Nippon Marathon
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SUPER 56 demo now available in SteamNextFest
Just a quick announcement to say that upcoming mini-game collection SUPER 56 is now available to play during the Steam Next Fest.
The aim of SUPER 56 is to get the best score possible by completing each stage as fast as you can. Sounds easy, right? Think again...
The demo will feature 10 of the craziest stages that will challenge your ability as a gamer in a variety of different genres, but the twist is your only allowed to use ONE BUTTON!!!
Here are some examples of the stages you'll face:
- Yoga pose your way through oddly shaped holes in a wall (sound familiar?),
- button mash a keyboard
- shoot apples off a guys butt with a bow and arrow,
- drive around a track through checkpoints and
- be a totally. normal. slow. hedgehog and collect apples in a truly nostalgic and 90s way.
Still want to take on the challenge?
Play 10 of the craziest stages as fast as you can, try not to die, and get your best score on the global leaderboard on SUPER 56.
Outlandish, genre-bending fun awaits you!
We cannot wait for you to try the demo, you may see some familiar faces in the demo too (we couldn't forget about our Nippon Marathon friends).
So if you like what you hear, please head over to the SUPER 56 page and give the demo a download and wishlist the game,
WISHLIST NOW:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1659150/SUPER_56/
Thanks,
Amy & Andy
(Onion Soup Interactive)
New Game Annoucement and more!
It's been a while, but we have some fun news for you. We're announcing our new game Press A For Achievements.
It's a mini-game collection where players earn achievements, coins and gifts by simply pressing A.
Watch the trailer below:
[previewyoutube="DYP2DLJNtGk;full"]
Nippon Characters Return in Press A For Achievements
In this game some of your favourite Nippon Marathon characters make a return.
Race across the desert as Nishibori in the Nippon Kart minigame
Control Abe Watanabe as he presents the news
Help Snuguru put the exact amount of fuel in the car
It's a fun and crazy game as you'd expect and you can find out more and wishlist the game now on the Steam Store.
Wishlist here: Press A For Achievements on Steam
NFTs on OpenSea
To celebrate the announcement we're also making a collection of one-of-a-kind NFTs available. This BOSS collection features the new Nippon Marathon 2 in-game models of Hazuki, Hideko, Felix and KG Park. Other collections will be made available in the future.
Don't worry, we'll never include any kind of NFT within one of our games, but to help raise funds for the continued development of Nippon Marathon 2 we're putting this artwork on OpenSea. That way fans can enjoy the artwork and help fund the continued development of the game.
See how cool they are?
We'll be creating NFTs for all our future characters, not just for Nippon Marathon 2 but for anything else too, so if you're digging the whole NFT scene these might just be worth collecting!
This is a chance to get in on the ground floor 🙂
Handsome Hazuki - Auction starts at 0.05 ETH
Felix Arizona - Auction starts at 0.05 ETH
KG Park - Auction starts at 0.05 ETH
Special! Shiro Hideko - Fixed price (buy it now), only 0.05 ETH
Check out these super awesome new renders at: Nippon Marathon 2 - The Bad Guys - Collection | OpenSea
Link: https://opensea.io/collection/nm2-the-bad-guys
So that's everything for now,
Thanks for reading, Amy and Andy
Apologies for our mistake yesterday
On 30th September we revealed a character intended for Nippon Marathon 2, a Canadian Mountie. What we didn't know was that the 30th September was Truth and Reconciliation Day - A Day that honours victims and survivors of Canada's residential schools, which sought to forcefully assimilate indigenous children in which the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) were involved.
Here is some more information on Truth and Reconciliation Day: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/first-national-truth-reconciliation-day-1.6188540
A member of our Discord channel brought this to our attention and we wish to make sure that Nippon Marathon remains a fun experience for everyone.
We're sorry, we were unaware of something that is very important to many families. Our ignorance is not an excuse and we have taken time to reflect upon this.
