First look at Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu! 👀

San, Ni, Ichi… Hajime! 🏃‍♂️💨We’re back with a first look at one of the brand new stages for Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu!

It’s been a while since the original Nippon Marathon stumbled headfirst onto Steam Early Access back in 2018 (has it really been that long? 👀), and we can’t wait to take you on another bizarre, obstacle-filled race through Japan.

Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu has been a true labour of love, built from the ground up by our small (but mighty) team here at Onion Soup Interactive. Everything you see is fresh, revamped, and shinier than ever.

We’ve worked hard to bring Nippon Marathon into the modern era while keeping the chaotic charm you know and love. We’re only at the starting line, but we’re thrilled to finally pull back the curtain and share what we’ve been working on. Stick with us—because things are about to get seriously silly!

Community-Powered Playtest Begins

This month, we kicked off our first round of community playtests using Steam’s Playtest feature! Players had the chance to experience a brand-new stage, test core gameplay mechanics, and share their feedback.

We also encouraged the community to try out Remote Play Together to see how well the game holds up with 4 players—because what's better than playing Nippon Marathon with friends?

For those who missed out—daijoubu (don’t worry)! We recorded one of the sessions for you to enjoy, and here’s a sneak peek at some of the features from the demo.

New Features & Gameplay Tweaks

Welcome to Yoko Harbour!

The playtest introduces a brand-new stage never before seen in the Nippon Marathon universe: Yoko Harbour!

Inspired by Yokohama, this fishing port-themed level brings together everything you need for a perfect Nippon Marathon experience: water, giant carp, and unpredictable physics!

Expect the return of classic hazards as well as new —because would it really be Nippon Marathon without barrels, bamboo men and those infamous Shiba Inu

Video game scene with colorful characters battling on a street. Red barrels and score indicators visible. Urban setting with vibrant energy.

Four animated characters battle in a vibrant alley, surrounded by colorful buildings and debris. Health bars and names appear above them.

Video game screen shows players directing animals in a rocky terrain. Players have colored rings. Vibrant, playful atmosphere with visible scores.

New & Improved Items 🍌

Your favourite items return—pineapple balloons, melons, and more—but we’ve also added some fresh chaos to the mix!

Cucumbers 🥒 : In homage to Link’s iconic Spin Attack, the cucumber creates a swirling effect, perfect for close-range takedowns!
Mushroom 🍄 : no longer make you faint! Instead, mushroom clouds drain popularity from anyone caught inside. This leads to some... interesting end-of-round screenshots.

Video game scene with characters racing in colorful outfits, jumping over fences. Spectators cheer. Scoreboards and energy levels visible.

Four animated characters, each with health bars, run along a street, dodging obstacles. Bright colors and a playful mood dominate.

Insta worthy screenshots 📸

Speaking of screenshots, we’ve worked hard to make the winner’s screenshots even more iconic—so your victory poses are truly wall-worthy!

Four cartoon panels show characters with text in vivid colors. Each character is engaged in dynamic action against different backgrounds.

Don’t Forget to Wave to Your Fans! 👋

Popularity has always been a core part of Nippon Marathon, but not all players realised how much it could shake up final scores. Daijoubu! Now, you can wave at the crowd as you run past—boosting popularity, but leaving yourself open to attacks!

Animated street scene with colorful action figures and projectiles. Urban setting with cheering crowds, shops, and visible player names. Energetic mood.

Scoring & Podium Upgrade 🏆

The Score calculation now has a fancy new screen awarding your badges, and the podium even moves dynamically to reflect your finishing position!

Four animated characters stand on podiums with colorful backgrounds, displaying ranks and scores. Visible text shows positions and total scores.

Other tweaks:

Character Stats: Some players love the competitive angle of Nippon Marathon, so we’ve introduced character stats for a subtle extra layer of strategy.
Stamina System: Taking too many hits from fruit? Your stamina will drain. If you run out, you’ll become exhausted, affecting your running and jumping.
New Dive Control: Players often missed the dive function in Nippon Marathon, making certain jumps (cough Steamy Steamy Monkey cough) unnecessarily tricky. Now, simply tap the jump button twice—once to jump, again to dive.

What’s Next for Nippon Marathon 2?

Once the playtest wraps up, we’ll collect all the feedback to polish the demo before sending it out to content creators, press, and publishers.

We’re also planning to use Steam’s Playtest feature to host more playtest dates—giving the community a chance to continue testing unreleased content and shaping development. If you’d like to participate in the next playtests, then please join our Discord for updates on when the next session will be.

A Huge Thank You to Our Community

We wouldn’t be here without the amazing support of our Nippon Marathon fans. Whether you were there from the beginning, discovered us through SUPER 56, or just love games where physics have a mind of their own—thank you for being part of this marathon journey.