Boktai: Black Sun



I’m a big fan of the Boktai series. Most people, especially here in the USA don’t know about this game. To put it simply, it plays similarly to the older Zelda games like A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and the Oracle games, but it’s a vampire-hunting game and has a solar sensor built into the cartridge, so the player has to use REAL sunlight in certain parts of the game. This game wasn’t very popular, so finding a cartridge offline is extremely hard.

The first time I heard about this game was in the Megaman Battle Network series. The main character, Solar Boy Django makes cameo appearances in Battle Networks 4-6. I was bored one day and decided to Google “Solar Boy Django”, just to see what I found. I found out that he had his own game series for the GBA. I told my brother about it, and one day, he found a copy of “Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand” at Gamestop in the mall. I paid him back for it, and began playing. I loved the game.

A few months later, I found a copy of Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django at the other Gamestop in town. (we had 2, one inside the mall and one across the street from the mall) Of course, wanting to know what happened next, I jumped at the chance to buy it. I played it, loved it, and wanted more. I was psyched for the release of Lunar Knights, the DS sequel to Boktai. But Boktai 3: Sabata’s Counter Attack was never released in America, due to low sales of the first 2 games. I found an English ROM of it and played it to fill in the gap between Boktai 2 and Lunar Knights.

A few months ago, after not playing it for quite some time, I decided to pick up my copy of Boktai 1 and give it a go. I had collected almost everything, only missing a few emblems to open the doors in the secret dungeon Azure Sky Tower, and some gun parts, which I need said emblems to obtain.

I turned it on, and it was where I last saved: the last dungeon, the Dark Castle, just before the fight with Sabata, Django’s dark brother. (I’m not going to say his “evil” brother because he’s not evil. He just wields darkness while Django wields light, so of course they’re going to butt heads, but he helps Django later on.) So, I walked into the room where the battle takes place, the door slammed shut like normal…then the screen went black and a message showed up.

“The Solar Sensor is broken.”

……well, crap. My favorite game, toasted. That made me sad. I had spent countless hours playing it, and now it was gone. The Solar Sensor is essential, and you can’t beat the final boss without it.

A few weeks later, I had saved up enough extra money, so I decided to get a new copy. Gamestop stopped carrying GBA games, and the other local game store that carries everything from NES to PS3 had never heard of this game. I began to comb Amazon and eBay for a copy.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">Most of the copies I found were either brand new or complete, coming with the box, instructions, everything…for well over 60 dollars. I wasn’t willing to spend that on a GBA game. I wasn’t careful enough to keep a GBA game’s box intact, so I didn’t really care about the box.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">I finally found a used copy for 15 dollars, plus 10 shipping. The only option was Buy it Now, instead of bidding. But I could throw 25 for this game. It’s worth it. So I bought it, and 2 weeks later, it showed up in my mailbox. I opened it up and plugged it in my GBA. I don’t use my DS for GBA games when I can help it because my data for Megaman Battle Network 6, both versions, has been erased multiple times because accidentally bumped the DS against something while it’s turned on. So, the warning to not play under strong sunlight for too long came up, then the title screen.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">The music was as I remembered, then when I clicked start, I heard Django and Sabata say “Boktai: the Sun is in your Hand!”. So far so good. I checked the save files. There was only one that was being used. The former owner had named his character “Sabata”. Heh, funny. I had done the same thing on my second file on my first copy. He had saved at the level Abyss. This was an actual level. It was off on the far west side of the map, only one entrance, only one exit, and one of the only places, if not THE only place to get the “Nightmare” Dark Gun grenades. So I loaded up the file, and when it started up, I was surprised. I was actually playing AS Sabata! I’d seen a rom hack online before where someone hacked the game to play as Sabata. In Boktai 1, Sabata was merely a pallete swap of Django. (In the later games, he had a different hair style.) I decided to check my weapons and stats.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">The only gun parts I had were the Dark Gun parts. The Dark III Lens, Phantom Frame, Chaos Battery, and Nightmare Grenades. The only Solar Fruits I had were Speed Nuts and Solar Nuts. The only Key items I had were 5 different emblems: Earth, Cloud, Frost, Flame and Dark. I went through the Dungeon, but there were no enemies. Since there was only one way in or out, I left and was back in the overworld. I fired a few shots, expecting the Solar Gun sound, but it made the sound Sabata’s gun makes (his and Django’s guns make different sounds, even if Django has all of the Dark Gun Parts equipped).

