A Boy and His Blob

Lore & Background

The game is a re-imagining of the 1989 NES original, not a direct sequel or remake. WayForward's director Sean Velasco, a fan of the original, felt the series had potential and that its time had come to be updated. The rights to the series originally belonged to Absolute Entertainment, but Majesco acquired them after Absolute went bankrupt in 1995. WayForward, having a positive working relationship with Majesco, pitched the idea of a heartwarming, friendly game that improved usability and featured 2D hand-drawn animation reminiscent of 1980s animated movies. The original NES designer David Crane was not involved, but the new developers expressed respect for his work.

Art director Marc Gomez was responsible for the game's signature look, inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki. He made the boy younger and rounder than his NES counterpart and designed the blob as a more faithful companion, similar to a dog. The game features around 4,000 unique frames of animation. The control scheme was designed to be intuitive for a family audience, avoiding unnecessary motion controls. A 'hug' button was kept from a more complex emotion system that was abandoned during testing because managing the blob's emotions proved too cumbersome.

Reader's Guide

A Boy and His Blob is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer where the boy cooperates with a blob-like creature. The boy feeds the blob jelly beans, which transform it into one of fifteen objects—such as ladders, anvils, holes, or cannons—to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Unlike the original NES game, which only showed each jelly bean's flavor, this version uses a selection wheel that displays each bean's function. The boy can hug, scold, or call the blob to revert its transformation. The boy dies if he touches enemies, hazardous objects, or falls from a great height, sending the player back to the start of the area. The game is split into four worlds, each with ten levels and a boss battle. Hidden chests unlock additional challenge levels that reward bonus developer material.

The plot involves the blob fleeing from the planet Blobolonia, threatened by an evil emperor, and crash-landing on Earth. The boy and blob team up to dethrone the emperor, first completing a quest on Earth and then traveling to Blobolonia, while the emperor's minions try to stop them.

Reception was largely positive. Nintendo Power called it 'a super magical adventure' and praised its appeal to all ages, giving it 8.5/10. IGN praised the art direction but criticized the control scheme and 'die-and-retry' level designs, awarding 7.6/10. GameTrailers praised the puzzles and overall feel, scoring 8.5/10. Game Informer called it 'a stylish rebirth' and praised the learning curve and atmosphere, scoring 8.0/10. Joystiq noted it as a good example of updating a classic but expressed frustration with overabundant hints. 1UP.com gave a B+, praising the forgiving gameplay and gorgeous art but noting occasional AI problems.

Did You Know?

• The 'hug' button is a vestigial feature from a more complex emotion system that was abandoned during testing.
• Art director Marc Gomez was inspired by the works of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.
• The rights to the series were acquired by Majesco after Absolute Entertainment went bankrupt in 1995.