We want to ensure that Nippon Marathon and future games are fun for everyone and is never meant to be offensive. This has caused us to take a step back and evaluate all of our NM2 characters, as the last thing we want to do is cause offence. In the original Nippon Marathon, we never assigned nationalities and we made sure that all the characters were voiced by individuals of different races and gender. We take this all very seriously.
In regards to Benton and Tony, we will be withdrawing them from the NM roster.
If you or anyone you know are experiencing pain or distress as a result of their (or someone they knows) Residential school experience, then please get in touch with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (https://www.irsss.ca/)
We made a donation to the IRSSS this afternoon, consider making a donation to the IRSSS too.
Everyone reading this should feel free to talk to me or Amy about this or anything else. We are a safe space and our door is always open.
You can DM us on our company Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/OnionSoupLtd), my personal Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/MonAmieMadin), our discord (https://discordapp.com/invite/SpsyEHs), or even via email (amymadin@onionsoupinteractive.com)
Thank you
All hail a Nippon Marathon 2 update (and much more)
Firstly we would like to apologise for the radio silence from us. We thought we would provide you all with an update regarding all things Onion Soup Interactive, including Nippon Marathon 2.
BOSS BATTLE - FIBROMYALGIA
In October 2020 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I’d been suffering with the illness for quite a long time prior to this under the impression it was an old neck injury from 2008, but after the symptoms worsened and the illness’ characteristic chronic pain and fatigue became unbearable the doctors finally gave me a label that I could work with.
By this point it had become almost impossible to work on UEDI: Shadow of the Citadel, each day I was able to do less and less until I couldn't work on the game at all, heck I couldn’t even finish a meal at the dining table without going for a lie down, taking a ton of painkillers and sleeping for as long as my body demanded (or, ironically, laid awake, super tired and totally incapable of sleep). At its worst, the illness put me in constant physical pain, reduced my brain to mush and deprived me of sleep, sometimes for weeks at a time without any kind of reprieve.
I have a pretty strong work ethic, but since creating Onion Soup Interactive with Amy my desire to work on games is so strong that it’s been really tough to sit on the sidelines and try to focus on getting better. Fibromyalgia sufferers have a lot of trouble focussing on complex tasks and game design is really, really complex. For a while I tried really hard to fight through it, but it really isn’t possible to do that. I had to take a time-out, even if it lasted for a whole year… or longer.
Our wonderful friends in the Onion Soup Discord Server have been very supportive of us, they’ve insisted that health comes before work, no matter what and I’m really happy and proud of our community.
If you don't know already, Fibromyalgia makes the body produce excess cortisol (the stress hormone) and prevents the body from creating serotonin (the happiness hormone). You can imagine how taxing this is on mental health, Amy continues to do an amazing job of helping me through it. I know it isn’t easy for her. Amy, my parents, and our dog help keep my mental health in check. If you’re suffering with any form of mental health issue I absolutely insist that you must find some kind of help and support. You might spend a lot of time thinking the loneliest and darkest thoughts but making a genuine human connection with someone who really cares can help you drag yourself out the deepest of holes, I promise!
Since then I’ve tried so many things to help ease the symptoms of the illness, I cut gluten, caffeine, sugar and alcohol from my diet (my favourite things used to be coffee, pizza, whiskey and salted caramel brownies😭 😭 😭 . I had one year of weekly physiotherapy, 6 months of acupuncture, opioids, anti-inflammatories, supplements, exercise routines, meditation, and osteopathy. You name it, i’ve probably done it! I’m writing a detailed guide for other sufferers which may be of some help and it’ll be posted soon.
Finally, after a really long time I’m starting to feel slightly better. For a few weeks now I’ve been able to do a bit of work again, mostly art but also some work in Unity work too.
Getting Back on the Horse! - A New Game That’s Even More Stupid?
Amy and I agreed that jumping back into UEDI or Nippon 2 development would probably be too difficult for me right now and there would be a risk of triggering a flare up of symptoms and taking 10 steps back.
So instead we’ve been putting together a new ‘micro game’ collection. This allows Amy to learn more Unity skills and is also a much more low-pressure project.
