Wedy here, while you’ve been bracing yourselves for the buffeting winds of the Steam Summer Sale, we’ve been hard at work to bring you an update like no other!

Bosses? Check!
New stages? Check!
Monkeys...?

You’d better believe it! Want the details?

IKIMASHOU!



The in-game store is now open! Unlock new characters and bonuses - like new race-affecting extras. Want a fair (but surely NO FUN!) ‘No Items Mode’? How about a Turbo mode? These unlocks will make the race more personal to your taste!

The points you earn at the end of a race can now be converted into sweet, sweet Yen which you can spend in the in-game store! ‘Capitalism, ho!’ as, er… I believe someone once said.


Unlockable Boss Characters are here! Handsome Hazuki, Shiro Hideko, KG Park, Felix Arizona join the party! If you’d like to know more about these not-so shadowy figures, {LINK REMOVED}then stop by our website for their full character bios! Or if you prefer your Boss characters spoiler free, you’ll find their individual stories in the upcoming Story Mode.

Nothing comes for free though! The bosses will vary in cost in the store. KG Park at a cheerful ¥107,987, Handsome Hazuki proves good looks come with a price with the most expensive unlock of ¥902,714. Moustache grooming doesn’t come cheap.

And wait… wait… this just in! Onion Soup Interactive will give you, for this update only, enough in-game currency to buy at least one boss from the store!


As previously reported there’s now a new area, YAMA-DORI, featuring two new attractions - Unsafe Sake Facility & Steamy Steamy Monkeys

UNSAFE SAKE FACILITY

From the rice paddies to the facility itself, the making of Sake is a fine art – though we wouldn’t recommend a tasting session right now. Weave your way thought the backpackers to find a distilliary on the brink of collapse. Falling bridges and exploding barrels? Someone call Health and Safety!








STEAMY STEAMY MONKEYS
You can’t come to Japan without experiencing a traditional Onsen in the mountains! But this is no time for a bath, not if the Snow Monkeys have any say in the matter. The Snow Monkeys love using their smart phone to livestream the marathon. So don' be surprised if a Snow Monkey starts livestreaming mid-slide! The Snow Monkeys also love to throw bananas and jump on your back (or straddling your face!) Remember folks - mischief maketh the marathon!








Tweaks to the fruit machine minigame
We’ve update the UI and fixed a bug that sometimes resulted in the minigame not showing. Items are now dispensed once the minigame is complete. Carp and Shiba now appear in place of the fruit machine objects.



Resolution and Options
The bug where the screen resolution was interpreted the wrong way around has now been fixed. Hurrah!
The options menu and saving system has also been updated, though this still requires further improvements.

The much hyped Trolley Minigame is still currently in development. All I can say is that you won't want to be doing this in your local Super Ichiba, the staff would not be pleased.

Remember to follow me on Twitter & {LINK REMOVED}on my website for the latest scoop for all things Nippon Marathon!

So that's all for now folks!

I've been Wedy Jones.

Keep it real, Keep it Nippon!

Wedy here, it might seem like we’ve been quiet, we have!

We’re working through some issues with localisation at the moment, these have prevented us from updating the game as per our schedule, so instead of remaining silent and trying to figure it out we thought we’d let you in on the upcoming content that was due to be released in parts. This is now coming to you in one big update shortly!

Every time you play any game mode your points will be converted into Yen which can be spent on new items, check it out below:





As you’ve guessed from the screenshot, we’re including the boss characters in the next update but you’ll need to buy them from the In-Game Store!

Yes! Coming with this update will be enough In-Game Currency to buy at least one boss character from the store. How exciting!

We have a brand new course for you to play in Versus Mode, here’s some screenshots to whet your appetite. We are now in the mountains of the YAMA-DORI prefecture, the fresh mountain air and manure smell fills my nostrils, it is terrible.









What’s this? Another new course for Versus Mode? Absolutely! This course is called Steamy Steamy Monkeys, the monkeys are hot, they are steamy and they like to throw bananas.









We've improved the fruit machine minigame, including the UI and we've fixed a bug that sometimes resulted in the minigame not showing. Items are now dispensed once the minigame is complete. Carp and Shiba now appear in place of the fruit machine objects.



