play station official magazine

084

REVIEW

INFO

FORMATPS4

ETAOUT NOW

PUBPQUBE

DEVONION SOUP

INTERACTIVE

NIPPON MARATHON

Or, to translate the title into English, ‘Japan Snickers’

M

arathons are weird at the best of

times. People running even though

there’s no ice cream van round the

corner, crazy costumes in the name

of charity, somebody (possibly) following

Paula Radcliffe round with a dog poo bag

and a scoop... weird. This game values – and

massively inflates – the weirdness above all

else, which successfully produces some laughs.

The actual ‘game’ bit, unfortunately, hasn’t

been given quite so much attention...

The eponymous Nippon Marathon is an eight-

stage race across Japan with plenty of marketable

surreality. Playable contestants include a man

dressed as a lobster, a woman in a narwhal

onesie, an old man in a schoolgirl’s uniform, and

a giant dog in a puffer jacket. You’re going to go

straight for the dog, aren’t you?

Four people race at once, and there are items

you can pick up and use. Tap o or u according

to which hand you’re holding the item in to

use it – to drop a banana skin the size of a

car behind you, for example, or to launch an

exploding melon at the person currently in first

place – or hold the button down to eat it, giving

yourself a speed boost for a

brief but vital second.

You’ll be racing down roads

where packs of shiba inu chase

you, knocking down salarymen

in a busy train station, running

through a city while at a giant

size... and that’s not even the

craziest stuff. With the race

occasionally interrupted by

minigames, and photos popping

up unexpectedly, it does a great

job of providing the desired

surreal atmosphere.

NIPPON THE BUD

Unfortunately, the races aren’t

that fun. The dodgy physics

is meant to be amusing; but

it’s simply annoying, resulting

in regular instances of trips

and falls that don’t feel like

your fault. On top of that,

map design occasionally makes

the right direction to head

in unclear, and the camera

punishes the person in first

place by making them blind to

oncoming hazards.

The four fairly brief lines

in story mode do at least

provide some laughs. The party

modes, meanwhile, are much

better, pass-the-controller

affairs. LOBSTER justifies the

Takeshi’s Castle comparisons,

tasking you with getting as

far as you can through a game

show assault course. Go-Go

Trolley is (despite some screen

tearing) the best part of the

game. It’s a gigantic bowling

alley where you knock down

huge pins by rolling a shopping

trolley (and/or yourself) down

a slope. Yes, it’s as much fun as

it sounds, although strikes are

occasionally awarded with one

pin still standing.

It’s a game that would

benefit from online modes,

though the existing couch co-

op would still be the best way

to play. Head straight for the

party modes and there’s a lot

of fun to be had although, to be

honest, the novelty is likely to

wear off pretty quickly.

THE HUMAN RACE @Jim_Crikey

VERDICT

The Japanese setting

is celebrated through

Japanese text, audio,

and references.

The biggest part of the game

is the most awkward, but its

party modes save the day. Just

don’t expect this contender to

make the competition eat its

dust. Luke Kemp

“VALUES – AND MASSIVELY

INFLATES – THE WEIRDNESS

ABOVE ALL ELSE.”