Games Like Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu

Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu is a 4-player racer bursting with the sights, sounds, and sheer absurdity of Japanese variety TV.

Trip, tumble, and twirl your way through obstacle-packed courses while unleashing fruit-based weapons, outrunning Shiba Inu, and surviving slapstick sabotage. Master the art of chaotic physics and sneaky skill - because in this race, timing a melon toss is just as important as staying on your feet.

If you’ve ever dreamed of being chased through town by Shiba Inu while wearing a lobster onesie whilst holding a fruit… Daijoubu. Your wish has come true!

You thought we were joking?

 Typical Versus Mode Madness

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We built this sequel from the ground up, giving us the chance to prioritise game controls for better precision and more reliable/responsive movement, platforming is a key part of the game and we want you to have fun leaping and diving from ledge to ledge.

NM2’s brand new stages feature multiple paths and shortcuts.

Do you take the scissor-lift to the high ground, take the low route and full of spinning sailors or risk instant-death by diving across octopus filled jetty? It might depend on your skill level, which items you're carrying and what your opponents are doing but it's always your choice!

Each marathon features tons of variety

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There are many ways to use items — offensively, defensively, or even eat them for a speed boost.

<span class="bb_img_ctn"><img class="bb_img" src="https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/3358880/extras/982dd2ed6f5a8696d63ba06e77a91644.webp?t=1771873062" width=789 height=55 /></span>Yolko Harbour

The busy streets of Yolko Harbour are filled with many obstacles and hazards. Make your way through a construction area filled with wild fork-lift drivers and scissor lifts that create shortcuts. Avoid the sailors swinging their huge anchors and whatever you do, watch our for the giant octopus and his vendetta against the cargo freighter!

Shika Shika Deer Town

Navigate your way through a bamboo forest, past the high-speed 'Bromance Car' scenic train and through the revered Shikakuji Temple, watch out for the deer, they are easily startled and when they kick, they really mean it!

Let’s Go Ramen Museum

Explore the history of this cup-noodle company through their multimedia museum installations while dodging mascots and hordes of school-children. Navigate behind-the-scenes where noodle broth is made in giant vats. Make your way to the finish line through the packing area but pay attention to the conveyor belts and machinery, it might be deadly!

“Hey, do you guys know where sailors might hang out?”

How to Win a Marathon

Winning isn’t just about finishing first — everyone gets a chance to play the game their own way and every action contributes to the final score. Do you throw caution to the wind and play for Stars, or do you take every detour possible to wave to the crowd? It’s up to you!

Early Access incudes brand new gameplay as well as revamped features from Nippon Marathon:

Stamina (New Feature!)

Stamina is lost each time you are hit by an opponent's item or a dangerous hazard (an explosion or a Shiba Inu bite). Stamina is also gradually drained when a contestant is sweating. When a contestant runs out of stamina, they become exhausted and for a short period their abilities are nerfed. Stamina is automatically regenerated when the player is safe and can be replenished by eating most items.

Contestant Stats (New Feature!)

Not only are our cast of characters unique in looks and style, they each have subtle stat differences too, ideal for advanced players who want to find the extra depth in gameplay:

Contestants have individual stats

Waving to the Crowd (New Feature!)

Popularity can be gained by waving to the crowd or performing popular actions (such as releasing water from a fire hydrant).

Your popularity percentage meter translates directly to your final score, so if you're 99% popular you'll get an additional 99 points (plus a warm fuzzy feeling that people like you).

Popularity is the only score that carries over to the next stage in a cup too, but remember, as in life, popularity can be lost just as quickly as it is gained!

Now you can showboat as you run past the spectators!

Posing (New Feature!)

You're on the finish podium so why not strike a pose? Each contestant has a unique set of poses you can strike and told tell anyone else but if you input the following command on the podium, you can truly 'free yourself'.

⬆️⬇️⬆️⬇️  ⬅️➡️⬅️➡️  ⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️  ⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️

Bust some moves!

Contestant Creator (New Feature!)

Trillions of possible combinations: heads, bodies, hair, moustaches, eyebrows, hats, clothes, backpacks, tails, and even voices.

Save up to 20 contestants, synced via Steam Cloud. From cute kawaii mascots to utter nightmare-fuel, let your imagination run wild!

These contestants were created in the brand new Contestant Creator mode!

Photo Mode (New Feature!)

Pause the game and get up-close to the action, frame your favourite moments however you like and share the chaos online.

We're letting you get super-up-close-and-personal so you can see every model and every texture we've been hard at work making.

Why not use it to get a closer look at the posters, signs and easter eggs littered throughout each stage? Or you know, just take screenshots of Shiba Inu.

Screenshots taken using the in-game photo mode

Super Hazards (New Feature!)

These hazards are like mini boss-fights, can you survive an attack from a flying yokai crow-person? How will you deal with the giant octopus when he comes out to play? We don't want to give too much away so here's a word of advice, be ready for anything!

Remote Play Together

Yes, we want to implement a full online multiplayer mode, but that might take some time, so for now we've made sure that Remote Play Together works as well as possible, so go ahead and try it out, the only thing missing is the 'punchies' you normally get from your friends IRL!

Sound & Commentary

<span class="bb_img_ctn"><img class="bb_img" src="https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/3358880/extras/c54334ed34b3a63ca028e66634073cb5.webp?t=1771873062" width=789 height=55 /></span>What does ‘Daijoubu’ mean?

Daijoubu can be used in many situations, but it essentially means “OK” or “I’m OK”.

Maybe we’re saying that Nippon Marathon 2 is OK?

Maybe we’re saying that Nippon Marathon 2 is a game where you fall over and get back up again. Who knows?!

We want you to think of Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu as whatever you like as long as you’re feeling Daijoubu about it!

What's with the Weird Signage?

Japanese writing (Kanji, Katakana etc) is featured in the game's UI to really give a sense that you're a part of some insane gameshow or obscure videogame.

No matter what language you select you’ll still see plenty of Japanese text, this forms a vital part of Nippon Marathon's visual identity and as we continue to develop the game you can bet we're watching countless hours of bonkers Japanese TV (which we like to call 'research) to continue adding more and more!

All this flashy Kanji also creates a really fun 'meta-game', where players have been known to grab screenshots and use smartphone phone apps to decipher the hidden layer of humour within the game! 

What's the Design Philosophy?

We’re a team of two (one game developer and one “everything else”), and we make games anyone can enjoy. We aim for depth that rewards skill while still giving new players a fighting chance.

We respect your time: our content is designed to be fun, not boring; challenging, not frustrating.

Finally, we listen. We read every post and request, and act on as many as humanly possible, your feedback is already shaping Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu

Is there a Demo?

There sure is, the Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu demo features 4 playable contestants, the contestant creator mode, an in-depth tutorial, versus mode, photo mode and the Yolko Harbour marathon!

You can find the link to the demo on the store page. 

Please also leave a review once you've played the demo, as it would really help us appease Steam's algorithm and boost visibility. 

How Can I Get Involved?

Of course you can!