Densha de Go! was one of the first commercial train-driving simulation games. The player can choose from a variety of tracks and trains and will then have to drive the train to the designated stations while sticking to the tight schedule, stopping exactly at the marked positions, obeying all signs and signals, and ensuring passenger safety and comfort.
Whenever the player makes a mistake, points are deducted from a counter which at the start of each round is initialized to a value depending on the selected difficulty. If it reaches zero, the game is over.
The following tracks and trains were available in the game:
Densha de Go! - Sagano Main Line (Sanin Line) from Kameoka to Kyoto
Densha de Go! - Keihin-Tōhoku Line from Shinagawa to Yokohama
Densha de Go! - Tōkaidō Main Line (JR Kyoto Line) from Kyoto to Osaka
Densha de Go! - Yamanote Line (Inner Circle) from Shibuya to Tokyo Station
Densha de Go! EX - Tōkaidō Main Line from Takatsuki to Osaka, and Sagano Line EX from Kameoka to Kyoto on Windows only.