In a way, it’s like booting up an old computer. I love every inch of its wonderfully designed world, and the gameplay is good enough to carry the adventure. Still, as much as I didn’t like gingerly hopping across platforms and would yell “come on!” after failing another difficult combat arena, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Narita Boy’s style once the dust settled. One boss lobs energy cubes that require precise dodging I crashed through half of them, and my survival boiled down to having enough hit points to absorb the onslaught. This becomes especially irritating in combat. The same is true of surfing atop a giant floppy disk it’s awesome in concept, less so in execution. Riding atop a computer horse sounds great until you’re crashing through spikes you can’t reliably dodge thanks to your character’s deliberate animations. It wouldn’t be so bad if the game was largely action with basic platforming, but Narita Boy falters by routinely introducing obstacle courses it doesn’t feel equipped for. Upgrades like a rising sword attack/high-jump doesn’t feel satisfying since you can’t use it as an actual double-jump and hitting the Up and attack buttons at the same time is tough to pull off in hectic scenarios. Jumping wall to wall can take multiple attempts due to how wooden your character feels. I’d often land on a ledge only for the sensitive movement to take me over it. Jumping feels stiff, slippery, and floaty all at once. I wish I could say the same for the platforming. Some start you close to where you died, but too often are you kicked back further than you’d expect.Ĭombat isn’t perfect but offers a good time overall. The worst part about getting your pixelated butt handed to you are the inconsistent checkpoints that feel almost arbitrary. For example, an armored foe with a nigh-impassable shield was never fun to deal with, and I always groaned when it appeared. There’s a fun challenge in figuring out how to use your arsenal of moves to take down combinations of vastly different opponents but a few of the enemy types are a flat-out pain to fight. The game boasts a plethora of challenging enemy types and has no problem dumping them all over players, which feels overwhelming at times. You’ll need all the help you can get because Narita Boy is no walk in the park. Best of all, Narita Boy doles out new abilities and mechanics until the very end, including neat, one-off sequences like piloting a giant mech version of yourself. Color-coded power-ups offer another cool perk it lets you kill enemies of a matching color (represented by a flame) more easily, though at the risk of taking more damage yourself. Slaying enemies starts as a basic affair but becomes more robust, and entertaining, as you unlock new sword attacks and screen-wiping summons. The shotgun sounds cooler on paper than in practice I regularly forgot about it as it never feels useful or necessary. The combat consists largely of satisfying hack n’ slash action using your legendary sword, but you also have a shotgun side arm. Narita Boy almost plays as good as it looks. I loved gawking at Narita Boy’s art, and even those lacking programming knowledge or nostalgia for the time period should appreciate the creativity on display, like “what if digital horses were just four-legged computer rigs?” The synthwave soundtrack rocks, and the CRT-style overlay is the chef’s kiss of the whole package. This monarchy, consisting of a desert kingdom and coastal village, among other locations, feels fully realized, both in visual design and lore. Your goal: eradicate an evil program and restore the memories of the Kingdom’s human creator. Studio Koba borrows heavily from Tron in that the entire game is set inside a computer world known as the Digital Kingdom. I can’t stress enough how awesome Narita Boy’s presentation is. 1980s homages are nearly played out, but Studio Koba’s action title manages to reinvent that retro style of cool with an imaginative presentation that goes a step further than “let’s just slap neon and grid lines everywhere.” Narita Boy’s gameplay doesn’t quite live up to its killer looks, but if you can put up with some headaches, it winds up being an enjoyable romp. Narita Boy's slick presentation hooked me before I even picked up my digitized sword.
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