We’re almost ready to share it with you, maybe in a couple of months. Before then though we’ll be running a closed beta, so if you’re interested just mention it to us in our Discord.
Join the Discord here: https://discordapp.com/invite/SpsyEHs
Oh, what the heck, here are a few GIFs just for fun.
We will be keeping the name a surprise until it's official announcement, but we are VERY excited to share it with you all. Believe me, keeping this project under wraps has been very difficult.
What’s next for UEDI: Shadow of the Citadel
We’ll be working on our new project for a little while longer, once we have that wrapped up and assuming I’m able to maintain my health, we’ll be getting back to the game. We’ll be making a conscious effort to keep it a tighter and more focussed action game than originally planned. We want to get the coolest and most fun gameplay aspects ready for you to enjoy so as not to risk the game getting stuck in development hell again.
You Want Nippon Marathon 2?
I made Nippon Marathon mostly by myself with a little help from Amy, as she was first picking up the fundamentals of art and game design. It was very difficult and stressful, so when the time comes for us to begin working on Nippon Marathon 2 as a full-time project, we’ll be hiring some help. We’re not a big studio and we don’t have a lot of resources but thankfully there’s enough love for Nippon Marathon that we believe a publisher is willing to cover the expenses. This means I can focus of work that’s less mentally taxing, I’ve really enjoyed brushing up on my Maya 3D modelling and ZBrush 3D Sculpting skills recently and I think this is now a real strength of mine.
I wish we could start NM2 tomorrow, so much that I made a new character. She’s a Canadian Mountie called Benton who rides her trusty ‘horse’ Toby.
Here’s a render of them, please let us know what you think!
Nippon Marathon CD OST now available
We’ve had requests for a physical Nippon Marathon OST for aaaaages, and along with many things in the world it was horribly delayed by the Coronavirus pandemic. Anyway, it’s just been released by City Connection and is available to order from Clarice Shop. The CD features the music from the original game as well as tracks exclusive to the Arcade Edition. It also features a written note from us (in Japanese).
Although the site is in Japanese and primarily for the Japanese market, Buyee supports international shipping from this store.
Buy Now: https://bit.ly/NipponMarathonCD
Nippon Marathon Turbo Hyper = Running
It has finally been released! Yay! The pandemic literally sucked the life out of the arcade industry but we’re seeing signs of life creeping back in now and you might start to see some of them in the wild soon. There’s a huge Japanese and US chain called 1UP where the game’s been on test. Then there’s a bunch of them in Japan and Hawaii too. Can’t we go and live there?
If you fancy a copy of Nippon Marathon Turbo for yourself, then they'e available to purchase from our arcade publisher, exA-Arcadia. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/nmturbo
If you are attending the "Made in Asia" Convention in Brussels this October, then you can actually play the game yourself during the convention. Arcade Belgium are hosting a NM Turbo tournament at the convention. Be one of the first people in Europe to play Nippon Marathon Turbo. How exciting.
Support a Local Artist
During the pandemic, we commissioned a piece of art for our website from our community member, KYLEZOOKI. We are super pleased with the results and recommend that you all go and support this amazing artist. Not only does it include myself and Amy, our Master of Ceremonies, Buster, and Company Flower, Mocha, were also included in the piece.
Go and follow him immediately on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KYLEZOOKI091
Phew that was a long one...
Again thank you all for your continued support, and thanks to everyone who continues to buy us a coffee. It's very much appreciated, and if you want to buy us one today, mine's a decaf oat latte; https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nipponmarathon2
Remember to drop by our Discord and say hello, everyone loves chatting about games, anime and other fun stuff and everyone’s welcome.
So that's everything for now,
Stay safe!
Andy, Amy, Buster & Mocha
Cool off with the Steam Summer Sale – get up to 90% off PQube Games!