There was a pretty silly bug in which the screen resolution was sometimes interpreted the wrong way around. Thanks go out to the Steam Reviewer who pointed this out whilst claiming "this is by far and the worst coded, even for early access, game I have ever seen!". We’ve improved the options menu and saving system though this still requires further improvement.

This is all great news but WHEN CAN WE PLAY?
“Soon” is the best answer we can give you, we’re just working on some details regarding our translation services, as soon as this is done we’ll publish the update and all of this goodness will become playable!

We’re continuing development of Story Mode, I can now reveal that each of the four main characters will have their own story arc and unique perspectives of the main story timeline. These will be significantly different in tone and content so you’ll really want to play through all four.

At the same time, we’ll be putting together our next Party Game which involves shopping trolleys and bowling pins! Then we’ll be on to the final two stages and the rest of the outstanding content and polish.

Remember to follow me on Twitter & on my website for the latest scoop for all things Nippon Marathon!

So that's all for now folks!

I've been Wedy Jones,

Keep it real, Keep it Nippon!

We were in such a hurry to release the previous update that we didn't get chance to publish the patch notes so please find them here...

Patch Notes - 0.478

Then we rushed around getting ready to see my grandfather's wedding, seriously, he's 92!


Well, between completing the first iteration of LOBSTER mode and the fixes detailed above we've been running around from Expo to Expo and gathering vital feedback. Watching people play for the first time over and over again is an invaluable resource and it really helps me to take a step back and view the game afresh.

We're in Osaka right now, we'll be moving on to Tokyo soon with some stops along the way. I want to experience the capital firsthand before work begins on the final two courses.

Speaking of courses I'm aiming to have Unsafe Sake Brewery playable at the end of May. There's some fun surprises in this course which I think you'll really enjoy.

At the same time, our newly appointed writer will begin work on the much anticipated story and my final job while we're in Japan is to put together the mechanics that will facilitate the delivery of that story. There will be an update soon and I'm hoping to be able to release chapter one of Story Mode during the early access period as an appetiser for the main course!

Just a quick note on bugs and issues. We're a small team, actually we only have one developer! I'm sure you can imagine that developing such a game by oneself isn't a walk in the park, however that's the same for all developers, we do it because it's tough and rewarding. But we do need help sometimes! I'd like to ask that you please post any bug reports in the discussion forums. Bug reports are super super useful to us :)

If you want to see what Hazuki is up to you can follow him on Instagram here. Don't forget to follow Wedy here andhere too!


Rainy Dotonbori - From Handsome Hazuki's Intagram


Osaka Sunset - From Handsome Hazuki's Intagram

Hello! Apologies for these patch notes being a little late, they apply to the update released on 23 April 2018.

• New Contestant Spectator - Players can now select the Spectator character and play both Versus and LOBSTER as them, they're so adorable!
  
• Framerate optimisation - Framerates should be improved slightly in all areas and drastically in some, especially during Wedy sequences
  
• New Options - Full-Screen/Windowed options have arrived as have custom controller settings (beta)
  
• Level tweaks - Based on feedback we've made some signposting and some other tweaks to the levels, such as the elevator in level 3 which could sometimes go all whacky and mess you up for good and the ending to level 2 which could result in players running off into the infinite void! Also the Zen Garden and Temple ares of Level 2 have been signposted and decorated with this in mind.
  
• Scoring - We've changed the value of the STARS, this means a player wanting to play tactically using popularity or the Stickers scoring mechanisms has a better chance of making an impact on the final scoreboard. STARS used to be worth 100 points, now they're worth 50 each.
  
• Player Select - Improvements have been made here meaning that all players must be ready before P1 can advance to the next screen
  
• Improved Performance - Upwards of 20fps increases in some areas of the game.
  
• Linux Support - We now have a working version of Linux that's only currently available to beta testers, if you're interested in helping test then please get in touch!
  
• Improved signposting at bottom of waterfall in Kawa River Run
  
• Falling into the water in Kawa River Run is now more perilous
  
• Fixed LOBSTER Mode controller assign, now any controller can be used by any player to initiate a turn
  
• Fixed some geometry where colliders were missing in all courses
  
• Improved performance (in some areas you should see a 20+fps increase!)
  
