Tetsudou Ou (Famicom)
Guide by E. Phelps, ver. 1.0
(aka LastBossKiller)
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- - - = = = === Disclaimer === = = = - - -
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This document may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission by the author. Use of
this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is
strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
Copyright 2015 E. Phelps
---Viewing This Document---
This document contains Japanese text. To view it correctly, set your browser
or word processor to view "Shift-JIS" format. For example, if you are using
Internet Explorer, using the dropdown menu, go to View -> Encoding -> More
-> Japanese (Shift-JIS). You could, instead, open this document with
Microsoft Word, and it will ask you about the encoding automatically,
allowing you to select Shift-JIS.
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- - - = = = ====== Intro ====== = = = - - -
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Tetsudou Ou (or "Railroad King") is an NES/Famicom game that plays like
a board game and has a railroad theme. It's basically the same as Momotarou
Dentetsu, which is a long running video game series that is also a railroad
themed board game. I would've guessed that Tetsudou Ou is a Momotarou knock-
off, but Tetsudou Ou was released in 1987, and Momotarou in 1988, so I guess
Momotarou is the ripoff.
The goal is to accumulate more wealth than the other players (human or
computer). You have goal destinations that you want to reach to get money,
but random events also happen on your turn that can have various
consequences. Additionally, you can buy railroad lines and the other players
have to pay you money as they traverse them, sort of like Monopoly.
It's an easy game to pick up and play, and the computer is pretty easy
to beat. With this guide, you will have no problem understanding what's
happening even though the game is in Japanese.
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- - - = = = = Getting Started = = = = - - -
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At the title screen, you are prompted to select the number of human players:
ひとり - One
ふたり - Two
さんにん - Three
よにん - Four
Next, you are prompted to enter the number of computer players:
いらない - None
ひとり - One
ふたり - Two
さんにん - Three
You must have between two and four players total (human + computer).
Next, you will be asked to set two game parameters which both essentially
determine how long the game will take to end. First, the "Number of Clears"
(くりあすう), determines that the game will end when someone reaches this
number of total "Clears". Also, you can set the "Number of Railroads"
(せんろのかず), which determines that the game will end when someone owns
this number of railroads. The game will end if either one of these happens.
You will then be asked to enter your name. You will see the Japanese
"alphabet" and the commands すすむ ("Advance"), which moves the cursor ahead
one letter, and もどる ("Return"), which moves it back one letter. The up and
down arrows allow you to switch between player names. "A" enters a letter,
and "B" goes back one letter. Press "Start" when you are finished.
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- - - = = = === How to Play === = = = - - -
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---Victory Condition---------------------------------------------------------
To win, you must amass the most wealth. But there are bonuses at the end of
the game that can increase your wealth dramatically (and your opponents' as
well, of course).
When the game ends, the following statistics will be shown for each player:
Money in hand Railroads owned Marks Clears Total
Your total wealth will be determined by the following formula:
Total = (Money) + (Railroads owned)x1000 + (Marks)x100 + (Clears)x1000
So as you can see, owning railroad lines and getting "clears" will net you
big bonuses. Marks only get you a pretty small bonus. So the winning strategy
is to buy railroad lines as much as you can and race to get "Clears".
The meaning of clears, marks, etc. will all be explained below.
---Clears--------------------------------------------------------------------
At all times, you have a particular destination that you are supposed to aim
to arrive at. When you reach that destination, you will gain $50 times the
"Number of Passages" (つうかすう) it took to get there. The number of passages
you have is shown on your main menu screen and increases by one for every
space you move your train. So the farther you travel to reach a destination,
the more money you receive when you arrive.
To find out what your destination is, select the "View Map" (まっぷ みる)
option on the main menu. Your train's position is indicated by the flashing
arrow, and your destination is marked by a flashing flag.
Upon reaching the destination, your "Number of Clears" (くりあすう) will
increase by one on the main menu and you will randomly be given a new
destination. If someone reaches the number of clears you defined at the
beginning of the game, the game will end.
---Purchasing and Selling Railroads------------------------------------------
During your turn, you can select the option せんろ かう ("Buy Railroad") to
purchase a railroad line. You can only purchase railroad lines if they are
surrounded by two of your "Marks" (see section below).
Opponents traveling over your railroad line will be forced to pay you money
for every space they move forward.
If you purchase a railroad, a blue icon representing your player will appear
on the map on the purchased path. The spaces themselves on the game board
will also show the image of your player.
To sell a railroad, select the せんろ うる ("Sell Railroad") option, then
choose which railroad. You will receive half of the money that it costs to
purchase the railroad. If you run out of money, you will be forced to sell
your railroads until you can afford your fees.
---Marks---------------------------------------------------------------------
When viewing the map screen, you will see that the stations are represented
by red dots. When a player moves over one of these stations, the icon will
change to that of your character's icon. This is now one of your "Marks".