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">My gun battery was slowly recharging on its own, even though I wasn’t in the sunlight. I pressed A to quick charge, and I was able to charge without Sunlight, the way Sabata can in Boktai 2 when you play as him. Even his call of “Ankoku!” (Japanese for "Darkness") was heard, where Django shouts “Taiyoh!” (Japanese for "Sunlight").

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">The hacker had made a perfect replica of Sabata to play as. I was getting more and more excited. I set off to the next dungeon. Each of the Undead dungeons I went to were devoid of enemies. I decided to make my way to the Dark Castle’s entrance.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">When I entered the Dark Castle via the Dark Warp Magic Square, Sabata fell to one knee, and started glowing red.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“???: Sabata, why have you betrayed me? How could you be so selfish? You sacrificed an innocent girl and your own mother, just to gain more power!”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Sabata: Shut up! It’s too late now! I’ll continue to grow stronger, and I’ll defeat the Queen myself!”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">Sabata stood back up. When I regained control of him, I continued on. All of the pathways were opened, and I eventually found myself at the place where Django and Sabata were supposed to have their final confrontation. As I approached the exit, leading to the next area, the door slammed shut before I could leave. Without my control, Sabata walked back to the middle of the room. I saw Django standing there.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Sabata: Did you break the seals, Django?”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">Sabata said his entire Dialogue from the original game here, about how he used the 2 guardians, Muspell and Garmr, and the 2 immortals, The Count and Carmilla to give the Dark Castle power to reach the moon. Then, when he said “I will not bend to the will of the Queen, or any other!” He fell to his knee and started glowing again.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">He teleported to another part of the room, and I was thrown into a boss battle, still controlling Sabata. Battling Django was nothing like fighting Sabata normally. While I was fighting Django, his moveset was completely different. He had access to all of his different frames, grenades and lenses. This was a tough battle. When I finally knocked out all his HP, he fell to the ground and a cutscene initiated.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Sabata: Pathetic. You thought you could defeat me!? The world shall be swallowed in Darkness! And it shall be I, not Hel, who brings about the new world!”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">Sabata then fired a grenade. As it struck the fallen Django, his body exploded, leaving a large red mark on the floor where he used to be, and various body parts, including his head and chunks of his torso scattered throughout the room. That freaked me out a bit. There was a little blood in the Boktai games, but nothing like that!

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">I decided to shake this off and keep going, as the gate opened, leading to the next area. I went up the last flight of stairs, and confronted Hel, the Queen of the Immortals.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Hel:…Sabata…I’m disappointed in you…you sacrificed not only that poor girl Carmilla and your own mother, but now you didn’t even hesitate to kill your own brother!”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">She turned to face me.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Hel: Even though I gave you the Dark powers, that’s stooping too low!”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Sabata: All I care about is getting stronger! You’re next!”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">I was thrown into another Boss Battle. No matter what I tried, nothing would hurt the Queen. She was immune to my Dark Elemented attacks. Eventually, a timer appeared at the top of the screen. This happened in Hard Mode of the normal gameplay. If you took too long, she would charge up a giant Darkness blast that was a one hit kill. Eventually, the timer reached 0, and she fired. Sabata hit the floor and another text box appeared.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Hel: You honestly thought you were a match for me? It seems I made a mistake in raising you…now you shall die like the rest!”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">The screen faded to black, and I heard her demonic laugh. The Queen then entered her second form. She grabbed Sabata with one of her skeletal hands, raised him up to her mouth, then bit him in half. Sabata screamed the way he did when he dies in Boktai 2 if you’re playing as him, but it was more drawn out, and much louder. The music that was playing was from Boktai 2 when you get the bad ending, by either being eaten by Jormungandr or if you choose to join Black Dainn. The screen faded to black and some text appeared :