• Turned sunlight back on immediately after wedy arrives to make for a more pleasant visual
  
• Configured Wedy's camera upward so we can see her better during interview answers
  
• Moved wedy's spawn so she's much less likely to appear inside level geometry
  
• Nishiboris P2 (pink) texture somehow reverted back to old one, now fixed
  
• Fixed unfair scoring on elevator in Super Ichiba Sweep
  
• Added more detail and hazards to Super Ichiba Sweep
  
• Adjust camera at FireJuggler Bridge in Kawasemi City Sights
  
• Adjusted camera when going down road near nightclub in Kawasemi City Sights
  
• Added many new commentary lines - "Nishbori just ate a poisonous mushroom, that is not advisable!" and many more
  
• Warning Images (such as the shiba inu photograph) present throughout all 4 courses
  
• Fixed popularity floating indicators on many objects

Roll up! Roll up! L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode has arrived in Early Access! The first of three planned Party Games for Nippon Marathon, L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode is a pass-the-pad test of skill and endurance for 2-8 players.



After every player picks and names their own contestant, they must run Surfin’ Jack Cactus’ gauntlet: a precariously narrow, randomly generated assault course filled with swinging hammers, pneumatic boxing gloves, basketball cannons and irate American footballers, as well as paper targets that grant bonus time when hit. There may be some beached fish flopping around, too…

The player who records the longest distance before the timer expires wins the round, while all others shellfishly grab a letter. Between each round Surfin’ Jack Cactus spins his bonus wheel to see whether more time’s added to the clock or the course is re-rolled, and the sole winner is the player who manages to avoid being dubbed the LOBSTER, PRAWN or EBI (depending on the chosen length of the game).



In addition to the four key Nippon Marathon contestants, LOBSTER Mode also introduces a selection of playable spectators to ensure everybody has a unique avatar during eight-player parties.

Like the full Nippon Marathon itself, L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode will evolve during the game's Early Access period, with additional course elements and contestants planned for future updates. We'll be listening to suggestions in the comments below and on the Community boards during the creation of these new course features (check out the pinned thread). So be sure to let us know what you think of L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode - your suggestions could be implemented in the future!



And for our huge Asian fanbase, today's update brings an extra-special addition to Nippon Marathon. Japanese, Chinese and Korean localization is now available, plus our talented commentator Sora has recorded all the announcer dialogue in Japanese as well, for added authenticity.

We want to thank you all for the immense support so far, and we hope you love today's new features. This first big content update is just one of many we have planned for 2018, and we can't wait to expand the wacky world of Nippon Marathon even more in the coming months.

Roll up! Roll up! L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode has arrived in Early Access! The first of three planned Party Games for Nippon Marathon, L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode is a pass-the-pad test of skill and endurance for 2-8 players.



After every player picks and names their own contestant, they must run Surfin’ Jack Cactus’ gauntlet: a precariously narrow, randomly generated assault course filled with swinging hammers, pneumatic boxing gloves, basketball cannons and irate American footballers, as well as paper targets that grant bonus time when hit. There may be some beached fish flopping around, too…

The player who records the longest distance before the timer expires wins the round, while all others shellfishly grab a letter. Between each round Surfin’ Jack Cactus spins his bonus wheel to see whether more time’s added to the clock or the course is re-rolled, and the sole winner is the player who manages to avoid being dubbed the LOBSTER, PRAWN or EBI (depending on the chosen length of the game).



In addition to the four key Nippon Marathon contestants, LOBSTER Mode also introduces a selection of playable spectators to ensure everybody has a unique avatar during eight-player parties.

Like the full Nippon Marathon itself, L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode will evolve during the game's Early Access period, with additional course elements and contestants planned for future updates. We'll be listening to suggestions in the comments below and on the Community boards during the creation of these new course features (check out the pinned thread). So be sure to let us know what you think of L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode - your suggestions could be implemented in the future!



And for our huge Asian fanbase, today's update brings an extra-special addition to Nippon Marathon. Japanese, Chinese and Korean localization is now available, plus our talented commentator Sora has recorded all the announcer dialogue in Japanese as well, for added authenticity.

We want to thank you all for the immense support so far, and we hope you love today's new features. This first big content update is just one of many we have planned for 2018, and we can't wait to expand the wacky world of Nippon Marathon even more in the coming months.

Greetings contestants! Wedy here with a very special announcement: Nippon Marathon is expanding this week! Look how happy that news has made Surfin' Jack Cactus below!



