Comparison

Train Maker vs Japanese Train Drive Sim 2

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Train Maker

Design and assemble your own unique trains by combining various carriages. Watch your creations travel through diverse landscapes, tunnels, and crossings, experiencing the journey with vibration feedback. Collect new trains and explore different camera angles for an immersive railway adventure.

Highlights
  • Freely combine train carriages
  • Eight diverse stages to travel through
  • Switchable camera views
  • Adjustable train speed and stopping
  • Earn track miles and use train roulette for new trains
  • Train collection and organization
Features
Read full description

Create your own trains by freely uniting the carriages of bullet trains and regular trains in any way you want! The trains you create will travel through tunnels and railway crossings. You can experience the bumpy experience with the vibration feature once your train gets going. This is the perfect game app for anyone who loves trains. User feedback "It's really cool that so many trains are united with the rail yard!" "It's so fun to unite the white bullet train with the yellow bullet train!" "It's exciting to see the carriages of the united bullet trains moving up slopes!" Features of this app *You are free to unite your own choice of "leading carriages," "middle carriages," and "tail carriages" of bullet trains and trains. *You can choose from eight different stages that your train will travel through: "a mountain and a tunnel", "lots of railway crossings", "a big river and a railway bridge", "highway route","Japanese scenery","Jet coaster","Inbound and outbound" and "Pass through many". *You can switch between camera views and watch your running train from your favorite angle. *You can use the "UP" and "DOWN" buttons to change the speed of your train or stop it. *You can get new trains by accumulating "track miles," which you earn according to the distance you have traveled, and by turning the train roulette. How to play 1. The game begins at the rail yard. First, tap the "Create" button to create your train. 2. After selecting your first train, tap the "+" button to select the next train. 3. You can tap the "-" button to remove carriages. 4. When you are done, tap the "Finish" button in the top right corner to return to the rail yard. The train you have created will be shown at the top. 5. Tap the "GO" button on the right and select your preferred stage in the stage selection screen. 6. On the play screen, you can adjust the speed of your train using the bottom left button, change the camera distance with the bottom right button, focus the camera on your choice of carriage using the top right button, and freely adjust the camera position by dragging the area outside of the train. Give it a go and find the coolest angle! 7. You can tap and hold to stop the camera. It is also exciting to wait for a passing train to come back. 8.Tap the arrow button on the upper left to return to the railroad yard from the play screen. You can then check how many "Track miles" you've earned for the distance you've traveled. 9.100 Track Miles lets you play Train Roulette one time. You can link up the trains you win in Train Roulette to have more fun. 10.Check your Train Collection to see the trains you've collected so far. (You can check your Train Collection from the rail yard screen.) 11. You can tap the "Organizing" button at the rail yard to change the order of trains or delete trains that you do not want. 12. From the Settings button on the title screen, you can also toggle settings such as music, sound effects, image quality, vocal effects, and vibration mode.

About

Japanese Train Drive Sim 2

Experience realistic train and subway operation, managing doors, and enjoying diverse routes with changing weather and times of day. Encounter random events and engage in shunting tasks for an immersive simulation.

Highlights
  • One-man train operation
  • Door control
  • Multiple vehicle types
  • Variable weather and time of day
  • Scenic routes
  • Random accident events
  • Coupling and shunting
Features
Read full description

Drive local railway trains and municipal subways to support the city’s infrastructure! Since this is a "one-man operation," you will open and close the doors by yourself. You can also change viewpoints to see inside the train or outside scenery. Various types of vehicles appear. In the railway edition, nostalgic trolley cars, MT54 motor-equipped trains, and even EF-type electric locomotives for freight make an appearance. Enjoy the thrilling motor sounds and speed with a top speed of about 80 km/h. The railway edition offers a variety of driving environments such as different weather like rain, and times of day like morning, noon, and night. There are many sights along the line, including bridges and temples. Enjoy a nostalgic scenery throughout the entire line. Random accidents like people or cars entering the tracks may occur. There are also stages involving coupling and shunting. In the subway edition, you can operate a modern subway featuring platform screen doors at some stations and external monitoring cameras to observe passengers.

Screenshots

Train Maker4 screens
Japanese Train Drive Sim 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Train Maker at none against Japanese Train Drive Sim 2's 14. Train Maker also leads on ratings volume (870 vs 7). Japanese Train Drive Sim 2's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. Train Maker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Train Maker has 870 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Train Maker's written reviews are positive against 85% of Japanese Train Drive Sim 2's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Train Maker ships an update every 3 months, Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Train Maker versus Japanese Train Drive Sim 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrain MakerJapanese Train Drive Sim 2
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (870 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.1% of reviews84.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings870 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB356 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developermonois Inc.Hiromi Hakozaki

Customer experience

Train Maker

All ratings870 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews88 reviews
Positive76.1%
Neutral11.4%
Negative12.5%

Japanese Train Drive Sim 2

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive84.7%
Neutral11.9%
Negative3.4%

Bugs and requests

Train Maker

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Trains switching order at the end of the line
  • Limited to 16 carriages per train
  • Restricted to 180-degree turns instead of 360 degrees

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more trains (Hikari RailStar, Avlo, Amtrak Acela, etc.)
  • Ability to create custom tracks and layouts
  • Add more camera views and driving modes
  • Implement sound effects and animations (horn, lights, doors, etc.)
  • Allow multiple trains on a single line

Japanese Train Drive Sim 2

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Train Maker

No in-app purchases

14 purchases

Japanese Train Drive Sim 2

One-time14
  • Unlock Limited Express timetable$1.99
  • Unlocke "Mizumaki – Nagaremachi”$1.99
  • 1700形車両を開放$1.99
Show 11 more
  • 1100形車両を開放$1.99
  • Unlock trains with points$1.99
  • Unlock stages with points$1.99
  • Unlock H-Ohdori〜Gobara route$1.99
  • Unlock Series 200 train$1.99
  • Unlock Nanko〜Depot route$1.99
  • Unlock coupling operation$1.99
  • Unlock Series 3000 train$1.99
  • Unlock Coin-Based Restrictions$1.99
  • Unlock Normal Stages$1.99
  • Ad-Free Play$2.99

Questions

Is Train Maker free?
Train Maker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 free?
Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Train Maker or Japanese Train Drive Sim 2?
Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 is rated higher. Train Maker averages 4.7 out of 5 from 870 ratings, while Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Train Maker or Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 have ads?
Both Train Maker and Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 show ads.
Which is updated more often, Train Maker or Japanese Train Drive Sim 2?
Train Maker ships an update every 3 months, and Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 fortnightly. Most recently, Train Maker was updated on October 29, 2026 and Japanese Train Drive Sim 2 on October 27, 2026.

Other comparisons