Noby Noby Boy has finally been finished, as players worldwide finally reached the ultimate, if unofficial, PlayStation trophy.
Keita Takahashi’s sophomore effort, in Noby Noby Boy you controlled a worm like character called BOY, who could stretch to unimaginable lengths. Gameplay involved using BOY’s stretching ability to move around the environment and interact with the world around him. From the creator ofKatamari Damacy, it’s fittingly strange.
On top of this, Keita put a feature on top of the main game, with huge ambitions. Everyone’s gameplay data for BOY was collected and tallied using BOY’s significant other, fittingly named GIRL. As GIRL stretched out, she reached out towards the planets. Ultimately, fans were to collect enough data for her to stretch through all the bodies of our solar system and get back to Earth.
The problem was that as the game’s popularity waned, progress on the planets slowed down. GIRL made her way from Earth to Jupiter through its release year of 2009, and then it took two years later to get to Saturn and Uranus. GIRL did not reach Nepture until March 6, 2014, a full five years after the game released.
On November 10, Keita wrote a blog post revealing his dilemma finishing the game. He couldn’t submit his data himself since the iOS app was no longer being updated. He also expressed regret because the game was not released in a finished state as he conceived it. His post encouraged fans to help GIRL reach Pluto.
At this point, the community took notice, and made Takahashi’s dream of reaching Pluto come true. As this fan noted, a group of at least 20 players worked towards hitting the goal, and made use of Golden Week to increase their data.
On November 24, GIRL reached Pluto, and then rushed through the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and back to Earth all in one day. That day was yesterday, December 14, 2015. To celebrate, Fairy released a special letter commemorating the game’s end. You can read the full text below.
Were you a Noby Noby Boy fan? How does ending make you feel? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
It's me! The Fairy!If you're reading this letter now, then that means GIRL has connected to all the planets in the solar system.What is today's date?NOBY NOBY BOY was released on February 19, 2009I'm very surprised that GIRL has finally managed to connect to all the planets, but how long as it taken?………………….Before people started playing NOBY NOBY BOY, BOY, GIRL, the Sun, and I talked about how long it would take.Would it take 1 year?3 years? Or even 10 years?At the time, we had no idea. But I guess it doesn't really matter since you're reading this letter now.Anyway, congratulations to everyone in helping GIRL connect to the planets in the solar system. There were times where I was worried that people would stop stretching and that GIRL would stop growing, but now I'm really relieved.…………..You've probably noticed that our world is different from yours.The world we live in is made up of all 1s and 0s.That's why everything is so simple here. Don't get me wrong, simplicity can be a good thing, but it means that everything in our world is set, including the ways in which we look and behave. If something unexpected happens within our world, it gets fixed by the people on the outside.I'm not too familiar with your world, but I've heard that everyone has choices and free will. You can choose to do the things you want to do and the things you don't want to do.I've heard that your world is made up of more than just 1s and 0s.I can't imagine what kind of world that is…It must be a world where people are free to do things they want do. I don't why, but I feel kind of jealous…………………….."I wonder if stretching could bring people closer together."I think it was in the winter of 2005 that GIRL first said this to me and it was that one comment which marked the beginning of NOBY NOBY BOY.At the time, I had no idea why GIRL made that comment. But now, I think I'm beginning to understand.I can't really explain this very well, but I think she wanted to find something that exists in your world, but not in ours.I have no idea what that something is, but I'm sure I'll find out by the time you read this letter.…………………The world that you live in must be so nice. I can't even imagine how great a place it must be.No matter how hard I try, I can't imagine a world with other things besides 1s and 0s…I wonder why my world doesn't have those things…Can freedom be too much of a good thing? Are we lucky to live in a world where everything is set and where people don't have anything to worry about?Anyway, I'm sure that you'll be fine in your world. You've played NOBY NOBY BOY, so I'm sure that you'll be able to confront any kind of situation.We will always be supporting you! Don't forget that!………………………I'm sure the day that you'll be reading this letter will be a fantastic day. I'm so happy that you continued to play NOBY NOBY BOY to the very end!Well, see you next time!February 19, 2009BOY, GIRL, The Sun, The Fairy
