In the 3DS library, there is a rather unsurprising gap of management sim games. The niche genre essentially revolves around placing the player in the chair of a person in charge of a large city or company, tasking them with running it and maximising profitability. This is something of a double-edged sword; patient gamers will find plenty of enjoyment if they're willing to work for it, but most will likely lose interest before realizing the hook of the gameplay. Ultimately, A-train: City Simulator is a staggeringly in-depth game that's held back by an extremely steep learning curve and some archaic design choices.
A-Train 3D: City Simulator puts players in charge of a major transportation company that runs most of the public transportation for a city. As players have a pivotal role in the development of a budding city, the goal is to see the city realize its true potential over a period of years while still keeping the company in the black. In the main mode, progress is made by partaking in set "Scenarios" which act as extra long levels that place the player in a particular scenario and set goals to be reached over a period of years, such as expanding the population to a certain point, turning enough profit, or developing an industry. As one will quickly find out, playing the part of a CEO brings with it a lot of responsibilities. These various responsibilities are taught to the player by a series of tutorials that endeavour to explain every facet of running the company at maximum profitability.
What this means is that it's quite a slog to get through the opening acts. There are numerous variables, expenses, and assets to be considered before making any decision, and while the game does a fairly good job of guiding the player through it, it can be a lot of information to take in. In fact, the tutorials added up are easily 8+ hours, and that's of a near constant barrage of text that explains increasingly more complex functions. It doesn't help that there isn't a place where all the lessons taught in these tutorials are compiled for later reference, meaning that if the player forgets how exactly to navigate the endless menus to perform a particular action, it's a case of trial and error until the action is rediscovered. The tutorials are not required to play through the first scenario, but good luck trying to make sense of the staggering amounts of spreadsheets, graphs, charts, and menus that the player is expected to be fluent in. However, when the stars align and everything clicks, it can be incredibly rewarding to see hours of labour come to fruition as the company fires on all cylinders.
The presentation is functional and rather subtly charming, though it lacks the feeling of being alive. Players navigate the isometric, grid-based map using the stylus to perform most actions and particularly important information will be relayed or explained via various employees of the company, such as the CFO or the Secretary. These characters are displayed in a pleasant anime-style and while they may be fairly one-dimensional and lifeless, they manage to give the player the sense of really being in charge of a vast corporation.
While the camera view is primarily set from the isometric standpoint, it can be adjusted to a sort of first person view in which the camera is on the train and the player is given a street level view of the city they're helping to build. This is a neat feature, but it's rather basic and forgettable as textures are muddy and the models are quite basic.
For the extremely hardcore players, there are a few DLC scenarios available that will help add more value to the package. It's nice of Natsume to have these, but the reality is that most won't make it past the tutorials, let alone the nine scenarios that only ascend in difficulty. While it's unknown whether or not Natsume will release more scenarios in the coming weeks and months, it's still a feature worth mentioning as there are some who will manage to conquer all existing scenarios and still wish for more challenges.
Conclusion
It's difficult to recommend a game such as A-Train: City Simulator, simply because of its nigh impenetrable barrier to entry. Fans of simulator games such as these will find a rewarding and incredibly in-depth simulation of running a big business, but most will miss this and be lost to its confusing and unforgiving gameplay. Ultimately, it's worth a shaky recommendation as there is a significantly in-depth simulation to be found here, but let it be known that newcomers are not welcome. Truly, this is a title "for super players only".
Comments 58
Thanks for this review, information on this game is virtually non existent at the moment which isn't good for a game which is almost the price of a full retail 3DS title.
Meh, alert me when its £3 in a sale. £20 is just too much for this type of game...
I figured points would be knocked off for being slow-paced. Only people with patience (helps if they'ere fans of the genre too) will get a lot of fun out of this game. Definitely not for 'action-oriented' folks.
Also, talk about devaluing a product. £3? Really? This game is basically on the same depth as a PC game. 20 is a steal actually, for all the mass amount of content you get with it. There is NO OTHER game (in this genre) of this magnitude on a handheld/console. Saying it should be worth only $5 is rather insulting to be honest.
@Donjwolf That may be, but it cannot be ignored that this is an extremely limited appeal kind of game. Very few, outside of fans of this kind of game, will find enjoyment in it.
