Every once in a while you play one of those games where it just makes you ask, "Why?" This isn't necessarily because the game is bad, as such, but occasionally one wonders what compelled the developer to make a game so decidedly perplexing. Japanese Rail Sim 3D Journey in Suburbs #1 is one of those games. While it more or less succeeds in fulfilling what it sets out to do, that central purpose appeals to a very limited audience and ultimately just doesn't work as a game.
Players take on the role of a train conductor on a Japanese train line, meaning that it's your job to deliver the passengers to their next destination in a timely and smooth manner. Coupled with the actual 3D footage of Japanese countryside that plays in front of your windshield, this actually doesn't sound half bad, right? Well, the actual results are middling.
To start, the real world footage is relegated to perhaps a little bit less than one third of the upper screen; it's bordered by a cheaply rendered shot of the metal interior of the cabin, a clock that keeps your schedule, and a top down 2D animated render of the train which uselessly displays it travelling in a straight line. There's an option to clear out most of the display and have the footage take up the majority of the screen, but this exposes the poor quality of the camera and results in a blurry, low-res appearance that's pretty rough to look at.
Now, let's move on to the meat of the "gameplay". On the bottom screen, there's a display meant to simulate the controls that an actual train operator uses, but they're (understandably) dumbed down to the point that there's very little to actually do. Once the passengers get on the train, you turn off the brake and accelerate until you reach coasting speed. Then, you just occasionally adjust your speed marginally up or down according to curves and hills until bringing it to a stop at the next station.
Ultimately, this means that the player sits there and watches a low quality video of Japanese countryside while occasionally tapping a button a couple of times to adjust the speed of the train. It's mildly interesting for perhaps ten minutes, and then it becomes just about as much fun as sitting on a train and staring out the window as you observe an unexceptional rural town on an overcast day. There's not enough detail to the video to make the view particularly entertaining and the "gameplay" is so stripped down and simplified that it can scarcely be considered actually playing a game.
For those of you that are willing to work for it, there's actually a surprising amount of replayability. At the end of every stage, you receive a rating that calculates how precise you were with timing your arrival and lining up the train with the drop off point. Considering how difficult it is to meet both of these criteria on the dot, a theoretical gamer that enjoyed the gameplay would have plenty of reason to replay stages to chase that perfect rating.
On top of this, a surprisingly interesting and in depth library is filled with short write ups and history lessons on the surrounding areas and the culture of them. Documents are unlocked by high ratings on levels and typically go into a decent level of detail on whatever historical topic is being covered. Considering that there are three difficulty modes, this means that there are lots of documents to be unlocked and that could certainly be a motivator for fans to go through a particular stage yet again to try and get the top mark.
Conclusion
Overall, Japanese Rail Sim 3D Journey in Suburbs #1 fails to impress or provide any meaningful reason for why the gamer should continue subjecting themselves to the repetitive and extremely slowly paced gameplay. While there's a decent amount of replayability and an interesting library of historical facts, these do not save the game from its poor video display and boring gameplay. If you'd like to see footage of the Japanese countryside, do yourself a favour and look it up on Google Street View or YouTube. It's free, the picture quality will likely be better, and it's roughly as interactive.
Comments 38
This sounds bad, but really compelling at the same time!
I'm either more German than you are, which is impossible, or I like trains, which I don't.
I actually had fun with the demo, because it's surprisingly hard to get a train to stop where you want it to be. Actually, it shouldn't be if you have a grasp of physics, but here I am struggling.
I guess I finally get the appeal behind games like Euro Truck Simulator.
they should have included a murder to solve and titled it, "murder on the suburban express"
Reviews are opinions. They are not meant to make your decisions for you and this is an example of this. This sim is nearly an exact replica of the train simulation used for training the drivers in Japan and you can try it if you're lucky when you're in Japan and go to the cool JR museum in Nagoya.
This game is for train fans. It's not for someone looking for a game, imo.
@Samurairu couldn't agree more.
@Samurairu Very true! Regardless, there is extremely limited appeal to this game and I'd argue that most gamers wouldn't find much enjoyment out of it. Yes, hardcore train fans might enjoy it, but that doesn't stop the main gameplay from being lackluster.
I don't care how dumb this game is, I want it and I hope it comes out in europe
@MitchVogel Just think about how fun it would be for training though. =) Actually getting paid to use this program. I was surprised when I tried the demo, because like I said, it's basically a copy of the training sim for new drivers. Of course in the training sim you sit in a virtual cockpit as well with physical controls, but everything else is the same.
Thank you for getting what I was saying and not taking offense to it, like so often happens on the internet. I just wanted to ensure the Japanophiles and Train otaku's weren't deterred from at least checking out the demo, because they didn't read your review carefully and only took away the negative part of your review.
1st day buy when it comes out in Europe, Seriously!
I like sim 'games'. If they would make it more gamey that would put me off. I have played the old MS train sim and Trainz on the PC. What controls are missing? I don't see any difference between the controls shown & mentioned and the controls in the PC train sims. When you control steam trains in those it gets more complicated but otherwise the only thing missing is a dead mans button (or pedal) and I'm pretty sure you would not like it when they added that feature.
