It's official guys. Techmoan has become a pro gamer

11:45 As a former tram driver I can certify that coming to a halt at the exact right spot without jerk is the most appealing aspect IRL too.

We have TV Japan in my bilingual house, and so I can report that every few months a TV show is produced in Japan called "Railway Otaku Championship." It's a game show where three teams tour a railway line and stopping occasionally to answer obscure questions about the line. The teams are: A group of railcars, staff of the railroad, and celebrities with remarkable train knowledge. I don't think there is another country with a show about railroad trivia. However, given that Japanese children still get toy trains in packages of candy, it is probably not surprising that Japan even has model railroad bars, where you can operate model trains and drink cocktails at the same time.

I’m a train driver and watching you overshoot the platform and go past a red signal is so stressful. I literally have nightmares about that! 😅 I’ll tell you, a smooth stop right on the stopping mark is very satisfying. Thanks for this video, it’s great!

You have an uncanny skill of making a 20 minute video seem like just a few minutes. I also have little interest in trains, but you made this look very interesting and fun. Thanks for all the excellent videos this year, can't wait to see what 2021 brings!

A British man driving a Japanese train, some delay expected.

"Roll you bugger" sums up exactly my relationship with trains in the UK.

This is a re-release. The 'original' console was released in 2017. There's a game stopping glitch in the initial release, and Taito agreed to recall all the consoles, flash them to a newer version, and ship them back to the players free of charge. However, the thought of international players playing the game never crossed their mind, so the recall program was only for Japan. After some whining and begging from international players, Taito eventually agreed to accept shipments from other countries as well. Taito even agreed to pay for the international shipping. I got mine fixed, 2 years after they announced the modification. Japanese customer service man, it's not just a rumor. Imagine if Microsoft agrees to take back all the defective game consoles free-of-charge indefinitely. Can you imagine?

You just found that part of the venn diagram of railway enthusiasts and gadget geeks.

Just in case you were interested, at 13:09 you got points for having only a difference of 1km over target speed. 定速 teisoku - *nominal speed 指速 shisoku - measured speed 誤差 gosa - error difference 13:16 you were rewarded for doing the route "as planned" (定通 teitsuu) which in this case meant passing through Nishinomiya (西ノ宮) station as opposed to stopping there. You can see as soon as you passed through, the next route objective changed from 通過 (tsuuka, to pass through), to 停車(teisha, stop) at Ashiya station (芦屋) 👍

"21cm out and 10 seconds late is within tolerance"... Just about in Japan. Here in the UK, arriving at the wrong station with the wrong train on the wrong day is within tolerance. It would be funny if they made a British version where you've got to mess it up as badly as possible. Or just have it display a message when you first turn it on that says "Sorry, your train is broken today." and show a video of a fat bloke in high vis holding a wrench and looking confused, slowly fading to a packed platform of commuters in the pouring rain looking utterly defeated as a barely audible announcement crackles the message that once again, they are going nowhere this morning and will probably all loose their jobs.

There’s a British edition called Densha de Lay

The percentage shown when you start moving the train is actually the passenger load. I.e. 75% means it's at 75% capacity. This affects your braking performance and it can go over 100% during rush hours where trains are overfilled. The time challenge shown at 10:04 and it's accompanied marker on the track diagram are a point where you need to synchronize the displayed arrival time to the checkpoint to the time shown in yellow by accelerating/braking. The distance next to the speedometer is the distance to that checkpoint. Chains increase your total score, which increases your credits earned. Good stops, obeying speed limits, passing through stations at the correct time and completing challenges all count towards chains.

In "Conductor mode" the screen you show means you have to announce (select) what is the correct next station for the train. In Japan, the conductor will announce the next station and what other train transfers can be done at that station and which side the door will open on. They are tested on it in real life, so it's a good memory game too for the player to see if they can remember all the correct stations on the line. Some stations are skipped for example if you play on an express train vs all stations on a local train so it's fun to remember the name of the express stops only vs all the stops.

