Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash is galloping westward in 2024

Yay or neigh?

Cygames revealed Umamusume Pretty Derby: Nekketsu Hachamecha Dai Kasha-sai as part of Japan’s Nintendo Direct yesterday, but there was little indication of its release plans. The publisher has now confirmed that the game will be coming to North America as Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash.

The pixel art visuals are cute, but what grabbed my attention is the obvious nods to the Nekketsu/Kunio-Kun series. There are four events in this party Grand Prix: Hurtling Hurdles, Blazing Baskets, Dodgeball Demolition, and Gourmet Gauntlet. Alliterations are fun. Three of those events bear a resemblance to games in the Kunio-Kun series. In particular, the Blazing Baskets game has three nets stacked on top of each other, which was part of Nekketsu Street Basket.

Homage aside, it’s definitely not just a straight copy. There are a lot of new things mixed in with these games, like turning someone into a penguin for some reason. Collectibles of some sort are on the playing field. It looks like all events are a free-for-all. There actually isn’t a whole lot to go on in this press release, but I think the trailer speaks for itself.

We’re promised a “star-studded cast of Umamusume to play as.” I don’t know what that means beyond them being horse girls. I’m going to be honest with you, I know nothing about Umamusume. This is actually the first time I’ve heard of it. I do watch anime from time to time, but it’s part of a very sparse likelihood that I’ll watch a TV show at all. This trailer doesn’t really get me interested in the show, but the game looks fun.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash is coming to PS4, Switch, and PC sometime in 2024.