@MitchVogel Oh, you misunderstood me. I don't actually have an issue with the review. I know the genre isn't for everyone with its slow pace, so having it as a 'negative' isn't a knock against the review, as it's to be expected. Pretty much all first person dungeon crawler and hunting game reviews generally say the same thing too (unless it's a cruddy Cabela title), and to fans of those genres, it's actually considered a good thing that it's slow.
This type of game is barely on handhelds/consoles, so A-Train may actually get some people interested in this title, which previously can only be found on PCs. I already said action-oriented people aren't going to get any fun out of A-Train, but people with a lot of patience may find a lot to like.
Even if the game was just a few bucks, they're likely to get the same amount of sales from the (I'm assuming) fairly small number of people interested in this kind of thing. Makes sense to charge a little extra for a niche product with little compitition, right?
@Moon what you said actually makes a lot of sense lol.
The PC-Engine (Turbografx) version is on the Japanese Wii's Virtual Console. I was surprised to see this cult classic coming out in Europe as a 3DS download. It's rare that a Japanese quality simulation game gets translated.
But I need simulation games on a big HD display. If this was on Wii U I'd get it just because of it's long history and interesting gameplay.
got it and happy with the price. the game is deeeeeeeeep. and unique. casual gamers, why comment? it'll never be a few bucks because you cant create systems with this complexity for mass market pokefans. its niche sure, but there is no alternative so i am happy to pay these legends for their hard work. this is essentially Atrain 9 by the way. on the go. pun intended.
@Donjwolf I skipped to the end, found the score of '6', and smiled to myself.
When I realized that the reviewer found that the flaws were how deep it was (I was drawn in by that stock market, for instance), and how dated the presentation was, I smiles to myself even harder.
I was pissed off that this was download-only, but I don't care anymore. This is my kind of game.
I'm going to have to echo what Donjwolf and TheWPCTraveler wrote. A slow-paced management/simulation game for the handheld market sounds like excellent news, and like the poster above me pointed out none of the "flaws" pointed out in the review are actually problematic for fans of this type of game.
Not gonna lie, I am interested in buying this game. An eshop discount would seal the deal
Hm... I'm kinda interested. Might get it sometime in the near future.
I'm enjoying this game right now !!
Hmm sounds interesting, going to get it when it gets a price drop.
I am really interested in this game. This is my kind of game and 3DS are really lacking this type of game.
Will wait for a price drop tho since right now I'm saving for upgrade to New 3DS.
@gurtifus did this game has stereo 3D feature? All the screenshots from eshop are 2D and the playable area are even on the bottom.
@AndymanMessiah Hence why I gave it the score I did. I took off points because of how obtuse it can be, but I realize that all the negatives that come with the territory are positives to some people. If that's your case, it doesn't get any better than this.
@MitchVogel Well, then I am very happy you decided to be honest and give it that sort of score.
To be honest, I was expecting it to land somewhere around this sort of territory.
How is the stock market, by the way? Did you end up gambling all your corporation's money there, at least once?
Try it, it's all the rage among investors nowadays.
@MitchVogel I wasn't complaining. I understand the review is from a non-fan's point of view. Keep up the work.
Of course it must also be said that I haven't played this yet so the game might very well not be up to snuff. I hope there's a demo.
Honestly, I had to finally make an account to say that this is the first game that makes me want to go out and buy a 3ds. This looks awesome.
@AndymanMessiah @TheWPCTraveler I just finished tutprial 2. You're never going to believe that this game is actually as complex has a standard PC simulation. There's -loads- of info and features in this game that you won't believe is on a handheld. Believe me when I say there simply isn't any other game like it outside of a PC.
The game actually has a ton of customization and helpful features that I wasn't exactly expecting, such as the ability to colour-customize your vehicles, changing the trackbed, bridge and the piers (the support structures holding up these bridges) adding catenaries, fences, guardrails and street lights.
You can copy a vehicle's schedule/colour/etc to another vehicle for convenience.
You can make elevated tracks and even have "highway" intersections with on/off ramps. Not sure what to call those, but I'm sure you know what I mean.
You can put the 3DS in sleep mode and the game can still run (and earn you money) while you do other non-gaming things.
See, THIS is what SimCity DS should have been. That game was horrible. A-Train actually has a lot more depth and you can fully customize how your trains run.
As a simulation fan, I highly doubt you're going to be disappointed in this game. I've always wanted a game like this on a handheld, and that game has finally arrived. Maps are huge too, BTW!!
@Donjwolf Thanks! Sounds great!
