Narita Boy

Narita Boy is among the best Metroidvanias in recent years. Its beautiful world, surprisingly emotional story, and diverse enemy pool will leave you wanting more from its short run time.

79%Game Brain Score

story, music

grinding, stability

79% User Score Based on 1,024 reviews

Critic Score 78%Based on 24 reviews

Platforms

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About

Narita Boy is a single player arcade role playing game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Studio Koba and was released on March 30, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

The retro-futuristic pixel game Explore and fight in a retro-futuristic world. Swim deep into a oneiric, poetic and unique experience across dimensional planes. The aesthetic of the game was inspired by retro pixel adventures (Castlevania, Another World, Double Dragon) with a modern touch (Superbrothers, Sword and Sorcery) and an 80s plot homage (Ready Player One, He-Man, The Last Starfighter), …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,024 reviews

story220 positive mentions

grinding42 negative mentions

Stunning visuals and art style that beautifully captures the retro aesthetic.
Engaging soundtrack that enhances the overall experience and fits the game's theme.
Intriguing story that explores themes of loss and nostalgia, with well-developed lore.

Floaty and imprecise controls that can make platforming and combat frustrating.
Linear level design with excessive backtracking and no map, leading to tedious gameplay.
Overly verbose dialogue and exposition that can detract from immersion and pacing.

