Lunar Knights for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

Lunar Knights delivers challenge and fun. You can change between two characters, both depends on how you play whether you like to melee with Lucian or shoot from afar with Django. The game offers a few puzzles which are easy to figure out, sneaking missions which are a joke, and a semi-hard spacecraft shooting game.

The game also includes some nice animated cutscenes with some addition of not-so-great voice acting. Weather and time changes throughout the game and you have the top screen to see it. Weather changes affect certain areas which you will need to progress but you'll learn more when you play. All the action is at the bottom touch screen. The game does make some use of the touch screen only when you use a "super" and you'll be instructed on what to do to decimate your enemies.

The bad thing about this game is the way the levels are staged. The game is staged diagonally. This was a problem for me because the DS's D-pad is not great for diagonal directions. You will have to be very careful when crossing narrow paths and getting on flying platforms. The game is also short and somewhat easy. The characters gain experience from killing enemies and level up then you distribute their stat points to 3 different categories. Sometimes you'll find yourself too low for the next dungeon so you will have to go back to the last dungeon and grind until you are at the minimum level or you've just killed too many people and the game gets too easy.

Above all, this game rocks!

Hideo Kojima is about as odd as they come when it comes to video game designers and developers but one thing is for certain, the man hardly ever makes a bad game. Interestingly enough, Boktai was one of the most creative game ideas during the GBA years. The game had a built in solar sensor that played a very important role in the game.

Since the game centers around hunting vampires and monsters, night and day plays a very important role. In the original Boktai games you sometimes were required to play in the day out in the sun and other times you were required to play at night inside. This proved difficult for players to play due to the fact that the TFT reflective display of the GBA typically turned extremely dark in sunlight.

Gone is the solar sensor of the GBA years and the Boktai name with it. The replacement is the top screen, since it emulates the sun, moon, clouds, and the weather. Using the top screen helps keep the original idea intact without making the game difficult to play to to issues outside of the player's hands. Lunar Nights takes all of the original Boktai's excellent formula of meshing Castlevania, Zelda and Metal Gear into one cohesive and excellent title. With two swappable characters, and an easy to use stat and fight system, the game shines in gameplay. The game even features amazing CGI anime cutscenes that are entirely dubbed with great dialogue by somewhat talented voice actors.

It's an excellent game and is one of the first great games in the junior year of the DS. If this is a sign of how much 2007 is going to rock than I'm pretty excited for this year.