There are many quality independent titles released in recent years, so much so that more and more small companies have managed to achieve the success they deserved. Just think of the important presence among the nominees for the game of the year of Celeste in 2018 and of Hades in 2020, as well as the many awards obtained by works such as Disco Elysium. Although the competition in this field is very fierce, there are in fact "special" works, which for one reason or another stand out and manage to carve out their own space in the hearts of the players. Narita Boy, action-adventure made by Koba study, could be one of them. The capabilities are certainly not lacking in Catalan developers, who have managed to create a truly impactful experience. Let's find out its features together in our review.
The pixelated hero and his Techno-sword
The world of Narita Boy mixes reality and digital, transports us to the Digital Kingdom, an imaginative kingdom born from the mind of the so-called "Creator". The latter is a man deserving to have developed the successful Narita One console and its flagship game, Narita Boy. In the role of this pixelated protagonist, the players are called to save the memories of the Creator and defeat Him, the one who erased them.
Accompanying Narita Boy on his journey to the Digital Kingdom is there Techno-sword, a special sword imbued with power. Thanks to it it is possible to counter the threat of the Stallions, henchmen of Him who haunt the digital realm. The combat phases are one of the central points of the work, which is characterized by a strong hack 'n' slash component: many techniques, multiple approach possibilities and above all a great variety of enemies. It is difficult to feel repetitiveness in this sense, given that the title knows how and when to renew itself, almost constantly introducing novelties in terms of antagonists and actions for the protagonist.
The movements are fluid and fast, aided by hand-drawn animations and always beautiful to behold. The result is fun to play and satisfying action sections, which can often become difficult to complete if you don't always have the right reflexes. These are game phases that interrupt the exploratory part of the title quite frequently, which takes place in two dimensions and in a not purely linear way. A “metroidvania” side that is not actually present in such a marked way, so much so that a map of the various areas is also absent. It happens to get fundamental power-ups to get through certain obstacles encountered previously, but it is not one of the focal points of the experience.
To progress, however, it is necessary to retrace one's steps often after having explored the game world. The environmental puzzles almost always see the presence of symbols or keys (in the features of nice floppy disks) to be found in order to access new areas and, probably, from this point of view there could have been more variety. Anyhow the work flows pleasantly and this above all thanks to particularly original situations, to his ability to update himself that we were talking about a little while ago and to a narrative that is always very present and carried on by a large number of characters.
A journey through 80s-style memories
As already mentioned, the main goal of the player is to recover the memories of the Creator. Scattered around the Digital Kingdom, often to be found following the fight against a boss, there are particular statues. These lead into a separate world where you can unlock and experience firsthand glimpses of the life of the inventor of Narita Boy. These are intimate and exciting moments, accompanied by light and melancholy music, as opposed to the powerful and lively soundtrack present in the rest of the adventure. They are also useful moments to discover more about the plot of the game and that push us to connect the life of the Creator to what we are experiencing within the digital realm.
A kingdom steeped in the 80s and a distinctly retro style, starting with the visual effects that characterize it. The adventure takes place in fact in a cathode ray tube television and has a "blurred" effect, blurred, that manages well in giving style without bothering the player. This retro imprint is obviously found in every element of the game, even if not every visual element is perfectly linked to the setting. We are talking more about the platforms on which it is possible to jump, not always easily recognizable despite the lights to highlight them.
However, platforming is not one of the substantial components of the experience, so it is not something that undermines the quality of the whole. In general, Studio Koba's work remains of good quality throughout its duration, proposing particular and suggestive digital environments and an always flowing progress interspersed with original moments and satisfying battles. An experience between action and adventure that offers a good number of hours of fun, harmonized by the excellent notes of the music composed by Salvinsky.
