Densha de Go!

WS WonderSwanPatch v1.0Released 13 Oct 2026
Download v1.0

Densha de Go! (電車でGO!) is Taito's train-driving simulator for the original (monochrome) WonderSwan, released only in Japan. You're the driver: keep to the timetable to the second, obey the signals and speed limits, and stop the train on each platform's mark, while your conductor grades every stop. There are four lines: the San'in Main Line (Easy), and the Keihin-Tohoku, Tokaido and Yamanote lines (Hard).

Please read: this translation was made with AI (Claude), as a hobby project. A person (me) made every judgement call before release, but nobody on the project is a professional translator. I'm sharing it as it is for anyone who wants to play. Please don't upload it to romhacking sites (romhacking.net and the like). It may not be up to the standard of a real fan translation and it doesn't belong there.

Why we use AI

Screens

  • Title screen, in EnglishTitle screen, original Japanese
    Title screen
  • Line select, in EnglishLine select, original Japanese
    Line select
  • Departure board, in EnglishDeparture board, original Japanese
    Departure board
  • Route strip, in EnglishRoute strip, original Japanese
    Route strip
  • Driving: the cab signal, in EnglishDriving: the cab signal, original Japanese
    Driving: the cab signal
  • Results, in EnglishResults, original Japanese
    Results
  • The conductor, in EnglishThe conductor, original Japanese
    The conductor
  • Continue?, in EnglishContinue?, original Japanese
    Continue?

What’s translated

The game has no text font at all: every word on screen is a picture. All of these were redrawn in English:

  • The line select screen (line names and Easy / Hard badges), the departure board, and the route strips with JR’s own English station names, written sideways under each stop.
  • The driving screen: every HUD label, the cab signal, trackside signs (Sound Horn, Slow Ahead, Slow Zone, Uphill, Downhill, Level…), and run messages (Depart!, Pull Forward, ATS Brake, Missed Stop, Time Up!…).
  • All 27 of the conductor’s speech bubbles, the results screen, the continue screen (DRIVE ON?), the pause menu (Continue / Quit) and the settings screen.
  • The title screen adds GO BY TRAIN! next to the logo.
  • Left as in the original: the title logo itself and the station name boards on the platforms.

How it was made: AI translation, independent checks, human decisions

  • Claude walked the game’s resource archives (15 archives, 1,638 items), found every picture with Japanese in it, translated it, redrew it in the game’s own style, and recompressed it.
  • A second, independent Claude reviewer checked the wording against the Japanese, and a final separate review went through the whole patch again.
  • Every redrawn screen was checked in an emulator, during runs and on the results and conductor screens.
  • The judgement calls were listed with the Japanese, a literal reading and the options, and I decided each one by hand: station names, train types (KiHa 58, 209, 221, 205), sign and message wording, the logo, and what to leave as art.

Changelog

  • v1.0: first release.

Sources consulted

  • Japanese text: the pictures in the ROM itself.
  • Station names: JR’s own English station names.

How to patch

Apply densha-de-go-en-1.0.bps to the Japanese ROM “Densha de Go! (Japan)” (CRC32 B62E5DD0) with Floating IPS, beat or ROM Patcher JS. The result should be CRC32 A8ACDDA0.

The ROM keeps its size (4 MB). It’s a WonderSwan (mono) game, so keep the .ws extension.

You must provide your own copy of the original Japanese game to apply it.

Download: densha-de-go-en-1.0.bps on the release page.

Known issues

  • It hasn’t been played start to finish by a person. If you find leftover Japanese, cut text or a crash, please tell me where it happened.
  • The station name boards on the platforms are still Japanese, on purpose.

Technical notes (for the curious)

  • There is no font or encoded text in this game. Every word is a picture in an LZSS-compressed archive: the patch decompresses each one, redraws it and compresses it again, so the ROM doesn’t grow.
  • Route strips set each English station name sideways under its stop, reading top to bottom, to fit the narrow columns.