Nippon Marathon

Nippon Marathon is a curious multiplayer game that unfortunately falls prey to its own over the top nature.

Nippon Marathon isn't not going to be everyone's tastes – those eye-wateringly janky visuals (whether by design or not) and the nature of physics-driven racing are an acquired taste that most people are going to tire of, fast. However, look past the surface and there's a multiplayer experience here that will appeal to fans of Gang Beasts and the like, who just want a silly party game that cares not for seriousness in any form.

Nippon Marathon could have been a fun and enjoyable party game: its unusual concept and amount of game modes are a good start but sadly, they cannot overcome the game's poor gameplay experience, which will quickly drive any player into bouts of frustration and repetitiveness, not to mention that the game's audiovisual component is simply outdated and nowhere near what is expected at this day and age.

With its Takeshi's Castle style, Nippon Marathon will delight those who enjoy the peculiar and ridiculously funny style of these contests, although neither technically nor playable is anything special.

Nippon Marathon is a positively wacky, completely deranged party game, but it's also very repetitive.

Nippon Marathon is impressive, but in the wrong way. Somehow, it manages to fail in every aspect, with absolutely nothing in it that could be considered a quality.

The story has no depth, and to be honest, it’s rather boring. The actual mode could have been fun if the story was more meaningful so that you could engage with it. Fewer cut scenes would have helped too. Had the developers focused on the tv style studio presenting, with the strange interviews and built on that, they could have had a fun single player experience.

If I had to pick a single word to describe Nippon Marathon, it would be fun. While I struggle to ascertain exactly which part of this beautiful mess calls to me so, I can recommend it for anybody looking for a wild multiplayer experience. Pick up four controllers and get ready for the marathon of your life.

In the end having extra modes beyond the main game do nothing to help Nippon Marathon remain a fun time for more than a few hours at most. It would be impressive as a final project for a college course and is still good for a few laughs at a party, but those fleeting good times are not enough for me to recommend this game.

Nippon Marathon is a weird game for weird people. I consider myself to be weird, but this is some next-level stuff. If you find that your tastes in games generally align with mine, leave this alone. If you sit around watching anime on your Hello Kitty TV whilst eating imported noodles with authentic wasabi sauce – go for it, you weirdo.