loads of items, RPG-style leveling up, better dungeons/bosses, a significantly lengthier quest, and slightly less emphasis on solar charging.

 

[Speevy]

Who doesn't love depth? I'm looking forward to Fire Emblem Cube because I've heard it's such a great series.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Holy crap...A Drinky post I almost completely agree with? Never thought I'd see that. Haven't played Boktai 2 but I've played the rest...Guess I have an addition to my GBA list.

I've wondered why some SNES games haven't gotten a facelift and ported over to GBA. Namely games that never hit the US outside of a fan transilated rom.

 

[Ranger X]

My daughter agrees, and she also notes that the instruction manual tastes AWESOME.

lol of the week for me here

 

[Mama Smurf]

I'm interested, particularly with summer coming up.

Any other impressions? Seems to be reviewed from decent to good.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Oh yeah, when the Nintentwat brigade started trying to justify the existence of the DS next to the PSP.

Do tell what the PSP has to offer in this realm, cause both systems are seriously lacking at the moment.

 

[Li Mu Bai]

The next Boktai is coming for the DS Drinky, does that allay & soothe any of your seething hatred? :lol

 

[Drinky Crow]

You mean console-quality content? Ridge Racers fucking RULES every console version of the title. Untold Legends is a good little hack-and-slash, Metal Gear Acid is a crazy-deep PC-style strategy game, Darkstalkers is a robust port of the killer arcade title, DW PSP compensates for the visual hit by adding a load of strategic-level depth, and Wipeout Pure has the polish and features of a console title as well.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Li Mu Bai, sounds cool to me, as long as they don't pull a Goemon/Castlevania and stick fucking touch crap in my action game portions. DO NOT MAKE ME TAKE MY THUMBS OFF THE BUTTONS TO WONK AROUND WITH A FUCKING STYLUS.

 

[Mama Smurf]

:lol Man, you can't resist! You even turn your own threads into DS/PSP wars. Second time I've seen it now, though you remembered to put the comment in your first post this time.

Though I guess it's your aim, I don't think anyone could say you're stupid enough to be doing it accidentally.

 

[Drinky Crow]

boktai 2, much like the psp, rocks! nintendo ds, much like shenmue and/or xenogears, does not!

 

[callous]

Holy crap...A Drinky post I almost completely agree with? Never thought I'd see that.

I'm in the same boat. Took me completely by surprise, but what can I say? He's absolutely right!

 

[drohne]

it also has the greatest subtitle ever: SOLAR BOY DJANGO. i've had the original sitting around for months now. picked it up at that circuit city clearance. i'd probably play it if i could stand to look at the gba screen.

and the next boktai is on gba as well, isn't it? shin boktai?

 

[RevenantKioku]

You mean console-quality content? Ridge Racers fucking RULES every console version of the title. Untold Legends is a good little hack-and-slash, Metal Gear Acid is a crazy-deep PC-style strategy game, Darkstalkers is a robust port of the killer arcade title, DW PSP compensates for the visual hit by adding a load of strategic-level depth, and Wipeout Pure has the polish and features of a console title as well.

Eh, content is worthless if you don't find the games enjoyable in the first place. I'm not even sure what the fuck my point is except both systems need to get some goddamn games out right about now. I'm getting tired of 2 hour Lumines games.

 

[Drinky Crow]

My daughter was avidly watching me peel away the cellophane on my new copy, so I screamed "SOLAA BOY DU-JAHNGO" in her face a couple times. She thought that was the funniest thing ever. If it makes a tiny irritable child laugh, it MUST be great.

 

[Drinky Crow]

I can't tell you what to like, dude. I can only tell you what sucks. Specifically, mini-games and puzzlers.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Fuck no Drinky! YOU CAN TELL HIM TO FUCKING LIKE DW5 GOTY!

 

[Attack You]

man, what a kickass little GBA game. It's like Landstalker...

And, stop right there. What took you so long? Kojima aside, to even know what Landstalker is in this day and age only to take this long to discover Boktai reeks of the worst sin imaginable.

 

[RevenantKioku]

I can't tell you what to like, dude. I can only tell you what sucks. Specifically, mini-games and puzzlers.

Haha, you'll grow out of it one day.

Actually, what's the tip-off between DW5 and DWPSP? Does the PSP version have any benefits aside from portability?

 

[Gaia Theory]

There is not enough love for Boktai in this world - a truly stellar game.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Attack You,

I rarely take lectures on my gaming taste from GAF, but I *do* feel kinda guilty in this case.

Oh, and Revenant: LIKE DW5.

 

[Attack You]

Attack You,

I rarely take lectures on my gaming taste from GAF, but I *do* feel kinda guilty in this case.

Tacky only scolds because he cares.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Oh, and Revenant: LIKE DW5.

I'm trying to, but you fools won't tell me whether or not the PSP DW is more worth my continual abuse of employee discount.

 

[radios shipping overview]

I play GBA games on a GB player attached to a Gamecube that's perpetually in a dark corner. Could I still play and enjoy this, or the first one? And is there any reason to play the first game before playing the second?

 

[Jonnyram]

I got the first game and was well and truly displeased with its over-reliance on sunlight. We have so much pollution in Tokyo that it was virtually impossible to play the game for the first month of its release

I take it the second game rectifies this problem somewhat?