Watched this video and immediately went off and ordered it from Amazon JP for my brother's birthday, and it arrived in three days! Apparently he loves it too, so thanks!

I’m sure Geoff Marshall is enthusiastically watching this.

*Please take a moment to read the video description* There's a link to a complete teardown (showing all the chips) FAQs and more besides.

As a retired New York City Subway Motorman, I approve ! It looks pretty cool. We called the people who were really crazy about the trains "train buffs"; there were actually quite a few. LOL when you overran that station - that would be a "trip downtown", and depending on your record, either several "days in the street" (no work, no pay), or a termination. Thanks for the video!

4:00 That’s peak 90’s music for Japanese documentary or instructional style videos

7:20 - When you start, the % value is how much the train is packed of people so the weight of the train changes. Above 40 km/h you can smash the maximum break force without any issues. If you are within +/- 30 cm and +/- 5 seconds in the easy levels or +/- 3 seconds in the more difficult ones, you get a gold star. 14:28 - you are the conductor so you have to close the doors at the correct time and when the big star menu appears in the middle you have to select the following station. Plus you have to open the doors at the correct time when the train arrives at the station. If you want to try it, you might want to go online, look for a rail map of the line (Yamanote Line, Chuo Line, Osaka Loop Line or Tokaido Line between Kyoto and Osaka) and select the one you read on the map. 15:50 to help you run on time, you should try to match the speed so that the yellow time (schedule time) and the blue time (your timing) are the same (the difference must be 00:00 in the third line). No deduction points, but they help you travelling always at the perfect time. Be carefull that if you slow to much to match the timing (maybe you were going too fast for a line at a lower speed...which you can guess only from the first training level - for example Tokaido Line is 110 km/h for standard trains...higher for super express trains) you are going to be late because you go too slow. So always try to not go too fast or too slow. Stations in which you don't stop have also them a targeted passing time and you might want to have 00.00 also in them to help you travel on time.

I fondly remember the time when my dad let me control the brake on a Glasgow route train and I had to stop at a big number 3 on the wall beside the window as it was a three carriage train. I was really young, but my dad was impressed at how accurate I stopped it at the correct marker!

I'm really liking how he's started to give small bits about his personal life. He's about the same age of muy prematurely deceased father so I really appreciate this feeling of an older man talking to a possibly younger man that may be lacking in real life sometimes. Keep on rocking mate!

"All we had to do was follow the damn train CJ!"

I remember when the first game came out in 1997, it was a huge hit all over Japan, coupled with the commercial song that played at 18:00. It was widely accepted not only by gamers, but also by working people who use trains on a daily basis for commuting. There were many train simulators, but it was a innovative idea to show how difficult it was to keep trains running on time through a game. Even now, there are some new arcade titles.

if this was a british toy, it would just be a microphone and announcing delays

Oh my god, you just sent everybody to the hospital from that slack running in on that first stop. It’s always a good laugh watching people play these train simulators. I’ve been a Class 1 Locomotive Engineer in the US for 18 years now.

I had no interest in trains until I went to Japan. Trains in Japan are clean, meticulously maintained, driven with the utmost professionalism, and can get you almost anywhere. I've been a transportation/logistics enthusiast ever since that trip. Thank you for making this video. I look forward to picking this up.

I went from thinking "what a boring weird game" to "wow cool!" and ended with complete anxiety when you're trying to stop on time and at the right spot! I'm always amazed by all the stuff you find.

"The recess in the top of the controller is to hold a train driver's pocket watch (mimicking a real Japanese train)."--and here I was thinking how nice of them to give you a cup holder in your virtual train cabin! :-)

Interestingly enough, the station you started at, Takatsuki , is where I live! Great!

