DS Fanboy hands-on with Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero
When in Konami's booth yesterday, I was happy to see Elebits: The Adventures of Kai & Zero available for play. And play it I did, as the first title was one of my favorite launch games, nay, favorite games period on the Wii. But, what's this DS title all about? Would it be just a portable version of Konami's first game?
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The story of Elebits involves a young boy, Kai, and his pet Elebit, Zero. Also, a talking bus. And the bus can travel though time. And it's not even a Delorean bus, either!
In a freak time travel accident, Kai, Zero and the bus (known as G.G.) all get thrust onto a foreign world. We guess the bus can travel through time and dimensions. It's then revealed that this talking metal transport can use the power from Elebits to fuel its time travel capabilities. Not that you'd want to do that, though, because who knows where you'd end up if you got back on that bus.
But, sure enough, I had to set out and hunt for the small, electric critters. G.G. also dropped the bomb on me that Zero, Kai's pet Elebit, is a special breed. It's an Omega Elebit, which means it can absorb other, smaller Elebits and convert them into energy. Personally, I'm concerned for those Elebits. They're never heard from again, so I'm just assuming Zero eats the little things right up. How sad.
After all of the explanations, I finally got to take control. Here, from a presentation standpoint, the game looks a lot like Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. But, for as much as it resembles Nintendo's title, it doesn't play like it in the least. And it's here that I got a taste of the traditional Elebits gameplay: flushing out the little critters and capturing them for my own needs.
Using the stylus, I simply needed to poke something in the environment (tree, rock, etc.) and the little things would scurry out into the open. Using Kai's stun gun, I tapped the fearful little things and it would then cause them to be stunned. Then, a simply tap from my stylus on Zero would cause my pet to snatch up all of the little things. It's a simple way to find Elebits and means that those of us who like to comb over every single inch of the environment will find plenty to do in the final game.
Sadly, my play session ended soon after. But, what I played, I liked. It seems like Elebits: The Adventures of Kai & Zero will be an experience all its own, with enough of the sleuthing that made me love the Wii game. Consider me interested in Konami's upcoming game.
