NOYO-! is an homeage to the Mother/Earthbound series which aims to emulates the former's quirky and vibrant artstyle and humour, but unfortunately doesn't capture the same magic.
Battles are somewhat slow and repetetive with most encounters feeling samey. And although the battle scenes look reminiscent to the original games, the overly animated effects make selections feel unresponsive. You are also unable to use the ticking health dials to your advantage by healing before taking lethal damage, as you could in Mother/Earthbound, which I think is a missed opportunity when emulating the same battle system. There also aren't any elemental attacks/weaknesses meaning the highest power move is almost always the correct choice regardless of opponent.
Luckily the game has a lot of style, enough that some may overlook its shortcomings. Everything from the bubbly aesthetic to the bizzare music, and even the wacky story lends itself to a charming adventure that should appeal to fans of Mother/Earthbound. Enemies are unorthodox and your party is made up of a strange bunch. The world is nonsensical and the first time going through you'll be unsure of what to expect at every turn.
Unfortunately the story is essentially non-existent and doesn't make full use of the scenario, It's very basic and doesn't offer much in terms of character growth. The translation doesn't do it any favours either. Seemingly a machine-translation, lines are consistantly butchered and while it does add a bit to the wacky charm it more imprortantly means the player may lose key information when playing in English. On the plus side you can switch between Japanese and English on the fly, so it can be a decent experience for people studying the language to learn simple phrases. But with the English script being the way it is, even this might not be a good idea.
Despite being a highly linear experience, the lack of direction paired with the sometimes misleading translation means it's easier than you'd expect to get lost. Being stuck, unable to figure out where to go is a pain in any game, but NOYO-!'s enemies respawn frequently and further slow down your progression. If battles were fun this wouldn't be a problem, but as mentioned before they are too simple and slow to offer any fun challenge. Luckily there is an auto-battle function that lets you skip through any battle if you are stocked up on enough consumables, and once high enough level enemies will start to run away from you. But when ignoring a key part of your game is the more enjoyable way of playing, your game has some issues.
Overall I think NOYO-! does a good job capturing the atmosphere of the Mother/Earthbound games. The setting and aesthetic are spot on, and it does have some funny moments. But as a game it falls short in many regards; the battles are simply not fun and the translation needed another pass or two. Fans of Mother/Earthbound may find some enjoyment in it, but I would much sooner recommend Undertale or Lisa. These are two games which offer a similar feel to Mother/Earthbound in some regards, but take the original concept in different directions and stand on their own as well-made and polished titles. Lisa is a more mature title for sure, but Undertale should be approachable for all audiences (with a warning of some grotesque imagery, but then again Mother/Earthbound had Giygas).
If you've already played those games, or you are looking for something that more closely emulates the core of Mother/Earthbound, NOYO-! isn't a terrible title by any means. It simply needed a bit more time in the oven.