 

[Li Mu Bai]

I got the first game and was well and truly displeased with its over-reliance on sunlight. We have so much pollution in Tokyo that it was virtually impossible to play the game for the first month of its release

I take it the second game rectifies this problem somewhat?

I thought that a blacklight could be successfully substituted for sunlight Johnny?

 

[Jonnyram]

I thought that a blacklight could be successfully substituted for sunlight Johnny?

Well I don't have one of them hanging around anyway (and wasn't that an April Fool's joke?).

 

[radios shipping overview]

Well I don't have one of them hanging around anyway (and wasn't that an April Fool's joke?).

I checked around a bit and it looks like it's for real. I'll have to pick up a corded light socket that I can clip near my GC (if I can find such a thing) and a UV bulb if I pick up either of these.

 

[Mejilan]

I bought a f-cking blacklight just so that I could play Boktai and Boktai 2 from my bed... with shades drawn.

YEAH!!

Anywho, it's remarkable how much better Boktai 2 is over 1.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Was asked but I don't believe answered...Does Boktai 2 pretty much require you to have played the first to fully enjoy it?

 

[Mejilan]

No, though you can transfer some data from the first to the second if you've beaten it (the first.) Via password, IIRC.

 

[wobedraggled]

Does it have puppies?

 

[JackFrost2012]

So unlike the first one, Boktai 2 is actually good? Are there any good clearances on the English version going on?

 

[Mejilan]

So unlike the first one, Boktai 2 is actually good? Are there any good clearances on the English version going on?

If you didn't like the first, I highly doubt you'd like the second.

 

[Bebpo]

Anyway, it got me to thinking about the retards that say that handhelds shouldn't or can't have games as deep as their console brethren. Boktai 2 seems a heckuva lot deeper and bigger than any SNES action RPG I've played. Same goes for Golden Sun 2, Minish Cap, Metroid Fusion and even Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The best GBA games are easily as good or better than their SNES equivalents. So when did this bullshit about preferring handheld games to be shallow start? Oh yeah, when the Nintentwat brigade started trying to justify the existence of the DS next to the PSP.

While I agree with you soley because PSP games do have the same depth as console games. I think your logic is a bit flawed here. GBA=SNES therefore GBA = PS2/Xbx/GC doesn't really work. Modern console games have much more depth on average than the games during the 16-bit era. So while GB(A) may have games with a sizeable amount of depth, up until the PSP, handheld games generally were shallow and lacking in depth vs. their modern console counterparts. With the exception of 3-5 games, I stayed out of the handheld genre before PSP because of this.

 

[FortNinety]

I take it the second game rectifies this problem somewhat?

Aren't you able to "buy" solar power in the game?

 

[MarkRyan]

I played Boktai through completely and absolutely loved it. I got Boktai 2 and don't like it nearly as much. The game takes away your gun for pretty much the entire game (don't whine spoilers, it happens in the first minutes of gameplay), requiring you to rely on melee weapons that just aren't nearly as interesting. Plus, the missing gun means no Luna Lens + Beatmania frame, which is exactly what made playing the original Boktai so damned fun indoors, is absent. I actually much prefer the game with no light to playing in the sun because it requires more tactical stealth.

Boktai 1 is totally playable indoors, except for ending boss fights when you absolutely need the sun. Boktai 2 requires the light a lot more in my experience, and overall just isn't as satisfying with the weapons. Doesn't help that, at least as far as I've played, the enemies are way more boring in Boktai 2--there's less punishment for being spotted, and two of the most interesting enemy types (mummies and rock-dudes) still haven't showed up.

The individual dungeons of Boktai 2 are wayyy bigger, but I actually really loved the short dungeons of Boktai that could be beaten in 10-20 minutes. I'm also not fond of RPG-style leveling because of the inherent gameplay flaws that crop up (in short, it takes control away from the game and level designers). The story in Boktai 2 is probably a lot better (there's an interesting twist), but I just can't bring myself to play it after having experienced the awesomeness of the first.

In short, if you're considering checking out Boktai (and I'd highly recommend it), I say pick up the first game. It's cheaper and better.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Mummies are in Boktai 2. They even mention 'em in the instruction manual.

 

[Jonnyram]

BTW, I take it Mr. Crow won't be indulging in the DS Boktai, because Konami will turn it into a bunch of minigames and remove all the depth of the previous games in the series.

 

[Mejilan]

Is it true that Boktai 3 is still a GBA game?

 

[Alex]

Boktai is good...? I've never even thought to try it. I'll give it a whirl, anything to keep the dear old GBA on life support.

 

[Jonnyram]

Is it true that Boktai 3 is still a GBA game?

Edit: Boktai 3 on GBA, but I recall there is a Boktai DS in development too.

 

[Memles]

I have no idea, but there's a Boktai coming out for the DS in July subtitled Counterattack Sabata. I imagine they just moved the game over to the DS rather than developing two separate titles.

I could have sworn there was a scan this past week with Boktai motorbiking and then isometric view parts too that was for GBA.

 

[Jonnyram]

Ignore my posts... I'm mistaken. Boktai 3 is on GBA.