Hashire Hebereke: Remake of classic Japanese SNES game featuring cute racing penguin to get first ever global release 

Gravity Game Arise announced on July 19 that they have signed a global publishing contract with Sunsoft to produce Hashire Hebereke Ex (tentative title). This will mark the first time that players worldwide can enjoy a racing game based on one of Japan’s most beloved character franchises of the 1990s. 

Hashire Hebereke Ex will be a remake of Sunsoft’s 1994 Japan-exclusive SNES (Super Famicom) release Hashire Hebereke, a running race game featuring the cute and fluffy penguin character Hebereke. Hashire Hebereke EX is scheduled to be released in 2025 for PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch. It is being developed by CRT Games. 

Back in the 1990s, Hebereke was one of Sunsoft’s main franchises, and the cute penguin and his friends gained popularity in their home country of Japan. However, few titles in the series were released abroad. The very first game Hebereke (1992) was eventually released in the USA in 2010 for the Wii Virtual Console under the name Ufouria: The Saga. It is known for being a super-fast metroidvania game. 

Hashire Hebereke, on the other hand, is a running race game, in which the charming Hebereke characters compete on varied isometric courses. In the original game, you could choose from 8 characters, but according to a recent X post from Sunsoft, the remake will add new playable characters and stages. It will also feature online multiplayer for up to 4 players.  

Each character has different stats which cover their running, jumping and swimming abilities, as well as their own special skills. Racers can also pick up a range of helpful items that can either give you a boost or hinder your opponents.  

In recent years, Sunsoft has been actively remaking its classic games and reviving old series with new releases. In February this year, it released Ufouria: The Saga 2, a charming remake of the second Hebereke game (which currently has a Very Positive status on Steam, earning praise for its colorful, fluffy felt aesthetic).  

Yesterday, Sunsoft released a trailer for Gimmick!2, an unexpected sequel to its NES platformer from 1992. It seems Hashire Hebereke Ex is part of these efforts to revive Sunsoft’s beloved classics so they can be enjoyed by a new generation of gamers. 

Hashire Hebereke Ex is scheduled to be released on PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch sometime in 2025. 

Written by. Verity Townsend based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-07-19 11:05 JST)