[intro music - jazz vibes]
Trains.
Now they're a thing aren't they?
I've always found trains and locomotives compelling, and there's a number of reasons for that.
It's because of the long journeys where you're forced into a state of relaxation, it's like
the original ASMR.
There's also the fact that these locomotives are HUGE beasts, which feel alive, especially
if you go back to steam trains.
But there's also the very direct route of them.
The lack of decision.
You jump on a train, you go somewhere; the efficiency surrounding that.
BUT anyway, I'm here to talk about Japanese trains, because Japanese people like trains.
They like trains so much that you can even play a game called Densha de GO! in Japanese
arcades, since 1996.
The premise is.. you..
drive a train and have to stop with pin point accuracy at stations, and it was so popular
that home releases came, such as for the Japanese PlayStation.
To go with it, you got a whopping controller, like this.
You always knew that games with dedicated controllers were a special experience, like
Nights into Dreams with its three dimensional pad, but this is a whole new level.
This thing, which simulates train controls, or, y'know, a very close approximation, is
just one hefty beast.
Look at this.
That is a thing of beauty isn't it?
and, I mean, how could you resist playing this, even if you don't like trains? or driving
in a linear route and just stopping and starting.....
How could you turn that down, when you have this?
[box opening sounds]
[new jazz vibes]
For this demonstration, I'm going to need that Japanese Playstation, being as Densha
de GO! is a region exclusive.
So whilst I'm setting that up, let's explore some of the Densha de GO! back story.
Developed by Taito, the arcade version announced in 1996 & released in early 1997 served as
a somewhat limited train simulator, plonked into an environment usually reserved for the
action genre.
Well, in the West at least, in Japan, they absolutely loved the focused linear attention
these games demanded.
Based around real Japanese train routes, progress demanded the exceptional precision we've come
to associate with Eastern titles.
Players would not only be required to memorise routes, but also bring their trains to a halt
within a 2 metre space at each station.
Of course this high difficulty, ensured a continuous flow of coins, but also created
a highly skilled following, who could storm through the game like, well, some of of train
god really.
[end of level celebration jingle]
[sound of train brakes]
This following meant releases soon appeared for the Playstation, but also PC,
Wonderswan and even Game Boy Color, again exclusive to Japan.
I mean, what crazy bastard would want to play this outside of Japan?
Well, I certainly would for one, along with a cult following who play the game throughout
the world.
You can opt to drive using a standard controller, but it's much more fun to use one of the dedicated
devices, which come in a variety of forms.
I have the handle based design, which although not as complex as some of the others, suits
me just fine.
I've actually got both Denshi de GO! 1 and 2, both in lovely jewel cases, and with informative
instruction manuals.
Really, I just like looking at Japanese writing.
It makes everything look so much more exciting.
Upon loading the disc, we're graced with a dazzling intro
[funky techno sounds]
followed by the title screen
and lots of Japanese text.
Thankfully you can stumble your way into the game without understanding Japanese.
Playing the brief tutorial, you get the gist that moving the handle towards you speeds
up your locomotive, whilst moving it away, applies varying levels of brake force.
[energetic & cute tutorial music]
Out of the buttons, "C" is the most important as it activates the horn, and as you'll see
that can be pretty useful.
Now, the first game is probably the hardest, requiring pin-point accuracy, so I won't be
playing it for long, but here on the tutorial mode, you get fed instructions, with visual
aids, so you can't really go wrong.
-apologies for the flickering here by the way, this camera only captures at PAL refresh
rates, so with the screen outputting at 60Hz, we're not fully in sync with the CRT's electron gun-
You can see here that we're coming into a station, so I've got an instruction to adjust
my braking.
The speed to the lower left is around 20Km/h, and the distance left to stop is in the bottom
right.
Now, this is where accuracy is required, and with my helper here, it's easy, we can pull
up safely and precisely into the station.
On my own, it's a lot harder.
[return of the jazz]
(well this is tedious, isn't it?)
(I mean, come on!)
(Christ man)
I'm now going over the schedule shown to the top left, so I'm getting a point deducted
for every second.
Once we get to zero, it's game over.
[train sounds]
You can see, with lots of stopping and starting, I've actually overshot here by 2m.
Which isn't a lot, but it means game over.
Not bad for my first attempt I thought, but this game really is unforgiving.
So, let's move onto Denshi de GO! 2, released in 1999, and again based on an arcade release.
Again we get an excellent manual, showing different control methods at our disposal,
and a plethora of Japanese text.
Loading up, we get a slightly more fancy introduction.
[tense train music - if there is such a thing]
and we get the odd English translation.
You can see here that Densa de GO! actually translates to "Let's Go By Train", and that's
what we'll do.
Now, although the 2nd game is also known as the High Speed Edition, featuring faster lines,
it's actually more forgiving as well, and just feels more cohesive.
Again we have an introduction, and we're into the game...
We have to watch out, because there's a speed limit almost straight away.
You have to stick to 35...
...and from here, we're just cruising.
It's quite nice.
I can see why people get into this, because it's quite relaxing, and you want to keep
playing.
Even though it's a linear route, you just want to keep playing to get those timings
perfect.
There's something relaxing and soothing about that.
So...
OH GOD, and, obviously you have to hit the horn as well, where appropriate.
Now, this station, I don't need to stop at, so I can blast through at high speed...
...and I'm actually eight seconds ahead of schedule, so, good times!
OH MY GOD.
So what's happened there is... massively broken the speed limit and the emergency brake has
been thrown.
It's really a game where you have to get a feeling for the train, as you play...
...I definitely have not got any feeling for the train, what-so-ever.
[Japanese woman speaks]
It's so hard to stop within a metre.
So, I'll leave myself playing away, because I've actually really enjoyed this experience,
and it's a game I'll definitely be going back to in the near future.
Of course, there's no way I could come away without mentioning the cup holder.
It's designed to fit one of those little plastic cups.
It doesn't cater too well to the Slope's Game Room beer, but it's a very nice touch, as
long as your drink doesn't interfere with the handle at least.
OK, fine, it's not actually a cup holder no matter how much I want it to be.
It's really for the train drivers watch, which you could buy at the time.
There was also a 20th anniversary edition produced in 2017, which looks all kinds of
shiny.
Another notable feature are the little animations which play when you perhaps brake too violently
and send passengers flying
*woman shrieking*
it's this attention to detail which makes this a great set of
games to play.
I'm actually a little -bewildered- they never made it to Western territories, but then trains
aren't embedded in our culture quite like the Japanese, where becoming a driver on a
main line is comparable to being an airline pilot.
But still, the potential of being able to crash, who could resist that!?
*disgruntled passenger sounds*
Now aside from these two, games there's a plethora of other titles in the Densha de
GO! series, on a multitude of platforms, including the Dreamcast, complete with it's own custom
controllers.
It's a game which has stayed with us - well, the Japanese at least - even in modern times
with a new Densha de GO! released in 2018 for arcades and based on the Unreal Engine.
Unfortunately, you'll probably have to haul your ass down to a Japanese arcade to play
it, unless you import the plug and play version (which reminds me of those car driving simulators
from the 90s, you could plug straight into your telly), or even grab Densha de GO! Final!
for the PS2 or PC.
Like I said, there's a lot to this series.
So, I would recommend, just grabbing a Japanese PlayStation like me, and experiencing it from the beginning.
[train clattering sounds]
Thanks for watching.
There's some more things to click here.
In any case, have a great evening!
Densha de, Densha de, Densha de [repeated over and over]
GO! GO! GO! GO!
Densha de, Densha de, Densha de [repeated over and over]
GO! GO! GO! GO!
Whooooo!
:D