Maitetsu-Pure Station Review (Nintendo Switch)

Game: Maitetsu-Pure Station
Genre: Adventure, Visual Novel
System: Nintendo Switch
Developers|Publishers: CIRCLE Entertainment
Age Rating: EU 16+| US T
Price:  US $ 34.99|CA $ 44.09 |AU $ 52.50|£ 31.49 | €34,99
Release Date: 16th January 2020

Review code used, with many thanks to CIRCLE Entertainment

A Railfan

Railfan: “In American English, a person who is interested, recreationally, in rail transport.”

1. Are you a railfan? 

2. Do you like Japanese animation? 

3. Are you trying to learn Japanese? 

4. Have you ever thought to yourself: “This anime is good and all, but I wish I could control how quickly they talk and maybe just let it sit for a bit while I use the bathroom.”? 

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then Maitetsu: Pure Station just might be the game for you.

This game is like a visual novel TO THE MAX! Allow me to explain: 

A visual novel is exactly that, a lot of text that you will read like a novel, combined with (usually) 2D still images of the characters and backgrounds pertaining to the story you are reading.  This one is fully voiced, with characters who move and who’s voices move to the words… it’s like an anime, but in video game form!

Visual novels are a special favourite genre of mine. I can’t get enough of them – IF they’re good. I love me a good story, and in order for a visual novel to sell well, having a good story is an absolute must.

Whoopsies, there are a few translation errors; but it’s not too bad.

A Rail Buff

A rail buff: “In American English, a person who is interested, recreationally, in rail transport.”

The story of Maitetsu starts quite dramatically; a big steam engine is trying to make its way through a wicked storm. The winds are blowing and the tracks are slippery.

Unforeseen events down the train tracks are making the train try to brake… but the tracks are too slippery! Oh no! The tracks ahead are broken. Well, if we can’t stop, then let’s try going faster! 

…Disaster…

Our main character wakes up from his recurrent nightmare of reliving the horrible train accident he survived as a child, and boom we are off and rolling! Ka-chunk ka-chunk, ka-chunk ka-chunk.

SIDE NOTE

I lived in Japan for two years, and there is nothing more soothing than sitting on a train, quietly going home in the late evening, just being gently rocked by the soft ka-chunk, ka-chunk of the train on the tracks.

SIDE NOTE END

Step into the shoes of Soutetsu-sama: an environmentally conscious man who is putting his schooling on hold to revisit his old hometown and oppose the building of an industrial complex.

He encounters both resistance and help from friends and family that he grew up with as the adopted son of the town’s prominent – now deceased – sake brewery owner; his adopted sister now runs the sake brewery, and boasts the best sake for miles and kilometers around because of the pure and clean water from the nearby river. 

Of course, the building of this factory – a factory for Airca: personal air vehicles – will, yes, boost the struggling economy, but it will also pollute the nearby river and destroy much of the beautiful nature.

This is a topic so close to my heart I could almost cry. My province is always fighting to create more jobs by fracking and drilling and digging for oil… and nature always seems to take a side-seat to the need for jobs and money.

My green heart weeps for all of the birds and squirrels, foxes, wolves and deer whose habitat has been ruined because of human actions. 

So, OBVIOUSLY, I was on Soutetsu-san’s side. But HOW?! 

How can they both revitalize the economy and keep the nature pure and pristine? 

Luckily for Soutetsu-san, the answer almost literally falls into his lap.

A Ferroequinologist

A ferroequinologist: “A person who studies trains.”

The answer in the form of a Raillord falls out of the closet of our late adoptive guardian, and right onto the floor. After winding up her emergency reserve power source, we are introduced to Hachiroku-san. 

Hachiroku is a Raillord; a mechanical representation of the steam engine train she was created to be in charge of. She runs on steam, and needs to eat coal and water in order to stay alive. 

How adorable! There’s literally a scene where you take Hachiroku to munch on some coal. 

Anyway, Soutetsu-sama and Hachiroku, with the help of some old friends, decide that the best way to revitalize their slowly dying town is to fix up her old steam locomotive engine, repair the railway tracks, and make the novelty of a train ride bring in tourism to the town.

You see, in this fictional Japanese town, time, and place, railways have become obsolete. Airca (personal air transport) has become the primary means of travel. 

Will Soutetsu-sama and Hachiroku manage to save the town, and even train transport itself? Or will the struggle for a healthy economy and jobs for everyone win out?

Find out in Maitetsu: Pure Station!

Anorak

An anorak: “A British slang term which refers to a person who has a very strong, perhaps obsessive, interest in niche subjects.” 

Gameplay in Maitetsu: Pure Station solely consists of reading and pressing the A button to go to the next line of text you will read.

The visuals for this game, however, are incredibly stunning! It is a visual novel, but in this visual novel, all of the characters are not only drawn with various emotional facial expressions, but they actually move!

When the characters are talking to you, their avatars will be standing in front facing you, their mouths will move to the Japanese voice acting (which is also extremely well done). Their heads will move, and their hands will come up and out, or up to their chests. As well, their hair will whip around and fall about.

And don’t even get me started on the breast animation. It is a “harem-type anime”. In that the main character is male, and is surrounded by a bunch of females. 

As such – and because this game might be more trying to target a heterosexual male audience – there are some characters with rather well-endowed breasts, and those breasts jump and jiggle around a lot when the characters are talking.

I was particularly surprised by one character whose breasts are so large and jiggly that her base “pose” (the usual way she stands) has her one arm just underneath her breasts supporting and holding them up. 

Now, in the real world, that poor lady would likely have some pretty hardcore back problems by this time in her life, and could probabaly qualify in the health care system for breast reduction surgery to improve her quality of life.

But perhaps not!

Be all that as it may, the characters move around; the artwork is beautiful, full of colour and life. The background art of the various settings is splendid to look at.

I bet I could get a print copy of only the background areas and hang them in my house in frames, and people visiting me would be in awe of my lovely art. I bet they’d always be asking me “Wow, who drew this?” or “Where did you get this, it’s lovely!?” 

But I digress: all of the art related work in this game is TOP NOTCH! Voice acting, visuals, animation, music.

It’s basically like watching a really long anime movie, but you have control of when you will hear the next bit of text. Oh and you are always privy to Soutetsu-sama’s inner thoughts.

One time, I was so surprised, the game flipped into the thoughts of the little-sister character (Hibiki) for a brief scene! I thought it was sooooo cool to see what she was thinking and feeling. Subtle, but powerful: good storytelling.

I don’t want to be limited omniscient, I want FULL OMNISCIENT! Mwahahahaha!

Conclusion

It’s purely a visual novel, but the story is cute and quaint, and hits close to home for me. It’s light, but also serious and covers some pretty hard-hitting, relevant topics.

The characters are all well voiced and interesting, and the artwork is amazing! 

It isn’t the cheapest game in the Switch eShop… especially if you live in Canada (look at that silly-billy conversion rate!!). But I am a firm believer that it is worth it to pay for good art, and those voice actors, animators, and artists deserve to be paid for all their hard work.

If you love visual novels, but you’re strapped for cash, I would definitely get this when it goes on sale!

Final Verdict: I like it!