A-Train 9 V5.0 : Japan Train Simulator Ultimate Edition

It's a fun, but difficult train/city/transport tycoon game.
I am having a lot of fun with it! Despite the difficulty (However that is more to due to my lack of knowledge rather then a fault of the game) the game for me is incredibly fun. It's nice to see your small town and rail system grow into a proper transport system across a big city connecting multiply towns (Or however you may like to set up your game).
There's also a sandbox mode with a empty map and infinite money! Which also allow you to have options to control the time scale compared to the real world.

There's a nice large selections of trains too of course, however feight is lacking.

For the few complaints, I wish there was more options to allow me to be more precise with train scheduling, like being able to make a track switch as a toggle for when a train passes through, rather then only time base.
The performance with shadows on is egregious, so I had to keep that off.

Overall, if I wasn't distracted with other game recently, this is a really awesome and solid transport tycoon! Especially so for railfans, this is one I would play more regularly and something I'm easily addicted to. This is one I'm going to return to.

Something worth trying before the PRIME LINE as the true ULTIMATE Edition. It works well with the separate train construction game. Worth purchasing both.

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Well, hugely disappointed after purchase. The game itself I'm sure is fine. However, when checking the game information on the store page (right side) its has English checked as ok! Then if you look down on the page way below all the purchase options...One sentence says people in Japan cannot have an English option, (japanese only).
So, be aware this is a bit of a trick! This notice should be PLASTERED everywhere on the right side of the store page and info for the game. My refund is pending.

This game is incredibly addicting! The learning curve is very steep. Balance sheets, profit margins, urban planing, subsidiaries, stock market, real estate, taxes.

A-Train 9 doesn't explain anything, no tutorial. At the same time, the simulation is so deep and intricate that you can spend hours fine tuning the time table of each railway station you built for the new passenger line, just to increase the efficiency of each train and therefore profitabilty.

You will feel lost and frustrated during the first few hours and often, the only way to figure things out is through trial & error and reading guides online. Don't expect to receive instant gratification here, you won't get any. Instead, be prepared to see the game over screen a few times before seeing even the smallest progress. Also expect to go "game over" when the day for the tax payment arrives. :)

But once you managed to leave that initial state of confusion & frustration and see your company and your city grow, the feeling of your personal investment (your time and energy) paying off is incredible. A few hours later you will be building sky scrapers, amusement parks and more railway stations and material factories, as well as making profits at the stock market. Your actions will create an environment of growth for the city and seeing it flourish is very satisfying.

Also, A-Train 9 is a content-behemoth: I'm at around 80 hours of play time so far and I'm still playing the first scenario (out of 60)!

If you like what you see in the screenshots and if you are willing to invest your time and energy overcoming the very steep learning curve and battling the somewhat confusing menus, you will be rewarded with an extremely deep, satisfying and very unique urban simulation game!

The graphics are absolutely servicable with an emphasis on japanese urban architecture. There are so many details everywhere and it's a joy to get into the "cockpit view" of any train, bus or truck and just watch them traverse your city at the lowest level. Also, the game runs nicely overall and didn't crash even once so far.

My personal recommendations for getting into this game:

- Look up strategy guides and tutorials online before buying the game and see if you are in the mood to get into those topics presented there.

- Going "game over" during your first attempts is part of the process (in my opinion). Accept that and don't let frustration overwhelm you.

- When playing a new scenario: In the main menu, click on market --> real estate and scroll through all the different types of real estate your company already owns in that scenario (apartment buildings, office buildings, hotels etc.) and click on "sell" at every entry that has a negative profitability percentage (shown in orange color).

- Like another reviewer suggested: get some cash at the stock market (main menu: market --> stock market). Wait until the shares of a company get below $8 and buy some. Do this for all companies listet (if their stock is below $8 in price). Then play the game normally and check the stock market from time to time. At some point, the stocks will be at $20 or more each. That is the time to sell (doesn't matter if it's $18 or whatever). Don't worry, all companies will sooner or later reach that price. It is always going up and down.

- Don't overdo it with construction at the beginning. Move in small steps. Build a hotel or an office building and observe if they are getting profitable or not. Try to build in areas that have a high population density (buildings).

- The more subsidiaries you own, the higher your tax burden will be. Always make sure to have enough cash for the yearly tax payment.

Have fun with this very "japanese" railway / economy / urban planing / logistics simulation game. It's truly one of a kind!