The reboot took place last year with the release of the game on IOS and Android while the arcade game being released this year. Obviously, the arcade game of the same name as part of the franchise reboot is the most anticipated one with the cabinet design being modeled after the driver car of the specific train. The screens may represent the windows of the train car but that doesn't seem to be the case. Also, the fourth monitor is used for the touchscreen giving you virtual controls of the train in addition to the main physical controls like setting the train to accelerate or brake. The pedal is for horning and you use it for incoming bridges, incoming workers as well as the part where someone freaks out while you arrive at the station. Other on-screen settings include some brightness, the wiper as well as the upcoming objectives to appreciate and adhere by sliding the bar to the right and then adhering to the next speed limit for the orange box or the exact speed for the blue box. There's also the button that should be toggled on only after the doors are closed before you start driving the train.
Like the previous games in the series, you're supposed to drive to the next stop in time while obeying the rules. For the previous games, you get the schedule time and the main time. If the main time is reduced to zero, it's game over although this doesn't seem to be present in the reboot. The schedule time is still in the reboot though. It's just that you're presented on how much time left in moving from one stop to another. Getting negative time left means that you're seconds late. Also, the distance left value can turn negative if you go over the end spot. Go over that too far and you may have missed the station which gives you serious consequences. You can also be penalized if you accelerate after the train halts completely while on the next station like trying to arrive as the exact spot. The exact spot at the end of the next station is indicated by the glowing exclamation sign.
In case of the arcade reboot, you get points for doing well but you get deducted of points for incompetence. Each mission consists of few train stations similar to previous games and higher difficulties mean lesser room for mistakes. Plus, the game will be updated with additional contents like additional train stations, missions with different weather conditions although I don't know if there will be missions where in the middle of the tracks, there will be traffic lights to keep a look out for. If there's something ahead in the traffic area, you'll be notified by the ATS alarm to stop the train immediately. Bumping into something results in an accident.
Other Densha De Go games may involve driving the train on road similar to western countries where train tracks take place on the road so the same rules apply there.
Needless to say, the rules are unspeakably strict for the first game and they are less strict for the later games but even then, high amount of guts and competence are required if you want to get through without any single trouble caused.
For the reboot, the game utilizes Unreal Engine 4, Taito Type X4, multiple monitors and next-gen graphics cards to provide realism in the graphics. The mascot character for the series is replaced with a new support character as if the characters look Square-Enix style or some kind. But this is a better game than say, Summer Lesson by Namco which also uses the same graphical style and same game engine. The only time the adviser says in the previous games is that if you do something bad or poor that you'll be nagged. In the reboot, the new adviser says out praises or criticisms depending on your performance. Not to mention that there will be text boxes on top popping up, saying that you have passed that point above the speed limit or you have to stop at 4m or below at the end of the next station as indicated by Distance Left. Getting negative values on Distance Left or Time Left is a bad idea.
Lastly, for the arcade reboot's target audience. It is suited for children, teenagers, adults and even those who are train drivers as well. Even the fans of public transports are included as well. This is a closer simulation to the train driver job than the previous games in the series over the cabinet design.
