10 Insane Video Game Mechanics You Won't Believe Are Real
5. Go Outside - Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand
Of course, the major selling point of handheld gaming systems is being able to take them wherever you go; whether that’s on public transport or sitting in the grass on a nice day. That being said, we’ve all laid on our sofa or bed with our portable console of choice and so occasionally we might need a reminder that we can and should game on the go.
Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand is an appropriately titled affair that did its best to get players to actually go outside and soak up some sweet, sweet vitamin D. The 2003 Hideo Kojima produced Game Boy Advance title has a unique cartridge with a photometric light sensor, able to read when and how long it’s out in the sun for.
Boktai’s action RPG gameplay sees hero Django face off with undead creatures that must be fought back against with the power of light. In this instance, literal light as the game’s weapons are charged depending how long the cartridge sees the sun. If you don’t get out enough (or cheat with a heat lamp) then you’ll be running out of power pretty quickly.
The next time someone asks you to go outside, make them to buy you this game that is now heinously expensive to purchase primarily because it's unique cartridge wasn't cheap to produce.