Do you remember the Boktai games for the Game Boy Advance? This franchise had a very unique premise because it relied on a sun senor on the cartridge. Even though this was a highly innovative idea, in the end it proved very troublesome, because gamers had to be in the sunlight in order for their characters to be powered up enough to defeat some of the tougher bosses. Well, the spiritual successor to this game has arrived and it is entitled Lunar Knights.

Earth has become a very different place from the world we know. Vampires have taken over with the help of alien technology called paraSOL. This environmental control system has been used to block out the sunlight and give the vampires a world where they can roam free anytime they want. The world has become a very desolate place and people have the choice either to fight off the vampires or live as their slaves. Two young boys have decided to defy the vampires and they are trying to rid the world of them. It is up to you to help them out to defeat the malicious vampires one and for all.

When you first load up the game you will be controlling the character Lucian who wields the sword called Vanargand, which is the dark sword. He only allows his companion, Nero a dark elemental, at his side who gives him various hints during the game. The thing that makes him very effective at his job is his ability to change the moonlight into power, which he uses to destroy any vampires that may come before him.

Later on in the game you will be able to control another character that goes by the name of Aaron. He is a rookie gunslinger, who wields the Solar Gun called Knight, which is an heirloom left by his father. Aaron also has an elemental that is always by his side giving advice and its name is Toasty, a light element. By using these two very different characters you will have the power to defeat challenge that comes your way.

One of the biggest benefits to Lunar Knights is its ability to let players change on the fly who they want to control. This presents a sense of strategy when you are coming upon various enemies. Will they be defeated faster by long range guns or by the sword? Players also can interact with the environment such as opening chests, breaking crates, and hitting levers that will give you various items that will help on your journey. As stated earlier, each of the main characters harnesses a special power from either the moon or the sun. They will be able to use this power to dash through the levels and to help in attacking enemies. One last thing that the characters have is a limit break that will do devastating damage to any enemy it might hit.

After you defeat a boss you will have to purify it so that it doesn’t regenerate itself. How you do this is completely different then what you might expect - you seal the creature in a casket and hop upon your starship and go into space. You then blast past the enemies and bring the casket to the Interstellar Satellite Sunflower which will purify the vampire. The little mini game does a great job of breaking up any repetition as you are going through the dungeons.

The graphics for Lunar Knights are pretty decent, but I have seen better on the Nintendo DS. This game does not stray to far from the Boktai series as many things look familiar, but the ante has been upped due to the Nintendo DS’s powerful hardware. The main change of pace is the 3D space battles that you will go through; but the only bad thing about these is that the game appears to suffer from some slow down.

One thing that many people will appreciate in this game is that it makes use of anime cutscenes all throughout this game. These scenes really help set the pace for the game and get you pumped up to do whatever objective lies before you. The only main problem with these scenes is that while they look really good, the sound seems to falter and not sound as good as the rest of the game. This is easily forgettable as these scenes never last for too long.

Even though the sound seems to falter during the cutscenes, the rest of the game sounds really great. The music really sets the atmosphere while you are exploring the various dungeons, flying deep in space, and other locations that you will visit while on your quest. What makes this game even nicer is the sound effects also fit really well within this game from the sword slashes to the gun firing, it all fits in.

Lunar Knights also contains a wireless battle mode where up to four friends can battle it out to see who the best is. As you play the game you will earn points by defeating the competition. The player who has the most points at the end of the battle is then declared the victor. Another extra thing that this game supports is that if you have any of the previous Boktai games and plug them in to the Game Boy Advance slot you can use the sun sensor to help you while playing the game. These two additions that the developers put in really help extend the replay value of the game, and fans of this franchise will enjoy them.

Lunar Knights is rated Everyone 10+ and contains animated blood, mild fantasy violence, mild language, and mild suggestive themes.

Gameplay: 8.2
The game is really fun to play since you have the ability to change between two main characters. Another thing that really helps breakup the repetition is when you are flying up in space to purify the vampires.

Graphics: 8.3
Even though the graphics are very similar to the Boktai series, this game does well enough on its own, due to being on more powerful hardware that allows more enemies and better special effects. The only bad thing is some slight slow during the boss battles and while in space.

Sound: 8.6
The music for this game fits it perfectly from crawling through various dungeons to taking the fight up in deep space. The sound effects that you hear in this game are also done really well.

Difficulty: Medium
This game has its moments where it will be very easy and other moments where you will be grinding your teeth as you face off against some of your opponents.

Concept: 8.0
Even though the game loses some of its charm due to the lack of the sun sensor, this game still remains fun to play. Getting to play with two opposite characters (one with a sword who gets power from the moon and one with guns that gets power from the sun) really helps this game and prevent repetition.

Overall: 8.4
Lunar Knights is a really fun game for the Nintendo DS. You will have a blast as you are going though various dungeons trying to rid the world of the vampires. Having the ability to plug in your old Boktai games for additional enhancements is also a nice touch that returning players will enjoy.