Just gotta tell you, how you describe playing the game is exactly how I feel as a train operator. I was never interested in trains, but there is some special satisfaction in getting that perfect stop or just hitting that speed zone just perfectly. 🤣, On a side note I operate super heavy ore trains so imagine this game but with a 60 second delay on the brakes 😁

I'm from Malaysia but lived in Manchester for a few years and felt their train schedules were all right even though you get delays here and there. Then i visited Japan where everything is precise and trains follow their schedules perfectly. A total eye opening experience and one of the reasons i love going to Japan.

11:00 - That poor bear having an existential crisis.

A freind and I once rode around Tokyo on the JR Yamanote loop line with WonderSwans trying to match the train operator. It was pretty fun; everyone was laughing at us. This was when the WonderSwan was new, so 20+ years ago.

"I'm not even all that into trains." Well, nobody's perfect.

I love it when you do videos like this. Before I watched I was sure I wouldn't be interested. But I liked it a lot.

From a person who has actually driven real trains, I can tell you that this game is a lot less harrowing although I was getting Vietnam style flashbacks watching the gameplay. The whole "chains" thing confused me at first because on the railway we use chains as a length of measurement. (22 yards).

I absolutely adore Densha de GO! I've just been playing the newly-released Densha de Go Hashirou Yamanote-sen on PS4. It's got a PSVR mode too. It brings back so many memories of when I used to live in Japan and it's one of those games that you can always get better at. I recently played a little of the PS4 version on my channel if you want to take a look!

You produce the best videos, well explained, entertaining and very informative. Thank you for all your hard work!

That was brilliant! think I might get one! I’ve spent a lot of time on the Tokyo train network & thats a really realistic depiction - btw a cute detail is the depression in the top of the controller is where a driver would put their personal stopwatch ( they seemed get issued with it once qualifying as a driver)

On the British version of the game you get 1000 chains if you manage to arrive within 10 minutes of the scheduled time.

Thanks for bringing back memories. I visited Japan way back in 1999, and rode the train to work every day. Once, I sat in the first car, behind the engineer When arriving at the station, he must point to the station sign, then to the timetable/schedule, then to the clock. Proving that he's where he's supposed to be, when he's supposed to be there.

Can't thank you enough for taking the time to add real closed captions to your videos, it really means a lot to people like me with hearing difficulties, and not many creators do it and auto-generated are very hit-and-miss. So thank you!

I enjoy so much your videos...all the time a good surprise. Remarkable your job/hobby/joy

My favorite Densha De-Go! is on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, but that's like 5 steps removed from being accessible. Good to see you dipping into Japanese obscurity.

Having learned to play this game on the PS1 and Saturn, I was delighted at how lenient this version is... the mere existence of "Enjoy Mode" sold me on this. Thanks for the recommendation, looking forward to having this!

I'm with you on so many points. I've really enjoyed playing Densha de Go! on the PSP. I had no idea what I was doing, but I loved the actual video of the scenery (rather than being cartoony). I'm very tempted by this particular product!

There's a group of Japanese people, usually young men, who have a very deep fascination towards the trains there. I remember one reason being the Japanese railway services is one of the most accurate ones in the world, and certain people find comfort in the unchanging and reliable nature of the service. Some also really like the trains themselves, especially on popular lines like the Yamanote line you shown here. There are groups and forums where these enthusiasts gather and exchange their experiences, much like any niche internet fandom. I personally liked trains myself, and would like to go on a train sightseeing tour if I were to ever visit Japan. I've been to South Korea, and their train services are quite excellent and fascinating to ride on

"I'm not entirely sure what it is that i've done well, and how I can do it again in the future". My love life in a nutshell.

This reminds me of my enjoyment with truck sims, despite no interest prior. They're very relaxing. Great video and happy new year!

I lived in Japan for a year during college and the door closing sound announcement gives me so much nostalgia🥲 probably one of the best years of my life, in a fun place with fun ppl.

I like how it has a cup holder built in...

