Nippon Marathon

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Onion Soup

If you’ve been reading along with each review on this website, then you probably know that I tend to love bizarre games, even if they aren’t always the best. Nippon Marathon initially seemed like it would be a game where I would enjoy the characters and story, but that’s it. To my surprise, Nippon Marathon is actually pretty fun – especially if you jump into the multiplayer. Basically, you’re in a foot race, but the winner isn’t necessarily the first one to cross the finish line – it’s the one who racked up the most popularity points during the course of the race. The ragdoll physics and interesting obstacles help add some comedy to the race as you play, as do the Mario Kart-like powerups that you can pick up during the race, and the mini-games that interrupt the race from time to time. If you venture into the story mode, you’re introduced to an orange lobster farmer, a talking dog, a woman that dresses like a narwhal, and an old man with a split personality that wears a Japanese school girl outfit…needless to say, with a bunch of characters like that, I fell in love with this game pretty quickly. It’s not perfect, but if you give it a chance, it may steal a few hours from your life – especially if you’ve got a group of friends to race against.

Review added: 07/26/2020