There is something wonderfully strange about Hashire HEBEREKE: EX. It is a racing game, yet nobody sits behind the wheel of a car. Instead, a collection of ridiculously charming little characters sprint around colourful isometric courses, picking up items, smacking into obstacles and generally causing as much trouble as possible. It sounds simple, perhaps even a little silly, but that is exactly where the charm lies. This is the sort of game that knows it does not need to take itself seriously to put a smile on your face.
Originally released exclusively in Japan for the Super Famicom in 1994, Hashire Hebereke was one of those wonderfully eccentric games that never received the international recognition it deserved. Hashire HEBEREKE: EX brings that cult classic back for a modern audience, preserving the unmistakable 16-bit personality while adding new ways to play and, most importantly, online multiplayer. The result is a surprisingly feature-packed revival that feels like a forgotten piece of gaming history being given another chance to shine.
A Race Without A Steering Wheel
The basic idea behind Hashire HEBEREKE: EX is wonderfully straightforward. Choose your character, pick a course and run like your life depends on it. The isometric perspective immediately makes things a little more complicated than in a traditional side-scrolling racer, because judging corners, obstacles and distances requires a slightly different kind of concentration.
Movement takes some getting used to, particularly if you are accustomed to modern racing games, where the controls feel instantly familiar. Here, positioning matters enormously, and a badly judged corner can send you crashing into an obstacle or cost you valuable momentum. It can initially feel awkward, but once your brain adjusts to the perspective, there is something satisfying about learning how the courses flow.
The tracks themselves are packed with objects, hazards and opportunities for mischief. You are rarely simply running from one end to the other, because there is always something happening around you. The best races have that wonderfully unpredictable quality, where you can be comfortably ahead one moment and suddenly find yourself struggling to stay upright.
Meet The Weird And Wonderful Cast
The characters are a major reason Hashire HEBEREKE: EX is so memorable. Rather than a collection of anonymous racers, the game populates its courses with quirky personalities who seem to have wandered in from an entirely different cartoon.
Hebe, O Chan, Jennifer and Sukezaemon are among the characters you can choose from, and each brings their own characteristics to the race. Differences in speed, handling and other traits mean that choosing a character is not purely about picking the cutest. Some will suit players who prefer speed, while others may feel more comfortable for those who value control or a particular style of play.
There is also a wonderful sense of personality in the animations and reactions. These characters are expressive in a way that modern games sometimes forget, and even when something goes horribly wrong, it tends to be funny rather than frustrating. Watching your character get knocked around by another player is much easier to laugh about when everyone involved looks this ridiculously adorable.
Items Make Everything Better
If the racing were entirely about reaching the finish line first, Hashire HEBEREKE: EX would probably become repetitive fairly quickly. Thankfully, the game understands that sometimes the best way to make a race entertaining is to give everyone the tools to ruin somebody else’s day.
Items are scattered across the courses, and picking them up can completely change the flow of a race. Speed boosts can help you escape the pack, while more offensive options let you interfere with your opponents. There is a lovely sense of chaos when several players are fighting for position and everyone is throwing items around while trying to remember which direction they are supposed to be running.
The Popoons add another layer of absurdity. Depending on the situation, these items can cause wonderfully ridiculous effects, including turning opponents into harmless eggplants. It is exactly the sort of nonsense that makes a retro party game work. Winning is important, naturally, but watching your friends get transformed into something completely ridiculous is sometimes the real prize.
Ten Stages And A Story
The Story Mode gives the game a little more structure than you might expect. Your chosen character determines how the story unfolds, and the goal is to defeat your opponents across ten stages.
It is not an epic narrative, and it does not need to be. The story exists primarily to give the single-player experience a sense of progression, and that works perfectly well for this kind of game. You have a reason to keep moving forward, but the emphasis remains firmly on the races themselves.
One thing I particularly appreciate is the game’s attitude towards losing. You are encouraged to try again rather than made to feel as though failure is some terrible event. That forgiving approach fits the overall personality of Hashire HEBEREKE: EX. It wants you to have another go, learn the course, and eventually get your revenge.
Plenty Of Ways To Play
The sheer number of modes is one of the game’s biggest strengths. Battle Run is the obvious centrepiece, supporting two to four players locally, with the screen split into separate sections. It is chaotic, competitive and exactly the sort of experience that becomes much more entertaining when several people are sitting together.
Then there is Time Attack for those who would rather compete against themselves. Here, the objective is simply to reach the finish line as quickly as possible, with your previous performance providing a ghost to race against. It is a simple addition, but it gives the game’s courses considerably more longevity because there is always another second to shave off your time.