The music in this game is very "Japanese PS2 game". It reminds me of Gran Turismo

Matt, that was so pleasing to watch you enjoy that game. You such a kind person if you find joy in simple things like that. So wholesome. BTW if that you was here in Russia, it would have contained a repair kit for dashboard panel and the conductor mode as the hardest one

I pretty much love the fact, that one day after I bought the PS4 version, you uploaded this video, and I don't seem like a weirdo to my friends because I play a japanese train sim :D

The round hole between the brake and the accelerator is for a pocketwatch, which would have been synchronized with the train company 's time at the start of the day, and then given to the operator The hole is mostly decorative on this controller

Thanks for this video! Bakerloo Line simulator is out now for all us London Underground nerds out there. Saw it advertised on the electronic displays at Paddington Station. As a daily passenger on the line I gotta say it looks very real.

I'm really seeing a thorough Let's Play by Techmoan. Your voice is so relaxing, you might just be cut out for gaming youtube!

I am pleasantly surprised to find a gaming-related video in one of the non-gaming channels I follow on youtube. :) Thank you for an entertaining and interesting video!

It's not just that the Japanese love their trains. They're also a point of national pride. The precision, cleanliness, and rock-solid reliability are legendary. Once, a train left the station 20 seconds early, and the company issued a formal apology for it.

Just googled Hilda Ogden and entered a rabbit hole of such deep Britishness I don't even know what to say.

Hi, just a Chinese American currently studying in UK who's a huge fan of Japanese trains. Being brought up in Hong Kong for most of my life, I've played all of the games in the DDG series and here's what I can tell you about these Japanese train simulators and JR trains in general. You're right when you say it's mostly about stopping in the right place. JR takes pride in their precision when it comes to train driving, and one of them is stopping at exactly the right place. They take so much pride in super-precise stopping because of the way they decelerate the train when they enter stations. Japanese train drivers start from the highest level of braking (so probably brake notch 7 (B7) or notch 8 (B8) for most trains), and then decrease the level of braking as the train slows down. So for example, let's say a Yammanote line E231-500 series commuter train rolls into a station at around 60 km/h. The driver will apply B6 or B7 first, then something like B4 or B5, and finally under 20 km/h, every braking action is under B3. They have this braking system because it's the smoothest method - they care a lot about their passengers! (that's what I heard from a train driver when I was once visiting the Omiya train museum and while I was waiting in line for the train simulator, the person before me was a train driver so I went up to him and asked him to enlighten me haha). They also avoid "gliding" in stations - so it's neutral braking when they enter the station, then go from strongest braking action to the least braking action WITHOUT going to neutral in between. Another thing that is very stressful about real train-driving in Japan is timing. If there are any delays (I think for anything more than 30 seconds), the train conductor will go around the cars issuing "late notices" to all passengers heading to work or school. Now how punctual are we talking? No offence but UK trains are really... Well, let's just say I didn't have the best of experiences with them... The average delay per train for the Tokkaido Shinkansen in 2016 was only 24 seconds, and this includes unavoidable delays during that period due to natural causes, such as earthquakes, heavy rain, and blizzards. When these "adverse situations" occur, they generally just slam on the breaks and stop the trains, until they get notice from station control that (for example the earthquake is now over) it's safe to continue driving. Occasionally after they get the green light, they still drive slower than usual. This record actually means that the normal trains ran on time almost down to the second. Believe it or not, I was shocked when the train driver I encountered at Omiya told me that they'd get penalty extra training if they were to arrive 5 seconds late at a station. As to using the horn on the train - after the doors are closed and you get the green light, always sound the horn before you accelerate. You can search it up on youtube and you'll see that this is common with not only Limited Express trains (like Azusa, Super Azusa, Narita Express etc in this game), but also commuter trains. Whenever you see a bridge up ahead, honk as well. When you got railroad workers, it is a must to sound the horn until one of them (the spotter) raises their arm with a flag to acknowledge that they know you're coming in a train. When going in to the station, always look out for passengers standing on the other side of the yellow line. Honk them to remind them to stand behind the yellow line. And a very sweet thing about JR drivers - they will always sound their horns for waving children and railfans as greetings! Really sweet video here showing all these drivers saying hi: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a8WIfsyn37eZh2Q.html The "score in the middle", as you described in 7:16, is actually how full the train is in general, not the reaction time (although JR trains will start accelerating ASAP once the door is closed). A higher percentage means the train packed on more passengers, so you should be aware that the train's performance will be affected. This is especially true for braking performance. I don't know for this version of DDG, but for the most recent one released for PS4, that one also accounts for weather situation. So braking action is significantly weakened when it's raining or snowing. Maybe perhaps take not of that when you're playing this game too? I hope this gives everyone a bit of useful insight from an Asian railfan who's been playing this series for ages - it's really one of my favourite games to play and I can't agree no more when you say it's just a super zen experience! Great video by the way, I was pondering whether or not to get this so thanks for giving me all that out-of-the-box and how-to-set-up information, appreciate it :) Now remember to point at all the signs, signals, and speed limits... Also speak out what those limits are to remind yourself of what to expect... They do this as a "self-monitoring" process as they receive sensory input from not only the eyes, but also their mouths as they speak to confirm. It's a very effective way to combat fatigue and loss of working memory...

