Narita Boy

Narita Boy is visually stunning and packed with great ideas; but for everything it does right, you can see how it could’ve done better.

Narita Boy is a tribute to the 80s and to all lovers of retro games. It is a title with a good story, with interesting dialogues, and a visual section that will make the most veteran players fall in love. Although its control is not too precise, it is a recommendable proposal.

Narita Boy is a curious and risky 2D adventure that isn’t always what it seems. Issues with some game mechanics shouldn’t deter anyone from playing through the story, and its soundtrack’s passionate synthwave-leaning collection of themes somehow stands out amidst a sea of new titles which share these sonic leanings. Narita Boy will be more impactful and absorbing to those who fully immerse in its narrative, and what may first appear as hastily written nonsense informs a lyrical and consistent fictional universe. Give in to its mysteries and enjoy.

Narita Boy has style and substance in equal measure, and is a massively impressive first game from Studio Koba.

Narita Boy is an extremely enjoyable action game with absurd, dreamy and lysergic aestethics.

Ultimately, there’s little more we can say except just get Narita Boy downloaded ASAP. If you’re a fan of Metroidvanias or, God help you, the ongoing ‘80s fad, then you owe it to yourself to play this game. Its world-building and razor-sharp combat make it more than just “yet another ‘80s throwback’, and we can’t wait to see what the developers do with the concept in the future.

Narita Boy is a lovingly crafted action-adventure game that should appease anyone who’s into 2D pixel graphics. The game offers a relatively short but extremely memorable experience.

Without being perfect, Narita Boy offers a pleasant neo-retro ride. Visually sublime, it manages to push the codes inherited from the 80s further than a few games before it.

When I first saw Narita Boy, I thought it was too good to be true. Three of my favorite things Ð Tron, beautiful 2D animation and weird indie games Ð all in one package? Somebody pinch me! Overall, the game mostly delivers on that trifecta, but some of it made me sleepy. Thankfully, it ends with the promise of a souped-up sequel in a whole new genre. Here's hoping this modern digital boy is on to bigger and brighter things. [Issue #53 – July/August 2021, p. 22]

Narita Boy takes you on an interesting adventure through the Digital Kingdom. The process may get repetitive with time but the overall experience was amusing nonetheless.

The experience was certainly an interesting one, and the steady clip of receiving new abilities worked well enough, but the way combat encounters pop up sporadically impacted the overall pacing. Many times, an NPC would tell me where to go or whom to seek out, and I would just chance upon my destination rather than know exactly where to go; the naming conventions at play don’t do the game any favors. Still, I’m leaving Narita Boy behind happy that I spent time in his world, and both captivated and a little miffed by how his story turns out. But sometimes that’s the mark of a tale worth hearing.

Narita Boy is a neon-infused 80s fever dream, casting you as the hero of a microscopic digital system. The aesthetic and audio presentation nails this vibe. Just don’t expect engaging combat or a coherent story.

It might obviously borrow from the likes of Tron and Another World, Superbrothers and even Ready Player One (the old-school pop-culture nods become comparatively exhausting), but there's just enough here that feels forged anew, born of fresh imagination rather than successful precedents, to give Narita Boy an edge over a lot of other titles in its genre. Digital stores across computer and console formats aren't exactly lacking in side-scrolling, pixel-art action-platformers - but this is one worth finding time for, pulsating as it does with promise that actually, largely, delivers.

Not many games have quite stumped me with opposing thoughts in the same way as Narita Boy has, as I constantly questioned myself over what kind of lasting impression it gave me. On one hand, the visual and audio beauty of it all stayed with me for days, while on the other hand, I couldn’t shake off how everything was all clouded over by gameplay that never quite reaches its full potential.