Boktai 2 offers wireless challenge
Unique 'Crossover Battle' allows users of Konami's new light-sensitive title to challenge Mega Man fans to a duel to the death...
Konami of Europe has announced that its forthcoming Boktai® 2: Solar Boy Django title for Game Boy Advance will boast wireless compatibility, allowing users to enjoy 'Crossover Battles' with Capcom's Mega Man Battle NetworkTM 5 title. This feature marks the players can play against each other using two totally different games.
Due for release in May and devised by the legendary Hideo Kojima, Boktai 2 follows series hero Django as he returns to his home town, San Miguel, having seemingly destroyed the evil 'Immortals' - a vampire race - in the first game. On arrival, though, Django and Master Otenko, Messenger of the Sun, find that San Miguel is also under the thrall of the Immortals and everyone there has been turned into zombies.
As with its predecessor, Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django uses a light sensor that directly affects the gameplay. Vampires and Immortals can only be purified by sunlight, while the sensor works in conjunction with the Game Boy Advance's internal game clock to realistically change day into night and reflect the time of day the game is being played in.
The use of the handheld's Wireless Adapter (sold separately) marks another first for the sequel. Via a simple set-up process, players armed with a copy of Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django, can link with players of Capcom's Mega Man Battle NetworkTM 5 and pit Django against characters from the Capcom game in wireless battles. The 'Link' mode is directly accessible from Boktai 2's title screen and a simple command will open a 'Crossover Battle' function where players of either game can challenge their opponent to a battle.
The introduction of 'Crossover Battles' came via the friendship between Boktai creator Hideo Kojima and Keiji Inafune, Producer of Capcom's Mega Man series for Game Boy Advance. The pair have long discussed ways to work together, and the first steps came when Boktai's vampire hunter, Django, made a cameo appearance in a previous Mega Man title for the Nintendo handheld. From here, the team committed to extending the relationship between the two games, and the 'Crossover battle' wireless mode was created.
The battles take the form of side-on fights, with players of both Boktai 2 and Mega Man Battle NetworkTM 5 taking on a character called ShadeMan across rounds of predetermined length. Before the contest and in between bouts, players can make tactical changes with Hit Points determining the winner - if a player loses all theirs, the opponent is declared the winner. Similarly, the characters from each game will both enjoy unique abilities lifted from their source titles, and will have special attacks designed to interfere with the opponent's game play.
Boktai® 2: Solar Boy Django will be released for Game Boy Advance in May, 2005. For more information, please contact Steve Merrett at Voltage PR on 020 7903 5122 or email steve@voltagepr.com.