Narita Boy – An excellent game, 8/10

Narita boy is a linear story driven sidescroller with 80 vibes with a heathy mix of retro video games and pop culture references. This game was made by the infamous Team 17 (yes, they made Worms) in Unity

You follow the Narita Boy to save a digital kingdom by hacking and slashing through mobs and bosses, picking up essential upgrades to progress and to discover 4 distinct digital alien worlds.

The biggest and strongest point is the dense atmosphere, dense 80’s astetics and the excellent retro music which kept me playing this game to the end. I always wanted to unlock another cutscene part to understand the story and this bizzard world.

The good:
– excellent music, check out the Narita Boy OST
– beautiful graphics, even for crummy pixel art
– light difficulty and easy to use combat
– very interesting story to unlock
– subtle japanese religious shinto influences woven in this digital world
– cool boss fights
– pseudo techno babble

Not so good:
– slight delay in inputs, resulting in wonky combat and jumping
– all progression is to find a keycard to open a door, then next keycard for the next door and so on
– no minimap (no modern conveniences, you can get lost or even stuck)
– artifical combat in arenas
– no real secrets (besides 5 pick ups for the true ending)
– no replayability

Would be a 10 of 10 if not for the input delay and bad 80’s practise of blatant keycard door progression.

Tldr: 8/10, excellent game that has a great vibe!

Check out Narita Boy (or the free demo):
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1069530/Narita_Boy/


Disclaimer: I requested the key for this game, which I got. I didn’t get any money, sponsorship nor do I have any affiliation with the developer/publisher. But thanks for giving this gem to me!