Haneda Girl is a "much smaller" story than Narita Boy, but both share a common universe as well as a common development team

Many of you will still fondly remember the colourful and delightfully retro style of Narita Boy, the action-adventure title released by Studio Kobe and Team17 in 2021. Its visual design, combined with pixel art animation that has very few rivals to match even today, made us fall in love with it then, and very soon we will be able to meet the next in the digital universe threatened by the Stallions: Haneda Girl.

Haneda Girl does indeed share the same narrative universe as Studio Kobe's previous game, but it is very different from the first, and on many levels. This is how the game's composer, Salvinsky, presented its differentiating elements in an interview during IndieDevDay, which you can watch below.

"It's the same universe," Salvinsky began. "It's like the underground universe of Narita Boy is the digital realm, and this [Haneda Girl] is that empire, which is underground. And the things you do are quite different this time, because Narita Boy was kind of a story-driven exploration fighter, and this one is more focused on the arcade formula, fast-paced, addictive action."

The game's approach focuses on beating levels and an experience based on fast-paced, addictive gameplay, rather than a guided narrative like Narita Boy. Something they want to see reflected in their inspiration from other great indies of a similar style.

"We wanted to make something more based on the feel of the game, but also keeping the visuals and also the sound, but more focused on the games we like to play like Katana Zero, Hotline Miami, Broforce, doing quite a bit of this mix and putting it in the Narita Boy universe and trying to give players something original."

Studio Kobe is immersed in promoting Haneda Girl as it doubles down on efforts to release the game in 2025, with one major change from the previous game. "At the moment, we don't have a publisher, and we're in no hurry to get one. Because maybe, maybe we'll consider going on our own."

And it may not be the last time we enter the Narita Boy/Haneda Girl universe, but Salvinsky points out about a third instalment that "they'll have to build a third airport in Tokyo (laughs)".

Not to worry too much about that now, because Haneda Girl is set to arrive in 2025, and its promise couldn't be more promising.