Noby Noby Boy is a project by Keita Takahashi, a game designer made semi-famous by the Katamari Damacy series of games. Takahashi is synonymous with off-the-wall Japanese gaming, creating the types of titles that can’t really be defined by conventional norms.

In Noby Noby Boy, you control Boy, a worm type creature whose front and back halves can be steered independently, and can be stretched and shrunk to any length. Boy exists in randomly created worlds, populated with people, creatures, strange vehicles, and structures. Boy can swallow most things in the game, which can be stored in the extended out sections of his body, and sometimes combined to create new items when he “poops” them out. Creatures can also be tempted to ride on Boy, structures can be climbed up and down on, objects can be gripped onto, and Boy can also jump into the air.

The “official” purpose of NNB is to create a long Boy, which you then report to the Sun (please, bear with me!). Your length then gets added to Girl, a representation of all the combined reported lengths worldwide, and Girl stretches through the Solar System, unlocking more “planets” (levels). However, really, NNB has no real purpose, except to travel around interacting with the things within the level, and seeing how far you can go. 

Sound pointless? It is, but only in a conventional gaming sense. I feel the purpose is not entirely different to a children’s playground, whereby all different things are there, and you are only limited by your imagination. When I first picked up the game, I dismissed it very quickly as a waste of time. I then kept finding myself drawn to the game, particularly when I had 10 minutes to kill. The visual aspect is nice, with bright, colorful characters and objects, and the game has a few minimal background chillout-type tunes that plink away whilst you play.

To give you a clearer idea, I will tell you the things I have done so far. I have tried to thread Boy through a doughnut shaped cloud, weave Boy through as many different objects as possible. I have created a race of penguin-ballerina hybrids and attempted to take everyone in town for a ride on my back. The point is that, in reality, you are only limited by your imagination, and the world is there for your indulgence.

Final Word:

I would say that for the very low price, you really have very little to lose by giving it a go. I cannot really tell you why, but its cheery world, with its bizarre inhabitants and bright colors seems to have drawn in far more people than it has rejected. Give it a go if this sounds appealing, as I really cannot justify my enjoyment by saying anything other than you really do have to have a go to work it out for yourself.

Due the game’s strange and unconventional methods, we felt that giving it a score would be inappropriate.  

Platform: PlayStation 3 (Exclusive)

Genre: Adventure / Goofing Around

Developed by: Namco Bandai