Gal*Gun Returns
PANTIES! Got your attention? It’s ok, your secret’s safe with us. Escape hordes of amorous schoolgirls in infamous ecchi rail-shooter Gal*Gun Returns – now 20% off.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1425730/
Inertial Drift
Let off some steam (!) with this innovative twin-stick racing game, now at 33% off!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1184480/
Cat Quest II
Cats or dogs? Single player or co-op? No need to pick- we’ve got both in this wildly popular action-RPG! Now at 45% off.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/914710/
Songbird Symphony
Guide orphaned chick ‘Birb’ through a beautifully crafted pixel world in this rhythm-action platformer: now 55% off.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/909820/
Die After Sunset
OK, this one isn’t in the sale, but we think you’ll love it all the same. Battle for Earth and travel through time this newly announced 3rd person action roguelite. But be careful! You never know what’s lurking in the shadows…
Wishlist now to be the first to get updates on Die After Sunset, coming soon to Steam Early Access.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1440010/
Online Mode and PS4 Support Announced for Nippon Marathon 2
Online matchmaking, PS4 support and custom character skins are coming to Nippon Marathon 2!
[previewyoutube="7vfUH2HXPx4;full"]
Online Mode
Play just for fun in Casual Versus or try to be the best in the world by improving your rank in Competitive Versus.
You'll be glad to know the Go-Go Trolley Bowling and L.O.B.S.T.E.R party games are making a return with online capability too.
This is a game-changer for fans of online party games. We've felt that Nippon Marathon has always been the closest thing to a Takeshi's Castle (MXC) or Total Wipeout video game, and the inclusion of online support will bring the game to a much wider audience and be fun for everyone to play!
Kickstarter Exclusive Custom Skins
We've previously mentioned this before, but the in-game shop will be stocked full of custom items and character skins for you to unlock, hopefully adding to the Nippon Marathon experience.
Backers will automatically receive exclusive "BAKA" branded skins for all main characters and an exclusive nameplate for use online. A preview of these can be seen in the video above. YAY!
PS4 Support Announced
The two-person team has been inundated with calls to bring Nippon Marathon 2 to Playstation following the first game's success on PS+ Japan earlier this year. Fans will be happy to know that Onion Soup Interactive has added support for the platform to its development schedule.
Please share share share this with everyone you know!
I know a lot of fans were holding out for this one, so please share this news with everyone you can. We want to shout from the rooftops that NIPPON MARATHON 2 HAS ONLINE MODE!
Share now:
- Twitter: https://ctt.ac/c6D55
- Twitter JP: https://ctt.ac/5ZbbK
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onionsoupinteractive/nippon-marathon-2?ref=6z4r4y
- Facebook JP: http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onionsoupinteractive/nippon-marathon-2?ref=6zelp0
Thanks again for your support!
So that's everything for now!
Amy & Andy
First Celebrity Announcement, Campaign Update, and our very first Competition
As you might have seen in our campaign, we are introducing a new feature; "Celebrity Special Progress Report". In this feature our very own Abe Watanabe is hosting a chat show with some famous faces. These celebrities will give out challenges before the race and can award bonuses or penalties to players.
So with that being said, we are incredibly excited to announce our first celebrity, Hideaki Kobayashi, or Uncle Sailor, is joining the Nippon Marathon family.
[previewyoutube="kMslns0NdeQ;full"]
To learn more, and learn how YOU can join the team of celebrity guests, then read the full update on our Kickstarter Campaign Page .
A Thank You From The Devs
As always we'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has pledged so far. We are already at 45% and hope you help us reach 50% in the next couple of days.
We have recorded a video to say thank you as well as introduce you to our competition.
[previewyoutube="htu2ka0dC7Q;full"]
Remember you must be a backer to be entered automatically into this competition.
So back the campaign now and grab a real collectors item: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onionsoupinteractive/nippon-marathon-2?ref=1wzjsn
Gain Exclusive Rewards with Backer Club
We have partnered with BlackerClub, a Kickstarter Partner where you receive an exclusive bonus if you pledge through their website.