story
606 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
60%
4%
The story of "Narita Boy" is a blend of emotional depth and convoluted narrative, with many players finding it engaging yet occasionally overwhelming due to lengthy exposition and complex lore. While some appreciate the heartfelt themes of loss and nostalgia, others criticize the execution as confusing and bogged down by jargon, leading to mixed feelings about its overall impact. The game's artistic presentation and soundtrack are frequently praised, enhancing the storytelling experience, but the gameplay mechanics often detract from the narrative's potential.
- “The story is both intriguing and emotionally charged, drawing you into the digital kingdom of Narita Boy.”
- “What made Narita Boy a memorable experience for me, however, is the sad backstory of it all that slowly unveils as you complete the game's main objectives.”
- “With its stunning visuals, captivating music, and a fascinating story, this game is a true masterpiece that captivates and engages from start to finish.”
- “The main quest is just a chain of confusing fetch quests.”
- “I can appreciate the time and effort that went into the story but it's way too complicated and convoluted for my taste, and I'm someone that really loves complicated lore.”
- “The story is complete nonsense, a bunch of computer science jargon with the intention of being funny, but it's neither funny nor interesting.”
music
510 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
42%
2%
The music in "Narita Boy" has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its captivating synthwave soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's retro aesthetic. The soundtrack is described as both nostalgic and immersive, enhancing the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience, making it a standout feature of the game. While some players noted that the gameplay could be lacking, the music consistently elevates the experience, with many considering it worth the price of admission alone.
- “The music freaking slaps!!!”
- “The rich atmospheric music made me stay.”
- “The soundtrack is worth the price of admission alone.”
- “But that just the music.”
- “It's pretty much just an art game with good visuals and music, but mediocre gameplay with slippery controls and a pretty bad level design, where you have to run back and forth a linear path.”
- “Narita boy has some neat visuals and music but frankly that's all it has going for it.”
graphics
476 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
40%
1%
The graphics of *Narita Boy* are widely praised for their stunning pixel art and vibrant retro aesthetic, effectively capturing the essence of the 80s with a unique blend of neon colors and detailed environments. However, some players find the visuals can be overwhelming or muddled, particularly due to a CRT filter that obscures details, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the game's art style and accompanying soundtrack are often highlighted as its standout features, making it a visually captivating title.
- “The visuals are out of this world, man!!!”
- “It's an understatement to call the visuals stunning; there is obvious love and care that was put into every small detail.”
- “Incredible visuals, amazing world building, and engaging combat system interspersed with platforming.”
- “Why mix such an interesting and unique art style with a terrible, pain-inducing filter?”
- “Some of the visuals are just hard to see compared to the rest of the game.”
- “Visuals: the retro aesthetic is too busy and unfortunately makes for kind of muddled visuals, especially when trying to figure out if an element is interactable or just in the foreground/background.”
gameplay
414 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
9%
The gameplay of "Narita Boy" has received mixed reviews, with many praising its engaging visuals and soundtrack but criticizing its simplistic and often clunky mechanics. Players noted that while the combat can be enjoyable, it tends to rely heavily on button mashing and lacks depth, leading to repetitive gameplay. Additionally, the platforming elements and overall level design were described as frustrating and linear, detracting from the overall experience despite the game's artistic merits.
- “The gameplay is smooth and intuitive, with a perfect balance between exploration and combat.”
- “The mechanics are easy to grasp, yet challenging enough to keep you engaged for hours.”
- “The gameplay is fun and just when it feels like it might be getting a bit stale the game ends.”
- “The gameplay is clunky; you learn a lot of different moves throughout your adventure and meet even more enemies, but in the end, you mostly attack with your normal sword attacks and a shotgun which, like most other abilities, has little range and a small attack delay, meaning you get hit more often than not when using it.”
- “With clunky platforming and repetitive combat gameplay, I quickly found myself very bored and only about two hours in I realized this would never change for the remaining 7 or 8 hours I still had to go, so I stopped there.”
- “The visual design is really special, but the actual gameplay is so bad it ruined it for me.”
atmosphere
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, rich pixel art, and immersive synthwave soundtrack, which collectively create a captivating retro experience. Reviewers highlight the hypnotic quality of the environment and sound design, noting that these elements significantly enhance the storytelling and exploration aspects. While some players find the gameplay can be tedious at times, the overall aesthetic and atmosphere are considered standout features that elevate the game.
- “The atmosphere of this game is hypnotic; both the style of the graphics and the music really add to the game.”
- “A true retro feel in every sense of the way, with hypnotic atmosphere and stunning visuals backed up by one of the best fitting soundtracks ever, and that is what really sets this game apart.”
- “The story is fascinating and full of a shockingly high amount of worldbuilding, the graphics are beautiful with neon mechanical landscapes detailed in wonderful pixel art that could be mistaken for straight up digital paintings in some places, and there's a smooth synthwave score that's thick and atmospheric during exploration and rockin' during combat.”
- “This game looked so promising to me, the pixel art style, the synthwave soundtrack, the 80's atmosphere... and maybe that last thing was what made me realize I couldn't like this game at its fullest.”
- “The gameplay is harder to review because I didn't get very far, but I will say it has a really slow start trying to build atmosphere and story, but a 2D Metroidvania might not be the best medium for that.”
- “The graphics also add to the overall digital 80s synth-wave atmosphere; the digital kingdom is full of really picturesque places among the despair and chaos that the stallions bring.”
emotional
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of "Narita Boy" is highlighted by its touching narrative that explores themes of loss, personal history, and spirituality, drawing players into a beautifully crafted digital world. Many reviewers noted the game's ability to evoke strong feelings through its heartwarming moments, deep lore, and engaging storytelling, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics. Overall, the combination of stunning visuals, a captivating soundtrack, and a poignant story creates a memorable emotional experience for players.
- “The story is both intriguing and emotionally charged, drawing you into the digital kingdom of Narita Boy.”
