KONNICHIWA!
Did you know the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan? The word shi (四) sounds like shi (死), meaning death.
Well, not here at Onion Soup HQ, because Issue 4 of 「NIPPON NEWS DAIJOUBU」 is alive and slurping with flavour.
Today, we’re talking music through the analogy of an imaginary ramen excursion.
THE RAMEN OF DESTINY
So it might be because I’m hungry, but game development seems a lot like cooking: the devs are taste-testing a recipe for fun gameplay while an angry chef (dog) yells about table orders.
So if Nippon Marathon was a bowl of ramen:
Gameplay would be the unpredictable broth, sometimes spicy, sometimes salty, always surprising.
Obstacles - the homemade noodles, springy, weird, and occasionally airborne.
Contestants - the juicy slices of meat (or tofu), full of personality and flavour!
Stages - the warm bowl holding the madness together which you sometimes fall out of.
And the soundtrack? That’s the nori topping. The thing that transforms “pretty good ramen” into “I will think about this for the rest of my life.”
And that’s what we’re diving into today: the music behind Nippon Marathon 2: Daijoubu.
THE SOUND OF SLURPING
It seems, when i comes to sourcing the right music for NM2, the Onion Soup devs have a few methodolgies they rely upon:
The "Always‑Simmering” Method:
Approximately 60% of the dev’s brain, when away from the desktop, is permanently dedicated to Nippon Marathon 2. This means anything; a TV show, a song, a passing pigeon, can suddenly become the inpiration for a game feature or a new song for the soundtrack.
The “Perfectly Seasoned From the Start ” Method
Some stages arrive with their flavour already locked in. For Shika Shika Deer Town, the devs wanted festival vibes: percussion, shakers, and spcifically an old-school synth vocal to make it feel like the deer are an intelligent community. So he sent musician Robert Ruby a reference from Pilotwings (SNES), (tell me the weird vocal intrument from 0:25 aren't familiar!). View game page
The “Please help, It’s Too Spicy” Method
Sometimes the stage is already loud enough. For Let’s Go Ramen Museum, Fox Hills’ smooth jazz fusion was the perfect counterbalance to the sound sof children screaming, mascots singing and servers shouting "ラーメンをお試しください" (or "please try the ramen!")
The “Sometimes the soup chooses the bowl” Method
Sometimes the music arrives before the stage even exists. While playing Steins;Gate, the devs heard a track that hit them like a Hokkaido snowball. With a little more tempo, it felt like great inspiration for a winter stage, one that hasn’t even been designed yet. Takeshi Abo's increadible music helps make Steins:Gate one of, if not the best, VNs there ever was! Here's the track, starting from the part that sounds like 'running through a wintery scene':
View game pageFascinating. With this information now in hand, I step back outside, and that’s when I hear it.
Smooth, buttery jazz drifting through the street speakers. I follow the sound.
WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU SHOYU
Thinking about all that, I realise just how important the music is to a video game, and whilst following the music I unknowingly have entered the imaginary train station.
Fox Hills / Mikey Kim - Smooth R&B Jazz Fusion
Standing on the platform serenading a vending machine is Fox Hills, he looks up and says:
“Hey, Fox Hills here! I’m a producer based in Seoul. I worked on several tracks for NM1 and I’m excited to be back for NM2. My style leans R&B and jazz, which fits the game’s tone perfectly. I’ve mostly been working with Korean artists lately, so it’s been refreshing to try new things with the Onion Soup team. We’ve got more coming… stay tuned!”
If you played NM1, you’ll already be familiar with Fox Hills’ work: the title theme, the menu music, and Kawasemi City Sights. His sound is silky, stylish, and effortlessly cool — like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day.
Take Let’s Go Ramen Museum: the stage is already noisy with mascots singing, kids screaming, and general noodle‑based mayhem. Instead of adding more chaos, Fox delivered smooth, buttery jazz that ties everything together like… well, insert your favourite ramen pun here.
Fox’s R&B‑leaning, jazz‑infused style is a perfect fit for NM2’s blend of chaos and charm, and his return adds a warm, nostalgic flavour to the soundtrack, the new title music is testament to his prowess!
Fox Hills has a lot of credits as producer, so i'll just post this one as I like the part where the girl is stuffing a body into a hotel laundry cart:
If you're looking to hire Fox for your own project, here's the details:
email: [email protected]
Instagram: http://instagram.com/forgotmikey
I feel so lucky to have met him, such a random encounter. He collects his bottle of chilled Pokari Sweat and runs onto the train before I get a chance to speak to him more.
