The InterCity 125 is still a formiddable Diesel-powered locomotive, and is my all-time favourite
I'm not a full-fledged railfan but I do enjoy driving locomotives in simulation games. Whilst I lament that the Densha de Go games are never localised at least they're easy enough to navigate and master, but they certainly lack the element of realism and presentation (No external views whatsoever). I snicker at the thought of playing with trains while actually riding a train!
A DdG game with these graphics would be awesome on 3DS!
Then there's Railworks for the PC and its pretty extensive but doesn't cover Japan (mostly budget and fanbase considerations I imagine). It does lack the flair of later DdG games (e.g. Railfan) but its realism and complexity certainly make up for it. I like the fact that they made three 'presets' of realism depending on how involed you really want to be.
Your only choice if authenticity is what you're seeking
I'm still miffed that Microsoft had axed their simulation dev house, meaning MSTS2 won't be seeing release, or at best it's going to be renamed Train like their Flight series, with excessive downscaling to ensure a port to consoles can be feasible.
I guess the lure of trains is essentially ingrained at an early age (either hereditary or through toys) or not at all.
Well, not my own but y'know.