On Wednesday, every Early Access player will gain access to the very first Nippon Marathon Party Game: L.O.B.S.T.E.R mode, which supports 2-8 players in a pass-the-pad jamboree of epic proportions!



And that's not all: Nippon Marathon's upcoming update will also add localization support for Japanese, Korean and Chinese, and will ALSO be unleashing an authentic Japanese commentary track into the Nippon News Broadcasting airwaves!



We'll bring you much more info on Wednesday when the update goes live. Until then, I've been Wedy!

Greetings contestants! Wedy here with a very special announcement: Nippon Marathon is expanding this week! Look how happy that news has made Surfin' Jack Cactus below!



On Wednesday, every Early Access player will gain access to the very first Nippon Marathon Party Game: L.O.B.S.T.E.R mode, which supports 2-8 players in a pass-the-pad jamboree of epic proportions!



And that's not all: Nippon Marathon's upcoming update will also add localization support for Japanese, Korean and Chinese, and will ALSO be unleashing an authentic Japanese commentary track into the Nippon News Broadcasting airwaves!



We'll bring you much more info on Wednesday when the update goes live. Until then, I've been Wedy!

Konnichiwa! It’s been just over a week since we launched Nippon Marathon into Early Access and we’ve been blown away by the love out there for our game. So first of all, a big thank you to everybody who’s picked up Nippon Marathon, who’s played it, or who has simply watched one of the many videos and streams.

It’s about time for our first developer update from Wedy Jones, don’t you think?



Right now we’re busy beavering away on a number of fixes and additions for Nippon Marathon in the coming weeks. Having now amended the Mac boot-up problem we’re looking into a hotfix for a controller issue some people have been experiencing, and we’re tweaking some settings to fix a couple of scoring issues (in particular involving the elevators on Super Ichiba Sweep!) as well.

Content-wise, there’s a LOT on the horizon. Firstly, the support from Japanese gamers has been off the charts! Our first addition to Nippon Marathon therefore will be to add Japanese commentary and also localized text for Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. You can expect to see this added in the coming weeks.

That language update is then going to be very closely followed by our first Party Game! And we wanted to give you a peek right now.



Meet L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode: think of it as a cross between Tony Hawk’s classic HORSE party game mode and the Super Smash Bros Melee sandbag-thwacking Home-Run Contest… with a Nippon Marathon-styled running twist. In L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode you play as contestants in a Game Show hosted by 'Surfin' Jack Cactus. He just loves to pit people against each other and award letters to the losers: Don't let Jack spell out L.O.B.S.T.E.R for you or you're outta the game!



For now, feast your eyes on some early prototype screens (yes, starring some fresh characters) – it won’t be too long before we’ll be letting L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode loose into the Early Access build…

Konnichiwa! It’s been just over a week since we launched Nippon Marathon into Early Access and we’ve been blown away by the love out there for our game. So first of all, a big thank you to everybody who’s picked up Nippon Marathon, who’s played it, or who has simply watched one of the many videos and streams.

It’s about time for our first developer update from Wedy Jones, don’t you think?



Right now we’re busy beavering away on a number of fixes and additions for Nippon Marathon in the coming weeks. Having now amended the Mac boot-up problem we’re looking into a hotfix for a controller issue some people have been experiencing, and we’re tweaking some settings to fix a couple of scoring issues (in particular involving the elevators on Super Ichiba Sweep!) as well.

Content-wise, there’s a LOT on the horizon. Firstly, the support from Japanese gamers has been off the charts! Our first addition to Nippon Marathon therefore will be to add Japanese commentary and also localized text for Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. You can expect to see this added in the coming weeks.

That language update is then going to be very closely followed by our first Party Game! And we wanted to give you a peek right now.



Meet L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode: think of it as a cross between Tony Hawk’s classic HORSE party game mode and the Super Smash Bros Melee sandbag-thwacking Home-Run Contest… with a Nippon Marathon-styled running twist. In L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode you play as contestants in a Game Show hosted by 'Surfin' Jack Cactus. He just loves to pit people against each other and award letters to the losers: Don't let Jack spell out L.O.B.S.T.E.R for you or you're outta the game!



For now, feast your eyes on some early prototype screens (yes, starring some fresh characters) – it won’t be too long before we’ll be letting L.O.B.S.T.E.R Mode loose into the Early Access build…