@TruenoGT The game has three really extensive tutorials to help you understand the game and all those icons, so go for it if you're interested :3
Not gonna lie, this is not what I expected from a Japanese train simulator. I am disappointed.
@Angelic_Lapras_King what are you talking about? this is a full fledged tycoon style game. This isn't some budget title.
Yikes, quite a lot of discussion here.
Having not bought the game still, I'm excited about getting it now. I was in the mindset that I should wait for a eShop sale but I don't want to do that now. I'd rather buy now just so I can stop thinking about whether I should buy it or not and support the people who developed this great game.
I really wish there were more in depth Simulation/Management games available on Wii U and 3DS. I know they are on PC mainly but I'm more of a handheld gamer, console games don't get much attention from me until I'm off work for a few days.
@CanisWolfred That was my feeling too. I wanted Airport Hero (which I love), except with trains!
@Flopsy86 Even though this isn't the train sim I was hoping it was, I'd totally get it right now if I didn't already have Etrian Mystery Dungeon. (I don't like gaming backlogs, so I stick to one full-featured game at a time). Everyone who bought it seems happy with it so far!
@Hy8ogen
I'm sorry, I have to ask: is your profile pic of Roronoa Zoro from One Peice? I can't tell...
@JellySplat Yes. Yes it is Big Zoro fan
@Hy8ogen
Haha! I was right! The shadows made it a little difficult to say for sure, but I was having trouble thinking of any other characters with green hair, and a mean glare.
I just started watching the show recently, I'm on episode 60. Very enjoyable so far! I love anime's like this. Its light hearted, yet super intense!
@JellySplat 60? You got a long way to go man haha
@World While I like Air Traffic Controller Hero Hawaii too, it's hardly considered a simulation game. The air chatter may be authentic, but the gameplay is basically a slow-paced puzzle game with planes.
A-Train is an actual simulation game. Although a Japanese company made it, it plays exactly like any Western made simulation game that has done very well on PCs, like the SimCity series. If you've never played this genre before, and you don't have access to a PC and it's bajillion simulation games, then A-Train is a good starting point! It has extensive tutorials that tells you everything you need to know in small batches, so you're not terribly confused all at once.
@Hy8ogen
Haha! So I hear.... Let me ask you something, does the story ever start to get repetitive?
@JellySplat There are some fillers here and there, but the story doesn't get tired. One of the best Anime show. However in some arcs the pacing can be slow.
@World Actually, I was hoping for this, this, and maybe a little of this, but with trains. You've failed me, Japan. >:[
I was vaguely interested in this, but at such a high price point ($40 in Australia and no retail release) and a seemingly incomprehensible learning curve, I'll pass.
If you've played similar games before, it actually doesn't have a impossible learning curve. In fact, the tutorials teach you stuff in small batches, not all at once so it will help you learn faster if you're brand new to the genre.
@Dawn-Shade Most of the game is in 2D. There is a 3D mode to unlock where you can explore your city in 3D but I haven't unlocked yet. I'm almost sure this mode use the stereoscopic 3D.
@Angelic_Lapras_King Why do you think this game is not worth the asking price? It sounds as if you don't really like this type of game? A lot of work goes in to making deep simulation games such as this. Simcity always cost more than £3 over the series history. £3 for this very deep game is a ridiculous idea. This is not a mobile phone game!!!!!!!
@OneBagTravel exactly my point too. +1
@sillygostly this is not a high price. Simcity cost more than this over the series history. What makes this game too expensive?
This game is brilliant. I have to say due to the extensive tutorials it is one of the most accessible simulation games out there. As with all simulation games you have to invest time. I think the review made too much out of the fact that not everyone will enjoy simulation games. I don't enjoy games like Fifa but that doesn't meant that they aren't good.
Also the fact that in the review it says:
'..newcomers not welcome.'
I totally disagree. This game, as I have said, has one of the most in depth tutorials I have ever seen. As a fan of sim games who has found the PC A-train games hard to get into, this is brilliant. Sim games need to be deep.
Does the reviewer like simulation games? From reading the review it seems as if they don't......
this looks incredibly awesome, and the eShop ratings are perfect 5's allready. this is what we retro PC gamers have been waiting for. Civ DS sucked, Simcity DS sucked, No advance wars 3DS on the horizon, this is the killer app we have been waiting for.
Price is reasonable for a game of this caliper. don't be cheap and support the localization team.
@notchucknorris exactly. Glad you are enjoying it too.