Through BackerClub, receive a free signed copy of Nippon Marathon 1 when you spend more than $ 99 (free worldwide shipping). Although we have the signed NM1 game as a competition, if you want to guarantee your copy, then make a pledge through BackerClub
Add-ons Update
As some of you have noticed, we've had a few issues with add-ons, where physical add-ons were not being displayed when a digital only reward was chosen. We have now fixed this, so you should see the add-ons for the posters, OST & T-shirt when you chose a digital only reward. You may notice that the price has changed, due to how Kickstarter processes physical and digital rewards, we have had to merge the postage costs into the add-on price If you were able to chose a physical add-on before today, then the price has not been changed. There has been no change to the digital add-ons. There has also been some issues with early bird backers who wanted to purchase the "Design a Placard" add-on. Some of you have been unable to amend your original pledge, as the early bird is no longer available. So if you want the placard add-on and you chose early-bird, then we are working on a work-around so that you can still purchase the add-on once the campaign ends. Again we may sound like a broken record but we really do appreciate everything you have done for us!
If your haven't pledged already, then please back our campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onionsoupinteractive/nippon-marathon-2?ref=9gn77n
Stay tuned for more updates, including the opportunity for you to choose the next course, where will it be???
Amy & Andy
Kickstarter Update: New Features Revealed
1 - 25% Funded in 36 hours
We'd like to give everyone a huge thank you for supporting our campaign. We're blown away by the amount of support received so far!
If you haven't pledged yet then what are you waiting for? Our "Early Bird" and "Early Bird +" Reward are only available for 19 hours, so grab one whilst you can!
2 - Snuguru's Mystery Quest Update
Snuguru has only gone and done it again, he's opened Chest 1 and 2 already.
What was inside...
***drumroll please***
NEW CHARACTER: REIWA MAN
Amazing!
The first chest contained a brand new payable character! Now that Snuguru has released Reiwa Man from the chest we will add him to our development schedule. But who is Reiwa Man? Well, his real name is Reiwa Aonuma and he's from the Oita prefecture of Japan.
He is a 21 year old junior tax collector. His hobbies include organising pencils by their smell. Reiwa Man was bullied at school because of his unusual name but in 2019 the Heisei era came to an end and the Reiwa era began. Reiwa Man was so happy that his unusual name has become famous that he gained a new level of confidence. Now he has entered the Nippon Marathon to show off his famous name and prove to everyone everyone that tax collectors can be heroes to
NEW IN-GAME ITEM: French Bread
Ahh the smell of freshly baked French Bread! There's nothing else like it. Well done everyone, you've unlocked a new in-game item.
The French bread can be thrown, though this is mostly useless (unless your throw it to some ducks for popularity points). This French bread really deserves to be eaten.
This item can be eaten three times before it's used up, giving you three speed boosts. It's a great item to get you back in the race if you're lagging behind.
Let's help Snuguru reach chest 3 by playing Snuguru's Mystery Quest!
Chest 1: OPENED: New Character: Reiwa Man
Chest 2: OPENED: New In-Game Item: French Bread
Chest 3: 150 retweets of pinned tweet required to open chest!
Remember to check back tomorrow as it features information about brand new character www_Kimbly_www
Please remember to share this campaign with all of your friends and family!
Pledge to the campaign now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onionsoupinteractive/nippon-marathon-2
Speak soon,
Amy & Andy
Nippon Marathon 2 Coming to Kickstarter 29th September!
The launch of the Nippon Marathon 2 Kickstarter Campaign has been announced as 29th September 2020!
That's only 8 days away!
Here are three reasons to get excited:
- Which stretch goals will be included? Online? Story Mode? You'll have to wait and see...
- We have a range of EXCLUSIVE merchandise that are only available during the campaign, do I smell a Kickstarter Limited Edition Physical?
- Just what will be included in Nippon Marathon 2? Perhaps more silly physics...
With Steam, Nintendo Switch & exA-Arcadia already announced it's even more exciting to wonder whether or not NM2 will be coming to PS5 & Xbox Series X.
Want to be one of the first people to support the Kickstarter? Then sign up for updates here: https://bit.ly/NipponMarathon2