The Creators of Narita Boy Announce Their Next Game: Haneda Girl

Back in 2017, Studio Koba made waves by announcing Narita Boy, a game that sparked interest with its unique name, drawing inspiration from Tokyo’s second-largest airport. It looked like it was tailor-made for Kickstarter, featuring slick pixel art characters in a neon-lit, side-scrolling universe. The game captured the nostalgic essence of ‘80s anime with a modern twist, intertwining with the personal story of developer Eduardo Fornieles, a former Friend & Foe member, who returned to his roots to create his dream project.

At its initial reveal, Narita Boy was purely a concept. However, its stunning visuals alone were enough to propel its crowdfunding campaign to success. Fast forward four years, and the game finally launched, marking itself as one of Kickstarter’s gaming triumphs. It resembled a living cartoon and played like a whimsical take on classic action-adventures. Despite the impressive aesthetics, its simple combat and text-heavy segments occasionally interfered with the experience, leaving it feeling somewhat less fluid than it appeared.

Enter Haneda Girl, the team’s next venture, which seems to have sidestepped those issues. Introduced last year, with a demo now available on Steam, Haneda Girl – also named after an iconic Tokyo airport – isn’t exactly a direct follow-up, despite the resemblance in naming. It’s an action-platformer, boasting faster movement and more intuitive controls, demanding precision as you maneuver through a flurry of wall jumps and dodge shots coming from every direction.

In this game, you take on the role of Chichi Wakaba, armed with a sword and able to zip around the screen in mere moments. Although she doesn’t have ranged attacks, she utilizes stealth tactics, entering “ghost mode” to dodge lasers or cutting through panels to send platforms crashing down on foes below, reminiscent of BurgerTime. Chichi is vulnerable, however, falling to a single bullet.

The twist here is her mech ally, M.O.T.H.E.R., which offers a whole new dynamic. While the mech moves slowly and doesn’t jump as high, it wields a machine gun turret and can absorb multiple hits before it’s temporarily out of action.

As I explored the demo, I found myself frequently switching between Chichi and her mech. I’d use M.O.T.H.E.R. to charge up her attacks, soak up enemy fire, or simply mow down foes with a spray of bullets—often to great success. The level design encouraged this toggling between play styles, presenting narrow corridors or towering walls suited only for Chichi, and enemy-packed rooms where M.O.T.H.E.R. really shone. There might be a way to rush through the game using primarily Chichi, yet the interplay between both characters made the demo particularly compelling for me. I was always torn between sprinting to the finish or exercising a touch of strategy before diving headlong into the chaos.

Or sometimes, I just threw caution to the wind and faced the inevitable game over. As the trailer aptly hints, that’s pretty much par for the course.