Review: Noby Noby Boy

It was $5 … it was from the creator of Katamari Damacy (a very fun game) and involved a giant worm that could stretch, eat and help Girl grow to connect to other planets … what a steal it was!

Unfortunately Noby Noby Boy is considered a GamExperiment and is a game with absolutely no real point to it other than to help Girl grow. The worst thing is that you can easily make your main character grow without having to do anything. So really, why not just make your character super long, report it to the Noby Noby Boy servers and then call it a night?

Well, there’s no reason you can’t … and it completely ruins the initial attraction of the game.

I know that as I was buying it that I shouldn’t hold its expectations up to Katamari Damacy … but I did expect even a little bit of a drive from the game. I figured that you would eat characters, grow and as that happened you would have a harder time controlling your character as you went for an initial goal. It would be much like Katamari Damacy where you had to get a specific size … but instead of time being the issue, the issue would be how out of control your character got as you grew.

But … that’s not the case … eating characters has pretty much no point absolutely to the game whatsoever. Characters would also hop on your worm’s body and go for a ride? Why? Who knows. Any benefit? Nope. What happens when you fall off the “board?” You just show back up from your home … so the concept of death or failure really isn’t there. You know that if you fall, you’ll show right back up at the same length you were when you fell.

I guess I just don’t get it. I know the game’s initial purpose was to not have a purpose … but the only objective can be done right away by moving your analog sticks in the opposite direction? No real challenge? Just … grow and report it and you did what the game required you to do?

There is something oddly attractive about the game … but then ten minutes in you realize that what you see is what you get and you move onto another game. I only paid $5 for it … and I’m glad I did … because I would have been pissed had I paid anything more than that.

I don’t know the logic of the game and why the concept was approved by Namco Bandai. The higher-ups could have insisted on more of a point to the game rather than giving the creator a OK on whatever he wanted to do. But, on the other hand – the hype was so great about the game that I’m sure they got some money off of it and paid for the production of it … and I really think this was made by one guy.

I really wanted to like this game, but I can’t. Maybe it’ll change as I play it more … but the game will get a playtime of about 10 minutes and then I’ll move onto something else. And it’s only because there is nothing really to do in the game. You move around, eat people, get tangled up … and then … that’s it. Time to move on. The game doesn’t give you an objective to play. You don’t have to work to clear the game … because the one thing it wants you to do … you can do right away.

So on that note, let’s wrap up the review.

Graphics (10 pts.)
From what we know … the game was made mainly by one person … and it shows with the graphics. It has a Katamari Damacy feel to it … but it’s nothing breathtaking. It really makes you wonder how the game was even 300+MB to begin with. 5/10.

Music & Sound Effects (10 pts.)
Again … very basic … makes you believe that one person really did develop it. The intro music is relatively simple and the rest of the music is pretty forgettable. 3/10.

Gameplay & Controls (25 pts.)
The game is very weird and the controls have a tendency to be frustrating. The jump buttons feel relatively sluggish, and when you do jump to the height that you want to your character ends up going all over the place. And your sub-screens are accessed by either pressing up, left or right on your analog stick and pressing the start button. I don’t know why you just couldn’t press the start button … makes me think they tried to be different. 10/25.

Story and Presentation (20 pts.)
Everything is told to you by a fairy. There really isn’t a backstory … you’re just told that you have to stretch to help Girl grow. The reason why Girl wants to grow is to connect all the planets and everyone together. I really can’t say it’s a terrible concept when you realize that the game is about a giant pink worm trying to wrap around the planets. 5/20.

Fun Factor (25 pts.)
The game is fun in short bursts … but after that, you’re pretty much done. I played for awhile and didn’t know why I should even play … my accomplishments can be done right off the bat. I mean … if the goal is to stretch and I can do that right off the bat … then why can’t I just stretch and do nothing else? Forget eating people, forget wrapping yourself around stuff … just stretch. That being said, when I do feel creative and play around, the game is kinda’ fun. But the fact that there is no real challenge really kills the fun factor. 10/25.

Replayability (10 pts.)
Well, the game is not my cup of tea … but I’ll go back as people reach the other planets. The one really neat thing about the game is that it’s a collective progression of the progress. You contribute to the overall progress … so in a weird way, it is a team effort. Unfortunately, once all the planets are reached why would you play some more. 2/10

Total Score is 35 pts., giving this game 2/5 invaders.