That was the last train. I have no way home. But I’m hungry, so off to the ramen shop I go until I can get the first train back to the office.
Robert Ruby - The Mad-Scientist Musician
As I enter the restaurant, I smell something familiar, a scent that reminds me of another NM1 musician: Robert Ruby.
Working with Robert is like walking into a restaurant with no menu and saying, “Surprise me.” You never know what you’ll get, but it’s always good.
One minute we’re talking about the Jurassic Park SNES soundtrack, the next we’re deep‑diving Taeko Ohnuki’s city pop, and then suddenly he’s sending over a MIDI electric‑guitar thrash track that sounds like PC DOOM on a sugar rush.
View game pageComposer Jonathan Dunn's masterpiece is one of Robert's inspirations
Robert’s ear-prints (fingerprints for the ears) are all over NM1, including the iconic Superlove Racing. Not only that he’s the mastermind behind the entire SUPER 56 soundtrack. For NM2, he’s back with new tracks, new energy, and the same “sure, I can do that” attitude that makes him terrifyingly efficient.
Case in point:
The devs once told me they were watching King of the Hill and Bobby Hill strutted through a clothing store to a song that instantly screamed Contestant Creator. Obviously they couldn’t license it, so they sent the vibe to Robert. The song? Gypsy Woman, Crystal Waters.
24 hours later:
He sends a one‑minute demo that's immediately exactly what we were looking for.
Because of course he does.
Robert is an LA‑based composer, songwriter, and multi‑instrumentalist whose fingerprints are all over NM1 — and he’s also the mastermind behind the entire SUPER 56 soundtrack. Outside of games, he releases indie synth‑pop as Crimes of Passion. NM2 gives him space to go wild: energetic, fun, serious, hilarious, all at once.
Robert loves taking on new jobs so if you're looking for a mad-scientist musician, find him at:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/robertrubymusic/ / https://www.instagram.com/crimesofpassionofficial/
Discord: RobertRuby#3795
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE BROTH
By the time I finish my bowl, I realise something important:
Music is one of the strongest identity markers a game can have. And after accidentally meeting Fox Hills on a train platform and remembering just how expressive Robert Ruby can be with... just about anything I'm more convinced than ever.
NM2’s soundtrack is going to hit harder than a swinging sailor spinning his anchor!
If you like the sound of this so far, did you know you can buy a copy of the Soundtrack on Steam? I recommend you do.
View game pageIf you're feeling nostalgic, you can also listen to the original soundtrack (Quick shoutout to Mitch Foster, Nom Tunes, Tormod Garvin and Diana Garnet who all contributed to NM1's OST) here:
By buying/streaming the OSTs you're not only supporting the Onion Soup devs, you're also helping the musicians who receive royalty payments from each purchase/play. So stream, listen and throw melons all whilst knowing you're helping support indie talent!
And, amazingly we've got this far without mentioning AI. I have it on good authoristy that Onion Soup won't be putting any AI music in their games, there's no genAI assets in NM2 now and there sure as heck won't be any coming down the line either. Nippon Marathon is too personal and too unique and too creative to be handed off to an AI and let's not forget that the musicians, artists and coders of the world need to keep the lights on too.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sit here until the first train home arrives…
and maybe order another bowl.
For research purposes.
SENSATIONAL SCREENSHOTS
It's that time again... but wait... we need your help, we need more screenshots to share with the world! Have a funny screenshot, please share it on socials or on the Steam Community. The devs love to see what mischief you're getting into! Thanks to Discord member ふーにゃ we can share some of their screenshot silliness, make sure you set your screenshots to public in Steam or we won't be able to see them :(
Here's some fun screens!
Peek-a-boo! (ふーにゃ)
Happy Let's Fall Down Day! (ふーにゃ)
Kawaii Kaboom! (Is that Zenbei's kidney?) (ふーにゃ)
Well, at least that one guy loves you! (ふーにゃ)
DISCORD DISCO
I check my phone and find all these notifications about the sumo basho — it’s over, and I missed it. Luckily, the Onion Soup Discord has been following along to keep me updated. Looks like Wakatakakage has taken the win.
Thanks for reading 「NIPPON NEWS DAIJOUBU」and check back for issue 5 where i'll be bringing exciting updates ,including a big one for all Steamdeck users!
Oh and yes, a have heard a nice juicy game update is due any day now! I'll start digging now and let you know what I find!
Until next time, stay DAIJOUBU! - Reiwa Man