If a player moves over a mark, it will be changed to their mark, even if it
was already another player's.
You need a railroad path to have your "Mark" on each end in order to allow
you to purchase it.
---Fees for Traveling on Railroads-------------------------------------------
If you move onto a railroad that is unowned, you will have to pay $20 for
every space you move. If you move onto a space owned by another player, you
will have to give that player $100 for every space you move. There is no
charge to move over railroads you own. There is also never a charge to move
over a station (red squares).
---Damaged Railroads---------------------------------------------------------
Railroads can be damaged via effects incured during the roulette spins. When
this happens, you will not be able to move across a damaged space for 3
turns.
---Roulette Spins------------------------------------------------------------
At the end of every turn, you will have to spin a roulette wheel which will
have various effects. The effect for each roulette spin is listed below in
this section. There is no spin if you end your turn on a station (red tile).
Spin Effect
A-0 Win lottery. Receive $1000.
A-1 Get aid money. Receive $100 x roulette wheel spin.
A-2 For your hard work, you get $50 x roulette wheel spin.
A-3 Get $100 for your birthday.
A-4 Get $200 from a part time job.
A-5 Exchange your money with a random player's.
A-6 Exchange all owned railroads with a random player's.
A-7 Exchange all assets (money/railroads) with a random player's.
A-8 Get $100 x roulette spin as a bonus.
A-9 Get $100 for each railroad owned.
B-0 Buy any unowned railroad for the indicated price.
B-1 Earthquake. All railroads near a random station are damaged.
B-2 Get $200 as a gift from another player.
B-3 Sell one of your railroads.
B-4 Pay the indicated fee and destroy any railroad you want.
B-5 Warp to a random location.
B-6 Buy any railroad (opponent owned or unowned) for the indicated fee.
B-7 Your destination is randomly changed to another location.
B-8 Workers go on strike. No one can cross your railroads for 1 turn.
B-9 Buy any unowned railroad for the indicated price.
C-All Your employees go on a coffee break. Opponents are not charged to move
over your railroads for one turn.
D-0 Pay $500 due to an accident.
D-1 Pay $100 x roulette spin due to an accident.
D-2 Pay $100 for each railroad owned due to taxes.
D-3 Pay $100 x roulette spin for a souvenir.
D-4 Pay $100 x roulette spin for repairs.
D-5 Pay $200 to see the opera.
D-6 A snow storm damages all railroads near a random station.
D-7 A flood damages railroads that cross the water.
D-8 Pay $100 x roulette spin to an opponent as a gift.
D-9 Pay $100 x roulette spin to cover medical expenses.
E-0 Get $100 for each "Mark" you have.
E-1 Choose an opponent's railroad to make your own for free.
E-2 Obtain any unowned railroad for free.
E-3 All of your damaged railroads are immediately repaired.
E-4 Sell one of your railroads.
E-5 Get an extra turn.
E-6 Buy any unowned railroad for the indicated price.
E-7 A fire damages all railroads near a random station.
E-8 Choose a railroad to be damaged.
E-9 Buy any unowned railroad for the indicated price.
F-All Bet on a horse race. Press "A" to bet or "B" to decline. Choose a
horse to bet on by pressing up/down. The multiplier buy their name
tells you how much you win if you bet on them and they win the race.
Press left/right to change the amount you bet, in the range of
$50-$500. Press "A" to begin the race.
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- - - = = = ====== Menus ====== = = = - - -
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When it is your turn, you will see a menu on the right side of the screen.
At the top of the menu is an icon that represents your player and your name.
Below that is a bag of money icon, and next to that is shown your current
money in hand.
The next line says もくてきち ("Place of Destination"), with the name of the
station you need to try to arrive at to get a "clear". No need to pay
attention to these names, just use the map.
The next two lines show some stats:
つうかすう - "Number of Passage"
くりあすう - "Number of Clears"
Below those are four commands:
るーれっと - "Roulette". Spin the wheel to move.
せんろ かう - "Buy Railroad"
せんろ うる - "Sell Railroad"
まっぷ みる - "View Map"
If you press "B", you can see the current status of the other players.
After spinning the roulette wheel to move, you can press "A" any time while
you are moving to see these menu options:
まっぷ みる - "View Map"
さいしょにもどる - "Return to Beginning". Go back to where you started the turn
and redo your movement.
ここで とまる - "Stop Here". You can stop moving after moving less spaces than
the roulette spin indicated if you want.
This menu also shows your money in hand (next to the money bag icon) and the
number of spaces you can still move (the number next to the word あと -
"Remaining").
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- - - = = = === Conclusion === = = = - - -
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I hope you found this guide useful. If you have information that you'd
like to contribute or other suggestions for how the guide can be made better
or if you find any mistakes, please send it to
[email protected]. I
will give you the proper credit for your help.
Thanks to the NES FAQ Completion Project regulars for providing a fun
environment for exploring old, obscure games!
