Railfan: Comments, Thoughts, and Impressions

[jmiller80]

I am interested to hear the comments of CAGs playing this game. I know Cheapy plays it. Anyone else? Is it fun? Or is it as fun as playing real life a la Gran Turismo / Forza / F1?

With such a niche audience, I doubt we'll see a port to the U.S. But as a region-free game, that doesn't bother me much. Except for the whole being a gaijin with little knowledge of Japanese language. Is it playable or a miserable Lost In Translation experience?

 

[Zoglog]

It's for Train Otakus, which is kind of non-existant in the USA. Hell some of my people helped build that shit and you people don't even use it anymore.

 

[jmiller80]

Train Otakus are alive and well in the U.S. (www.trains.com, www.railfan.net), but they are not as well-recognized as in Japan. Also, they tend to be older and slower to adopt technologies. Still that doesn't mean they are any less obsessive than their Japanese counterparts.

I am not one, but I associate with enough of them to be intrigued by Railfan. I am thinking it would be neat to show off the Railfan game to them. My guess is that they have no clue it exists.

 

[CheapyD]

You can definitely get by without knowing any Japanese. You may need to look up some stuff online, but its by no means a text-heavy game.
I believe the Asian version even comes with an English manual


Its not a deep game like GT or Forza, but there is something "Zen" about driving a train around. It's somehow challenging and simple at the same time. I can recommend it based on the fact that it's something you've probably never tried before. Even if you don't like it, you will have experienced something new (and Japanese).

This site has some more info:
http://www.densha-de-go.com/railfanps3.htm

All aboard!

 

[DesertEagleXIX]

I noticed the select button is used to toggle the wiper blades. Does this game have rain?

Are there different weather conditions and do they affect braking?

 

[spidey]

Cheapy, what's the going rate for this game if purchased in store in Japan (~USD)?

 

[Gshocker]

I love this title. It is a great title to sort of relax with. The real time video is sweet and worth it just for that. If you have been on any of these lines it is cool checking out the area while driving around.

This is an import friendly title as you can figure out most of what you are supposed to be doing on your own. There are some english instuctions here .

If you are into trains at all this is a must have for the PS3. This was one of the first titles that I picked up when I got my PS3.

 

[jmiller80]

Now that I finally have a PS3, the Asia version of Railfan is soldout / out-of-print at all the major import stores I can find. If anyone has any leads on finding the Asia version of either Railfan game for the PS3, please let me know.

I might consider paying a Far East CAG to pick both games up locally and ship them to me in the USA for the right price.

 

[Oxygen]

[quote name='jmiller80']Now that I finally have a PS3, the Asia version of Railfan is soldout / out-of-print at all the major import stores I can find. If anyone has any leads on finding the Asia version of either Railfan game for the PS3, please let me know.

I might consider paying a Far East CAG to pick both games up locally and ship them to me in the USA for the right price.[/quote]

Play-Asia? Link It is $70, but that is not horrible I guess (if you cannot find it anywhere). It says it ships in a week, so I hope that does not mean it is backordered.

 

[jmiller80]

[quote name='Oxygen']Play-Asia? Link It is $70, but that is not horrible I guess (if you cannot find it anywhere). It says it ships in a week, so I hope that does not mean it is backordered.[/QUOTE]

That's the Japan version, which includes no English instructions (my back up plan). I understand the Asia version has English instructions, so I prefer Asia over Japan for this title. For ~$70 + shipping, I'd prefer not to compromise unless I have to.

Thanks though.

 

[Oxygen]

There is a scan of them available. I have embedded them here just incase something happens to the source (linked below).

Source

 

[jmiller80]

Thanks, Oxy. For some reason, I couldn't find those on the densha de go forums.

Japan version may be a go now.

 

[Cambot]

For those interested, the Korean version is available on PlayAsia.com now.