Densha de Go! 3

Have you ever wanted to be a train conductor? Well, okay, let me rephrase- would you like to drive a train? Sounds pretty cool right? The sound of the overhead speaker saying "Sit down". The closing of the doors. The small buttons you push that say "Go Forward" and "Stop". The general awesomeness of being Japanese in a halfass job. Doesn't it just get you excited?

No? Well apparently, it does the Japanese. Made by Taito, who has pretty much never done a worthwhile game in their lives, sans maybe a few interesting arcade games that last all of two seconds. And, for some reason, along with other odd arcade titles in Japanese arcades like hitting a drum and, god forbid, dancing around, there's a little corner for the geeks of geeks- the guys that wear the dark blue train hats and push the little button. We call those people... the Train fans.

Densha de Go 3 was a bad idea for a game to play from the start. From turning it on, not only did it blast me with a THIS GAME IS MADE FOR JAPAN ONLY (heh), but it also blasted me with what they consider an english title for this game, which actually sums it up quite well- "Let's go by Train!". Actually, this is pretty much the second best option for the Japanese, under actually walking, because I suppose you could run from one end of the country to the other only with a bottle of Gatorade and a little effort. This game is about one thing: Driving a train. Pushing that button.


I kid you not. Through this game, the entire objective is to run a train. The game is remarkably stupid, because what this means to the layman is that your job is to get the train going and stop it exactly where it's supposed to be, and get there on time. This can last for about three stops, in which it scores you for how well you did. This is actually more difficult than you may think, because while it is just pressing the up and down button, the major issue becomes making sure you accelerate and decelerate slowly and not slam your passengers heads through windows.

And, that's about all you do through Densha de Go 3, which is actually quite depressing. You would think (And I say, THINK) this game would have more to it, but you're actually quite mistaken. This game in particular (Densha de Go 3) is actually quite ugly, as it looks like a PS1 type game, but as you can tell even in the older games, the presentation of this game is really not taken into that much consideration either, which actually confused me a bit. So, you have a very rudiamentary type of Train simulator. Say you're into that. But, if it's that basic, can't you take the time that you would normally expend off coding more into the game and actually make pleasing graphics? Apparently not.

Densha de Go 3 really feels more like a minigame and less like an actual game. You are limited in everything, from the trains you pick to the place you drive it (Actually, I don't believe you even have a choice where you are, it always looks the same..), it's just seeing if you can get that meter counter to a perfect 0 before you go over and prevent people from getting out of the train. There isn't even a clever British joke-ish thing like "Mind the Gap", it's just kinda... there. Considering there's hundreds of miles of train all over Japan and accessible by virtually anyone in the country with a small walk, I don't know why gamers wouldn't just go and GET ON THE REAL THING, as I imagine it would be much more rewarding.


But, I put too much pressure onto this game as an American gamer. As many people know, the whole attraction with Trains in Japan is actually somewhat large, so I suppose if you really want to play Conductor, this is the way to do it (Though I would recommend the latest version, as it isn't as ugly). Regardless, American gamers, no matter how interesting or odd it seems, this is not a clevery veiled Katamari Damacy- this is actually just something wierd and odd, and not worth your time.

1.5 star(s) out of 5

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