With quite possibly the greatest video game title of all time, I am really disappointed in the clear anti-train bias Nintendo Life is showing. This game should have scored no lower than a 10/10. Where are the Social Justice Warriors when you need them?!?!?!
Train buffs will lap this up. Seriously, there are plenty of people who love to play games/sims like this.
I loved the game. I would have rated it at least a 7. It was a little pricey in my opinion but in the Japanese Eshop I understand it costs even more. I hope we get part 2 through 4. I'm buying them all. I had an absolutely wonderful time trying to get to the stations on time and parking the train in the right place. Oh well I guess a GG game deserves an 8 and this game deserves a 3. Race to the line got a 6? Sorry but that doesn't make any sense at all.
@Boshar don't worry Boshar. This game is great fun. This reviewer has it wrong. My only complaint is the game is a little pricey. But the game rates at least a 7. Come on They reviewed Race to Line a horrible Racing/driving game a 6 and give this a 3. Terrible. You will love the game.
In the '80's I played Sprinter on the C64 (see link). Even with those graphics that game was great. Imagine the upgrade that this title represents to me.
http://www.gb64.com/game.php?id=7254&d=18
I'm even tempted to try that Wii U suspension railroad sim. O and of course I still want pilot wings 64. I want my sims! (Not the little computer people though)
@Windy I stated quite clearly in the review why this game is deserving of a 3; the two primary aspects of the game, the video footage and the train controls, were both lackluster. Calling this game good would be misleading to many of the readers on this site. I'm glad that you thought it was good, though! There will doubtless be some people who buy this and deeply regret it.
Good thing I bought this before the review! I might have avoided it otherwise. Personally I think it fits nicely as a 5 on Nintendolife's scale (not broken, but you might regret buying it if you don't know what you're getting into), but this was a pretty good review!
This game is the definition of niche. It's not a game about driving a train (the way Airport Hero was a game about landing planes). It's a train sim first, and a pseudo-encyclopedia second. MAYBE a score-chase as a distant third? More of an experience than a typical game.
The real surprise is that this got released outside of Japan.
@MitchVogel "hard core train fans". I know one of those types, he goes out to the western US to watch and video tapes trains and can name just about any make/model of engine. They are a very odd lot.
@MitchVogel this application is not 'deserving of a 3' it is a 'game' targeted a a small niche group of users. To those users it is the best they can get on 3DS.
Some of the high scoring indies on Nintendolife have terrible glitches and slowdowns compared to other platforms but they still score 8's and 9's. There is nothing wrong with warning potential buyers of the limited production values but for a small target audience this is accepteble.
Bought this game day 1. It's awesome. A real novelty to have on 3DS. If you like trains don't hold back!
Rail sim sounds like a boring game, but somehow one such game got to be one of Taito's top franchises in Japan, probably just behind Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Bust A Move and Arkanoid.
I always wanted to get into the Densha de Go series, but I couldn't understand how to play since they were all in Japanese. Call me crazy, but I might give this a go!
@Windy Heh, I knew you would go on like that seeing on your miiverse posts how much you like the game.
@Captain_Toad I just think the game is better than this review. Oh well. I just hope we get Part 2 through 4 cause I'm buying.
@Samurairu Then they shouldn't have released it on a video game handheld. This could be a decent smartphone app, but people generally buy a 3DS to play actual games.
@BulbasaurusRex IMO, this is a simulation, not a smartphone app and 3D is the reason they released it on the 3DS.
TRUE: This game could likely appeal most to a niche audience.
FALSE: This game deserves 3/10.
Biases: I love riding trains in Japan.
The demo is a good time. Give it a whirl and hopefully, buy the full game to support the great little company making it.
3/10 feels like a death sentence.
@Windy Heh, it's personal preference.
@Captain_Toad yeah it is. I would say to anyone. Try the demo. If you like it you will like the game. Because this type of game is definitely not for everyone
I'll pay this if I have extra cash on my account.
i just played the demo
early impression, i thought the graphic was meh
then i tried to play 2 routes, and i enjoyed it ... yeah probably that because i'm Railfans
so i'm going to buy this anyway
it's a shame that NL can't review simulation games properly.
This and A-train got terrible scores unbefitting their quality.
Get someone who plays Train Simulator to review this type of game.
How does it compare to that in terms of gameplay, graphics, audio, and controls?
Next time give the job to Tim Stone of RPS. He'll do a good job.
@eza great post!
LOL, Windy will never let NL forget their Race to the Line review. EVER.
@Windy thanks I saw your comments on the A Train review
It's a shame because it does a disservice to the game developers to have their hard work dismissed by someone who clearly finds it amusing that anyone could possibly like this genre of game.
It's also irresponsible because a review on NL affects a game's score on Metacritic, which directly affects that game's sales. (rightly or wrongly, but a metascore is a powerful thing...)
So by reviewing it in a slapdash fashion, telling readers nothing about how this game compares to others in the same genre, and marking it down because 'lol trains'; NL's flippant review has done undeserved damage to the game.
The decent thing to do would be to re-review this game seriously...
@eza I agree 100%
@Klimbatize ha-ha nope. Worst game I've bought in the Eshop hands down.
I never knew NL reviewed this. It doesn't look like anyone on NL digs simulation games, because these scores are quite bad. If you think sims are awful, you should play Euro Truck Simulator 2. You're going to change your mind real quick.
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