@Barbiegurl777 this game is easy to understand due to its extensive tutorials. It is well worth the asking point. I can wholeheartedly recommend it. I think if you are willing to put the time in you have a very deep and rewarding simulation game at a superb price point. Jump in and enjoy
@CanisWolfred what did you expect?....this japanese sim game has been going on since the 80s.
It looks like they made this 3DS version more cartoony than the other games. I have the PS2 one and I think that looks better. I was curious about the 3D effect but if it's not really there it doesn't have much going for it except for the portability.
@SuperWiiU Other than the people, the game isn't 'cartoony.' SimCity 2000 from way back had very similar graphics for the buildings, making the cities pretty colourful, and that game sure wasn't 'cartoony,' unless you're talking about something else entirely.
@notchucknorris As a sim fan I liked Civ DS actually. Also have the PS3 version. It's not very indepth, no, but it was still pretty fun. My only gripe was the size of the world. It was pretty dinky. SimCity DS was horrible though. I'll stick to the PC versions.
@Spoony I don't understand why non-fans of a genre would want to review genres that they don't care for either, but I'm pretty used to it by now. If someone cites 'slow paced' or 'too much work' or something similar in a review, then I'd say it's probably a good game :3 Reviewers who don't understand a genre does the same for hunting games (the good ones anyway) and first person dungeon crawlers. I actually saw a review for a good hunting game say the maps are 'too large' for a negative. What? It's a big plus for fans. Who wants to hunt on a dinky map? In fact, the maps were actually kind of small compared to other games, actually. It wasn't dinky, but it wasn't huge either. The bigger the better! All these things people say are negatives are actual positives to fans, it's a positive. It'd be a lot easier though if actual fans reviewed games instead.
If The Witcher 3 wasn't coming out this year, I'd say A-Train would be my GoTY, but I can still say it's my handheld GoTY though.
@Donjwolf I wouldn't describe the game as cartoony either. It's not cel-shaded or something else very obvious, it just looks like they changed the in-game graphics be a little more cartoony than the other games in the series.
I have the PCE of the A-train....oh great they are making an SIMCITY clone
You can tell by the pugly characters looks in their faces that running an City in 20XX is so unfun compared to back in 199X with SimCity.
@Topbanana Chikan has also been a national problem since the 80's. Coincidence? This Gundam-slash-Werewolf-slash-bad-pun thinks otherwise!
BTW, quick google search also proved that to be entirely false. It also proved that there is a Chikan simulator. You win some, you lose some.
@Topbanana : It is a high price considering that it is a download-only release that is locked to a single console. The Sim City games were full retail releases for PC, and many of the older Sim City games can still be played on modern PCs. In fact, I can buy the latest Sim City game for as little as $10 in Australia. That is a retail copy with a disc that I can keep and play on whichever PC I like, and can continue to play the game should I buy a new PC at some point in the future.
$40-$50 is a fair price for a physical retail version of a game; but not for a download-only single-console licence.
I was looking forward to this one but not for 29.99. I would have probably went for it at 14.99 or lower. Hopefully there will be a sale on this up the road. It will be the only way I'm picking this up.
Also seriously they need to put reviewers on this type of game who like the genre. I think for any game. Its really dumb to put a person up to review a game who doesn't like the genre very much. Just a dumb thing to do.
What is 3d about this game? Its called A-train simulator 3d but doesn't look like there will be much 3d.
$14.99 is way too cheap for a starting price, considering how much deeper it is than any other console/handheld game in existence. It's one reason why PC games are awesome; their depth and complexity. The full price is actually a steal.
3D is used for camera view mode.
.
I just bought this game, it's downloading as I type.
I've been thinking about it before, but while coming upon it after browsing the eshop I really felt like playing it and supporting a rare port of this kind of niche genre (and I feel I give much greater support by paying full price).
But before I did that I said to myself one thing: it needs to have good tutorials (I want to be eased into a game as deep as this), so I went online to check. And lo and behold, it's tutorials have been praised!
I'm just about to play but the review here is irresponsible. Why review a game that the reviewer is disinterested in, and no amount of quality is going to pique that interest? Archaic design choices? So what, it should have microtransactions, update to Facebook and be easy enough for a toddler? Deducting points for what makes this kind of game what it is, it's like deducting points from an FPS for having guns.
@Freelance thank you, your replies here have been great. The game has a good number of scores on the eshop (for it's type) and is a 5/5. So I guess it has it's market in the west. Very glad it does.
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