When the only comment people can seem to muster up about a game is "what is it?," then the odds of said game being good are pretty up there.  When word got out that Keita Takahashi, creator of Katamari Damacy and all around oddball, was creating a new game, a fair amount of people were anxious to see some details. These details were presented in sporadically-released videos, but the response was essentially a collective "huh?".  Now that this title, Noby Noby Boy, has been released, there's just about as much confusion surrounding it as there was before.

Noby Noby Boy immediately warns you that there is no true goal to the game other than to have fun. This statement follows Takahashi's M.O. of reigniting the silly, fun side of gaming. In its simplest form, Noby Noby Boy is a game that begs you to explore. The game may not give you too much area to cover, but it does provide you with plenty of interesting sites to observe. In your time spent with the game you may find a man breakdancing on a turtle, or a pair of aliens driving a carrot with wheels, or sundry variations therein. What you do in the midst of these weird occurences is your choice to make. Would you prefer to stretch out and allow them to ride on your back, or would you rather simply devour them instead? Either way you're adding on to your overall length, which ties in with the goal of the game.

what's there to be confused about?

It's true that you're encouraged to relax and do as you wish while you play Noby Noby Boy, but there's also a heartwarming goal to be achieved. As you increase your length in the game, you're encouraged to report how much you've grown to a character named GIRL. Her mission is to continue to expand from Earth until she reaches the next planet. This cycle is intended to continue until all planets are reached; at which point everyone in the universe may become friends. The only way this can happen is if you, and everyone else playing, continues to report to her and add to her length. This may be the first instance of global contribution in gaming, and it's a great example of the interconnectivity gaming is capable of in this day and age. 

When GIRL reaches a new planet, a new set of levels is unlocked to all of the players. At this point, the cycle begins anew and everyone begins contributing until the next planet is reached. Once all planets have been connected, something special is supposed to happen. Unsurprisingly, this has yet to be revealed. 

The gameplay of Noby Noby Boy is in concept very similar to the classic game Snake in that you're consuming  things in your path in order to increase your length. I don't enjoy describing a game through comparison, but in this case it seems like the most effective way to explain an otherwise confusing game. Fortunately, there's far more to Noby Noby Boy than there ever was to Snake, and continuous game play is  also more enjoyable with all of the different levels to explore. Variety is one area this game truly excels at. The amount of levels is truly impressive, and continues to grow as each planet is reached. Admittedly some of the levels are similar in appearance, but it's always worthwhile to explore them and revel in the interesting and unique denizens.

Takahashi has expressed interest in wanting to release more content for Noby Noby Boy, but the only way this can happen is if enough people buy the game. With that said, I urge all PS3 owners to download the title! It's only 4.99, and is absolutely worth the money. It's a small price to pay to show Takahashi that there's definitely a place for him in the game universe. 

Links:

Noby Noby Boy official website - http://o--o.jp/