- “I went into this fully expecting Narita Boy to be a simple, fun retro 2D platformer riding the ever-popular wave of faux 80s nostalgia – what I got was one of the most incredible looking and sounding games I can remember, with a poignant and heart-wrenchingly human story flowing through its old pop culture references and homages to classic video games.”
- “An emotional story about loss and the management of oneself compounds Narita Boy's sense of sublimity.”
grinding
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of "Narita Boy" is widely criticized for being tedious and time-consuming, with many players noting that battles and fetch quests often feel unnecessarily prolonged and repetitive. While the game's visuals and atmosphere are praised, the gameplay can become a frustrating experience due to sluggish controls and tedious level design, leading to a lack of engagement for some players. Overall, those who prioritize aesthetics over gameplay may find enjoyment, but many reviewers feel the grinding detracts significantly from the overall experience.
- “The game seems intent on wasting your time in the most tedious ways possible.”
- “In Narita Boy, the battles are unnecessarily long, attacks are sluggish, most of the attacks are useless, and the 'evade' button doesn't always work as intended, so battles, especially boss battles, become a tedious exercise rather than a fun experience.”
- “What I experienced in Narita Boy was one giant chain of fetch quests, consisting of tedious backtracking and looking for doors and platforms that blend into the background.”
humor
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding the lengthy, over-explained dialogue both funny and sincere, while others criticize it as nonsensical and uninformative. Some moments, like quirky NPC interactions and clever flavor text, resonate well, capturing a nostalgic sense of humor, though not all players appreciate the comedic attempts. Overall, while the game has its humorous highlights, opinions vary on its effectiveness and consistency.
- “Every box of dialogue overshares and overexplains in long techno-fantasy ramblings, and somehow it comes across as funny and sincere more often than annoying.”
- “I find it hilarious that he gave his own list of songs he would rather have in it and called himself 'a bit of a dreamer' .”
- “Engaging and often humorous, there was always something to learn about the world and its inhabitants.”
character development
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviewers consistently praise the character development in the game, highlighting the exceptional creativity and detail in character designs and backgrounds. The art style, particularly the design of bosses, is noted as a standout feature, contributing to an overall sensory experience that enhances the game's narrative and world-building.
- “The level of detail and creativity in the character design and backgrounds is astonishing.”
- “Narita Boy was a sensory marvel, with some of the best character designs, illustration, animation, music, world-building, and some spectacular writing.”
- “The ambient lighting, the character design - especially the bosses, I absolutely loved.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been criticized for various bugs and glitches, including framerate issues, non-responsive controls, and visual inconsistencies that detract from gameplay. Players have reported frustrating experiences with clunky battle mechanics and poor user experience choices, leading to a sense of instability throughout the game. While some glitches were noted as interesting, the overall impression is that the game suffers from significant stability problems.
- “Spent these past 40 minutes giving chance after chance wanting to like this game, manually troubleshooting the terrible framerate optimization (I have a 16GB Radeon playing a pixelated game, how is that even possible?), getting frustrated with the seemingly non-responsive jump controls, and terrible UX choices left and right. You want to transition to a new room? Where are you going? How about you return back here to the middle of the door and press up? Oh, you wanted to do the charged attack? How about we give you a false visual indicator first and then give you the exact same one but it will work now? And don't you dare wait a millisecond after that second one because the attack is no longer charged now.”
- “The battle moves are not always registered if you miss a pixel and are overall clunky. Plus, sometimes the screen is shaking or having visual glitches solely for aesthetic reasons, which would be fine if the battles were easy and not demanding, but that's not the case here.”
- “A few minor controller glitches (syncing) and the inability to backtrack left me frustrated.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game has been criticized for its low replayability, with many players feeling it is a "one and done" experience. The linear gameplay and lackluster combat contribute to this sentiment, as players find little incentive to revisit the game after completing it and obtaining all achievements. Additionally, the absence of quality-of-life features further diminishes its replay value.
- “The game offers a unique experience each time you play, making it highly replayable.”
- “With multiple paths and choices, the replayability factor is impressive.”
- “The variety of challenges and outcomes ensures that no two playthroughs are the same.”
- “Not really any replay value once you get all the achievements.”
- “Lastly, the game lacks any sort of replay value due to how linear everything is and the combat just not being that good, but also the game could benefit from a few more quality of life features.”
- “Replayability: one & done.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has been heavily criticized, with players experiencing significant framerate issues even on capable hardware, leading to frustration with non-responsive controls and poor user experience design. Many users feel that the game's performance detracts from overall enjoyment, making it difficult to engage with the gameplay effectively.
- “Spent these past 40 minutes giving chance after chance wanting to like this game, manually troubleshooting the terrible framerate optimization (I have a 16GB Radeon playing a pixelated game, how is this even possible?), getting frustrated with the seemingly non-responsive jump controls, and terrible UX choices left and right. You want to transition to a new room? Where are you going? How about you return back here to the middle of the door and press up? Oh, you wanted to do the charged attack? How about we give you a false visual indicator first and then give you the exact same one but it will work now? And don't you dare wait a millisecond after that second one because the attack is no longer charged now.”
- “Spent these past 40 minutes giving chance after chance wanting to like this game, manually troubleshooting the terrible framerate optimization (I have a 16GB Radeon playing a pixelated game, how is this even possible?), getting frustrated with the seemingly non-responsive jump controls, and terrible UX choices left and right. You want to transition to a new room? Where are you going? How about you return back here to the middle of the door and press up? Oh, you wanted to do the charged attack? How about we give you a false visual indicator first and then give you the exact same one but it will work now? And don't you dare wait a millisecond after that second one because the attack is no longer charged now.”