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“The End of the world….”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Because Django failed to stop the Queen….”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“The world was plunged into eternal Darkness….”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">The game then showed a scene that showed all of the Immortals, The Count, Carmilla, Muspell, and Garmr. Django and Sabata were standing before them, but their skin was a sickly blue. They were decayed, missing chunks of flesh, and Django's left eye was missing. The screen panned up, and behind the Immortals was Hel in her second form, laughing demonically, with a dark purplish blue fluid dribbling from her teeth, and her eyes glowing bright red. (she had red eyes anyway, but they were glowing). The laugh coming from my speakers kept getting louder and louder.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">Another timer appeared, like at the end of all 3 games. In Boktai 1 and 2, you were supposed to put the Solar Sensor in strong Sunlight and charge. If you did it right, you got a better ending. I ran to my door, and opened it, and put the GBA in the sun. I pressed the A button and tried to charge. By the time I got there, there was only 5 seconds left on the clock. Both Django and Sabata let out their cries, and began charging, both Light and Darkness. The timer hit 0. They stopped charging and turned to face the Queen, and another text appeared.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Hel: Finish it….”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">The screen faded to black, and I could hear the brothers' death cries, accompanied by sickening noises that sounded like stabbing, crunching and ripping of flesh. White text appeared.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“You failed to stop her….”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Now the world has been doomed to the damnation of the Undeadening…”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">“Forever….”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">It stayed black and the noises continued for about 10 seconds, and then was completely silent.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">After about ten more seconds, Hel’s second form flashed on the screen for a split second, the way it was shown earlier, glowing eyes and the dark fluid streaming from her teeth accompanied by her evil laughter.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">The game then returned to the title screen, but the music was the “bad ending” music from Boktai 2. The sky surrounding the Sun was blood red, and the sun was pitch black. The title now read “Boktai:”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">And in bloody letters “Black Sun.”

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">As I pressed start, instead of hearing “Boktai: The Sun is in your hand!” all I heard were Django and Sabata screaming.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">I selected the “Continue Game” option, but the screen was completely black. After about 20 seconds of nothing, Hel’s final form, still having the glowing eyes and the weird ooze coming from her mouth, flashed across the screen again, making me jump. It then cut back to the demonic title screen. I turned off the game and ripped it from my GBA. I got on the internet to send the eBay user who sold me this possessed game an email. When I checked my transaction history, I saw that the seller had closed their account.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">I was irritated. Not only had I wasted 25 dollars, but I was STILL without a copy of Boktai 1. I filed a report to eBay, wanting to get a refund, but when I got a response, they said that the seller didn’t even show up in the database, even though it should’ve despite them closing the account. I sold the game to the game store I mentioned earlier, the one that sells everything, only getting 5 bucks of in-store credit. When the lady popped it into a DS to test it out, the Title Screen was normal, and both save files were empty.

<p style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:13.2pt;"><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#3A3A3A">I’ve since downloaded and played a ROM of Boktai 1. It’s not the same w/o the Solar Sensor…but I can’t help but feel that every time I fight Hel, her second form has glowing eyes, only for a split second when she first appears…and when I load my file, I swear I can almost hear that haunting laugh…..

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<p class="MsoNormal">Author's note:

<p class="MsoNormal">This is a pasta I had written a few years ago, and it's only the second one I've written. I've gotten better at writing since then, so, please have some mercy when it comes to critiques. Keep in mind that this pasta is about 3 years old.