Taking A Closer Look: Nippon Marathon Turbo Hyper Running

It’s been a little while since we showcased a game coming to the Exa-Arcadia multi-game arcade platform, so let’s turn our focus to an oddball in the group: a party game by the name of Nippon Marathon Turbo Hyper Running.

Developed by Onion Soup Interactive, the original game (available on the PC/PS4/Switch/XB1) was first released in December of last year, and on Steam it has an 88% majority of “Very Positive” reviews. The main complaint I see from browsing those reviews being that it doesn’t have online multiplayer. It does look a bit odd on first impression, but keep in mind that it’s a multiplayer obstacle course game and the humor is intentional. Not every game has to take itself super seriously. All you have to do is avoid the obstacles to reach the end of the course first. Combined with ragdoll physics and playing with a friend or three, it’s about having some wacky “couch co-op” fun:

The Arcade Version On Exa-Arcadia

We’ve known that Nippon Marathon would be making it’s way to arcades for a while now, although how it would differ was unknown until this past week, when testing began at the Mikado Game Center in Tokyo. With that test, the developer posted info on their website to explain what’s been added to this version to make it stand out from it’s console cousins.

First, there are two new characters: HATO (a wrestler with a pigeon head) and Anabelle, a British “V-Tuber Princess”

The game will also have three new levels to enjoy and per the developer: “This is the Nippon Marathon on caffeine, these will run fast fast fast and you’ll be constantly running into obstacles and even more madness.”

At the moment, Exa-Arcadia is set to be launching “soon” in Japan, with pre-orders opening for us Westerners afterwards. A four-player cabinet has been discussed for a US release, since we don’t really have something like linking Vewlix cabinets, but there have been no official announces about such a cabinet yet.

I’m curious to hear what you think about this. I did have some feedback on Twitter about it; I would also like to see how it would perform on test in the US. If there is a nice 4-player cabinet, then that could help overcome the lack of a name; it also is one of those games that would probably do well in the right bar/arcade setting.