Now that last year's Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand has a sequel, there exists a grand total of two video games that require sunlight. The use of the sun's rays wasn't just some gratuitous gimmick in Boktai; it made sense in the context of an action adventure game in which you had to fight powerful vampires whose only weakness was an aversion to concentrated sunlight. The original Boktai turned out to be a solid action adventure game with a unique twist, and though the sequel plays out quite a bit differently in some ways--and is much tougher than the original (mostly due to some mind-bending puzzles)--it still also fits this description. Boktai 2's steeper difficulty level and direct tie-in to the original game's storyline means it will be probably be most enjoyed by fans of the original who are eager for a greater challenge. However, newcomers will be more impressed at how sunlight ties into the gameplay, since Boktai fans will already know what to expect in this regard. Even so, original Boktai fans will be in for some surprising twists.

An anime-style spaghetti Western/horror movie that needs sunlight for best results? That's Boktai 2.

In Boktai 2, you reprise the role of Django, a vampire hunter who travels with his sunflower-shaped mentor Otenko. Their journey has led them to a town called San Miguel, wherein they discover that something called the "undeadening" is threatening the land. Immortals are lurking nearby, regaining their energies so that they might cast the world into shadow. It's unclear why these vampiric foes have survived, but Django's work is cut out for him all the same. There's quite a bit of story in Boktai 2, and it can be difficult to follow, at first. It refers back to the climactic events from the original game, which frankly weren't all that memorable. Basically, it's stuff about Django's family and his relationship to his rival Sabata. It is easy enough to pick up on what's happening after a fairly slow and sometimes painfully difficult start, though. Boktai 2 takes a good several hours to hit its stride.

The game's premise is more immediately engaging than the specifics of the story. It's essentially an anime-inspired cross between a monster movie and a spaghetti Western. In fact, the latter influence is much more overt in Boktai 2 than in the original, what with the game's spaghetti Western-inspired music and cast of characters. Django and Sabata merely take their names from a couple of spaghetti Western gunslingers, but some of the other cast now include archetypal characters, like a gunsmith-turned-blacksmith, a Native American-looking guardsman, and a spirited young lass who speaks with a Southern drawl. The immortals you'll face are much different and resemble your token arrogant anime villains--before they transform into something much bigger and meaner-looking. Despite being a sequel, Boktai 2 manages to have its own distinctive sense of style.

As in Boktai, the main purpose of playing in sunlight in Boktai 2 is to provide Django with energy for his attacks. The brighter and stronger the sunlight that hits the game's small solar sensor, the more quickly Django recovers his energy...provided he's standing outside in the game. Even in interior sequences, the world of the game sometimes changes dynamically depending on whether you're playing in the light. For instance, you'll see sunlight peaking through the windows--or not--depending on the conditions you're playing in. A real-time clock further adds to the complexity, because the presence and behavior of some foes changes depending on the time of day.

Sunlight is strictly necessary to perform the purification process required to finally defeat one of the game's main bosses, and it's also required for certain puzzles. For instance, some floating platforms or other objects may not appear unless it's sunny out. In general, sunlight plays an even more important role here than in the previous game. On the other hand, one of Boktai 2's main twists is that something happens to Django during the course of the game that makes the properties of the sun start to affect him rather differently than he's used to. It's an interesting surprise when this event occurs, and it opens up a number of new puzzle-solving possibilities due to the new powers Django acquires.

Unfortunately for Django, at the beginning of the game, his signature firearm is snatched away by a powerful vampire, leaving him empty-handed and in a heap of trouble. It seems that the world's best antivampire weapon, the gun del sol, is now in the hands of the enemy. Soon enough, Django gets his hands on a decent replacement: a magical gauntlet called the sol de vice. Using it in tandem with some melee weapons, Django learns to imbue his attacks with solar energy and other powers. Visually, Boktai 2 appears almost indistinguishable from its predecessor, at first glance, but the gameplay itself has noticeably changed, beginning with the loss of the gun del sol.

The bright and colorful visuals look just like those of the first game, but Boktai 2 plays quite a bit differently in a lot of ways.

The melee combat in Bokai 2 is decent but not that great. You'll get to use swords, spears, and hammers (as well as your fists), but none of these types of attacks looks or feels entirely satisfying. Django must stand still while attacking, and the game's isometric viewpoint can make lining up your attacks a little cumbersome at times. The action can also slow down quite a bit when there are several enemies onscreen at once. And as if to make up for all this, Boktai 2 now features more role-playing elements, starting with an experience point system and the ability to level up and customize your character's stats. It's possible to avoid many opponents in the game, but you'll generally want to fight them, because doing so will help make you stronger.

The game is also quite heavy on puzzle-solving, and the puzzles are fairly challenging, even from the start. Many of the puzzles involve pushing blocks around to their proper destinations. You can push blocks, but you cannot pull them, so it's easy to find yourself stuck. Entering and exiting the room resets the puzzle, allowing you to keep on trying for as many times as it takes. There are some variations on the common theme, often requiring the use of your various melee weapons and the different elemental charges you'll pick up. Different combinations of weapons and enchantments will let you do such things as throw switches from afar, melt solid blocks of ice, smash wooden crates, kill evil weeds, and more. In all, Boktai 2's puzzles can be surprisingly complex, but, at times, they can be a little frustrating--especially if and when sunlight is the key to getting past them...and there's none available, thus forcing you to save your progress and hope for a good forecast tomorrow.