Engacho, meanwhile, is essentially a wonderfully silly game of tag. The player with the unfortunate poop on their head becomes the chaser, and their objective is to catch and touch the others. It sounds childish because it absolutely is, but there is something infectious about it. The fact that Hashire HEBEREKE: EX is completely comfortable embracing this silliness is one of its greatest charms.
Eight Players, Eight Times The Chaos
Online Battle is where the modern additions really make their mark. Up to eight players can join the same room, with Battle Run and Pofun Battle providing the competitive framework.
Eight players is a significant step up from the original local experience, and it suits the game’s chaotic personality remarkably well. With more characters racing around the same course, the screen can become an absolute mess of movement, items and unexpected disasters. Yet that is precisely what you want from a game like this.
The random stage selection also helps keep online sessions unpredictable. You never quite know what course is coming next, which means players have to adapt rather than simply relying on memorised favourites. For a game originally designed for a very different era of multiplayer, it is impressive how naturally its basic concept translates to online play.
A Rhythm Game Too?
One of the more unexpected additions is the Rhythm Game. Here, racing takes a back seat as you focus on hitting the correct inputs while colourful Pofun line up with the judgement point.
Accuracy affects what happens on screen, including the text, effects and character reactions, while successful combinations build towards Fever Mode. It is a completely different kind of challenge from the racing modes, making it a welcome diversion rather than a simple distraction.
The colourful presentation and lively music make this mode particularly enjoyable. It feels as if the developers have taken the strange little world of Hebereke and asked how many different kinds of game they can squeeze into it. Somehow, the answer appears to be quite a few.
A Lovely Retro Revival
Visually, Hashire HEBEREKE: EX does not try to hide its age. The pixel art proudly remains 16-bit, filled with bright colours, chunky characters and pastel environments that look wonderfully authentic.
There is something refreshing about that approach. Rather than completely rebuilding the game and losing its identity in the process, the developers have recognised that the original aesthetic is a major part of its appeal. Modern display options help the presentation look cleaner on contemporary screens, but the underlying personality remains intact.
The music follows the same philosophy. The bouncy retro soundtrack is packed with catchy melodies that can lodge themselves in your head long after you have stopped playing. Add in the quirky vocal sounds and character reactions, and the whole package has a warmth that is difficult to fake.
A Little Bit Of 1994 In 2026
What makes Hashire HEBEREKE: EX particularly appealing is that it feels like a game from another era without becoming a museum piece. The original design philosophy remains intact, yet the additional modes, modern display options and online multiplayer make it considerably easier to enjoy today.
That does not mean every old quirk has disappeared. The isometric perspective can still make movement feel unusual, and item randomness can occasionally turn a carefully executed race into nonsense. Some players will find that frustrating, particularly if they prefer racing games where skill alone determines the outcome.
For me, however, that unpredictability is part of the appeal. Hashire HEBEREKE: EX is not trying to be a serious competitive racer. It is a party game, a curiosity and a celebration of a particularly odd little corner of 1990s Japanese gaming. The more you accept that, the more enjoyable it becomes.
The Verdict
Hashire HEBEREKE: EX is a charming resurrection of a forgotten Super Famicom gem that deserves its second chance. Its blend of isometric racing, ridiculous characters, chaotic items and a surprisingly broad selection of modes gives it considerably more substance than its cheerful appearance might suggest.
The controls may take a little patience to master, and the randomness of the item system will not appeal to everyone, but once you settle into its peculiar rhythm, there is plenty of fun to be found here. Story Mode provides a decent single-player challenge, Time Attack gives dedicated players something to master, Engacho adds wonderfully silly tag-based competition, and the Rhythm Game provides a welcome change of pace.
The real star, though, is the multiplayer. Four-player local competition already delivers the sort of frantic fun that makes retro party games so memorable, while eight-player online battles give Hashire HEBEREKE: EX a modern reason to exist beyond simple nostalgia.
Most importantly, this is a game with personality. It is colourful, mischievous, occasionally ridiculous and completely unafraid to be silly. In an industry where so many games seem desperate to be bigger, darker and more serious, there is something genuinely refreshing about a bunch of adorable characters racing around an isometric course while throwing bizarre objects at each other.
Hashire HEBEREKE: EX may not be the smoothest racer you will play this year, but it might be one of the most endearing. It is a lovingly preserved piece of gaming history, given enough modern attention to make it relevant again, and that is something worth celebrating.