I lived in the north-west for about 23 years and on the odd occasion I went into Manchester I had to take those same trains from either Wigan Wallgate or Upholland. Truly dire experience when the train did show up. Moved to Japan and am living in Tokyo now. You hit the nail on the head, you could set your watch to these trains, although they are somehow even more crowded than the Wigan to Manchester trains (which is especially unnerving in a pandemic), the experience is less dire than in the UK. As for Densha de go, it's still ridiculously popular here. Most arcades have a cabinet for it. Actually, cabinet is the wrong word, it's more like the cab of a train is sitting there with the controls inside. Hope you have had a great Christmas and wishing you a happy new year. Looking forward to more Techmoan content in 2021.

As an Australian train driver, this is genuinely really cool.

IT WAS Hilda Ogden! I loved those little trains. I sometimes visited Manchester and went on to Stockport using the little diesels and loved them...In the mid 80s.

When I was in Japan there were kids playing this game in arcade halls (arcade towers really, 7 floors of incredible arcade machines) Thanks and happy new year!

Almost a year later, and I have finally ordered a Densha De Go Plug & Play! Now I just need to wait for it to arrive from Japan. Thank you, Techmoan, for bringing it to my attention! :D

Hit single over a videogame? Heck, while I've been in Japan I bought a CD of what turned out to be the train station melodies and the spoken notices from inside the train!

Yes think you may be waiting a while for a UK based "Northern Rail & Go!" system to hit the shelves

Listening to the music on the game intro make me feel like I'm winning. Another superb video.

Urgh I know the feels with trains in the North West. That's why I switched to cycling to work last year (between lockdowns, of course). Knocked down the travel time from 40 mins to 15 mins 👍

I hate trains as I spend most of my working day underneath one however, the wife bought be a PC based train simulator (TS2020) for Christmas last year. I wasn't to happy but smiled anyway. Unfortunately, I tried the game and it suckered me in. Your plug and go console looks a lot of fun and I would agree it seems to be PS2 equivalent in power. As usual, a pleasurable video to watch.

My experience in Japan is that train rides are amazing. It was super efficient, super comfortable, and very reliable. If you ever go I'd recommend trying to use their train system for your vacation. You'll likely never regret it.

Great video as usual! I would watch a longer video of you just playing the game!

I remember hearing about this in the 90s from the Japanese arcades and I was immensely jealous. A thing I always wanted to try, like the Battletech pods in Chicago that I never got to.

