“THE GOOD OLD DAYS: The Noogies’ Grand Adventure” is a story-driven metroidvania adventure developed by Japanese studio YokogoSystems and published by Gravity.
Setting & Story
The game is set in the 19XXs, in the fictional countryside village of Arostia.
The protagonist, Sean, embarks on a journey to settle the debts left behind by his missing father and rescue his friends trapped underground.
Sean and his friends — Foodie, Bruce, and Doc — formed a little adventuring party called “The Noogies”. They were ordinary boys who dreamed of going on a real adventure someday.
One day, when Sean returns home, a loan shark is waiting for him. The man demands that Sean repay his father’s debt by the end of the day and reveals that Sean’s friends have been taken hostage.
It’s a desperate situation, but instead of giving in to despair, Sean accepts it as the beginning of his “real adventure” and descends into the underground.
Loop-Based Structure & Meta Narrative
“THE GOOD OLD DAYS” is built around short, dense gameplay loops designed to be replayed multiple times.
Each loop lasts around 1–2 hours, allowing players to experience multiple runs without fatigue.
- In the first loop, the game feels like a simple, coming-of-age metroidvania.
- But with each subsequent run, new truths about the characters and the world gradually come to light.
- By the fifth loop, a major twist completely recontextualizes everything the player has seen so far, pushing them to rethink the entire story.
Each ending in the game is designed to link directly into the beginning of the next playthrough, and only by experiencing all loops does the full story become complete.
This cyclical structure and meta-narrative revolve around themes of
- memory,
- nostalgia, and
- shifts in perspective,
encouraging players to discover new layers of meaning through repeated play.
Diverse Ways to Play
The core objective of the game is to earn enough money within a time limit to pay off the debt.
To do this, players can choose from a wide variety of methods:
- Searching hidden locations to find money
- Clearing high-difficulty stages for big rewards
- Completing NPC events
- Trying their luck with lottery tickets
- Winning mini-games
- Defeating enemies and bosses
- Or even committing bad deeds to make quick cash
Players are free to focus on whichever playstyle suits them best.
Boss battles are optional, and the exploration routes are highly flexible, making it accessible even for players who aren’t very experienced with action games.
Once Sean rescues the three trapped members of The Noogies, players can switch between characters and control them directly.
Each character has their own personality, traits, movement quirks, and event reactions, and this character-switching system plays a key role in overcoming challenges and opening up new paths through the world.
Inspired by 1980s Films
The developers have stated that they drew strong inspiration from iconic 1980s films such as “The Goonies” and “E.T”.
They wanted to capture the feeling of courage, friendship, and wonder-filled adventures that defined that era and express it through the game.
Throughout the game, players will find:
- Easter eggs that evoke the 80s
- Subtle and not-so-subtle references to that time period
These touches offer a special nostalgic experience for players who remember those days — and a charming retro mood even for those who don’t.
Retro Vibes & The Noogies’ Big Adventure
With its nostalgic pixel art,
its looping narrative that grows deeper with each run,
and a heartfelt story about kids chasing their big adventure in a small town,
“THE GOOD OLD DAYS: The Noogies’ Grand Adventure”
is a metroidvania that blends retro charm with modern design —
a title well worth checking out for players who love story-driven games, nostalgia, and clever structure.