Gotta love the Mario Kart 64-esque soundtrack playing in a train simulator, it's surreal

When I was in Japan last time (one year ago) I had the chance to try Densha de Go in its latest installment, in a full cabinet. And, as you say, it can win you over quite easily, even when you don't understand half the things going on. One nice feature this latest version had is tactile screens: when you were about to cross certain speed limits, you also had to touch the screen, to verify with the speedometer that you were actually under said speed limit! Took me a while to realize that... It also included the latest Yamanote line train models, which is always a bonus. It's a nice experience that you can't pass up if you go to Japan. Well, going to the arcades there, in general, is a fantastic experience.

Thanks for the pro subtitles as of late. Very much appreciated!

Your video tutorial is good and show different scenarios. This game looks easy but it is actually hard to stop on time within precise stop line. still practicing. Thanks

This content is why I support you on Patreon. Love it!

I ordered the British version, but unfortunately it was a replacement bus service.

This game looks so comfy. I really wanna explore the city.

Hey! Lots of points are addressed in the comments already and I'm not sure if this was already too, but there's been a new densha de go arcade and console released recently (denshadego.net/ www.jp.square-enix.com/denshadego/ ) which I only tried the arcade so far, which is pretty darn fun. This game and the previous versions are by no stretch of the means realistic, but they are still definitely fun to play. I'm really happy people find these things interesting outside the devoted community!

Anyone underplaying the difficulty of Japanese is doing a disservice. There’s 92 characters to learn at a bare minimum to be able to read the language assuming that what you’re reading translates the kanji for you, and then about 2,000 kanji to read at a high school level if it doesn’t translate the kanji. And even then you’ll be stuck knowing how to read the words with absolutely no understanding of what they mean. I’m 18 months into college Japanese study and half the time I still feel like I know nothing.

your description all through the video just brings me so much joy! that happens so rarely for me, so thank you for that!

I remember picking up a similar game on 3DS out of curiosity. It was based on actual video filmed from the conductors seat, and the video playback would just adjust its framerate based on your speed. I love this look at the plug and play system, there's something really neat about specialiced hardware like it.

Really enjoying your videos 👍🏻

As someone who very much is into trains and Densha de GO! this video was a treat. Cheers mate!

Mr Techmoan rode a Pacer everyday to work! Don't tell Geoff and Vicki...

Great video! Though we have a lot of retro video game tech channels out there I’d love to see you do some of the more obscure ones like this. You do such a fantastic job with it.

You have no idea how much good this video did to me. I used to go to Japan yearly (especially Tokyo). I didn't go last year for reasons out of my control and this year we all know what happened with international travel... Anyway I have a very intimate familiarity with japanese trains and especially the Yamanote and Chuuo line which this is showing and hearing the sounds and announcements felt like I was there again for a couple minutes. Here's to hoping I can go there again this year...

Densha de Go x Techmoan is the 2021 crossover I wasn't expecting

I went to Japan for the first time in 2019 and omg the train system is to die for. The stations are spotlessly clean, same with the trains. Nobody was speaking on their phones which made for much pleasant travelling. The prices were insanely cheap as well, especially with the JR Pass.

The transition at the start was amazing, forget the PS5, it's all about Densha de Go

Just wanted to say thank you for showing this. I just got one myself thanks to your video and thoroughly enjoying it. In case you’re still curious, the percentage value shown upon leaving a station denotes passenger capacity.

The English section you pointed out was actually just a translation of the announcement that came before it, as is standard on most lines throughout Japan.

Funny, I had roughly the same experience you did Matt. I kind of figured this would be some goofy thing that didn't look entertaining and instead it looks crazy fun! If any of the good people at Taito watch this video, know that there is definitely a market in America for something like this. It looks like a ton of fun

this man learns something new every video ! DUH

Simply incredible content 👍👍👍

This was fantastic!!! I suspect it will be your highest watched video of 2020 (perhaps even your entire KZfaq career!!!!!)