Support NeoGAF

[Koren]

I guess that very few people are interested in this, but I'd like to know if anyone can give me some advice on Mahjong games on handhelds (mainly DS, but I'm interested in PSP too).

There's a few games available, but it's really hard to find reviews on those games. I'm looking for 4 players MJ, complete (customizable) rules, good AI (online would be interesting, too), touch screen play and download play if available...

I found some games, listed below, maybe missed some others. Any useful advices ?


* Nihon Pro Mahjong Kishikai Kanshuu Pro Ni Naru Mahjong DS (Success, 11/24/05)
Apparently, it's a game supervised by pros, with tutorial and advices. One could expect correct IA, but, who know... Download play also available.

* Yakuman DS (Nintendo Intelligent Systems)
Nintendo game, with Nintendo character. I don't mind. I saw a few very good reviews, and I love Intelligent Systems. but I fear that, while it's accessible, its play is not very solid and rules are kept simple (although Nintendo published several Mahjong games in the past. Are they any good ?)

* Kidou Gekidan Haro Ichiza: Gundam Mahjong DS (Bandai, 12/31/05)
I don't really care about licence, but that's not at all a problem. Lots of unlockables, voice acting.

* Minna no Mahjong DS (MTO)
Don't know anything about this one, although there's also an association of Mahjong behind it.

* Simple DS Series Vol. 1: The Mahjong (D3)
Cheap one, but it's said to be quite a good surprise, with an especially good storyline ?

* Mahjong Taikai (Koei)
Very nice, but I heard it was quite bad, actually...


Did you try any of those ?

Thanks a lot...

 

[Sho Nuff]

Good Christ WE'VE FINALLY FOUND THE GUY THAT BUYS THEM.

 

[meppi]

I wish I could help, but I'm more into Shanghai games myself. Looking forward to the new one on DS.

I also have a Go game on the PSP, but I'm pretty bad at it tbh. And I'm looking for a DS copy also since that will be the only way I'll be able to get some multiplayer out of it.

 

[SantaC]

Good Christ WE'VE FINALLY FOUND THE GUY THAT BUYS THEM.

:lol

 

[DCharlie]

buy PSP Mahjong fight club (konami) - it's REALLY good, and i'm TOTALLY SERIOUS.

 

[Koren]

Good Christ WE'VE FINALLY FOUND THE GUY THAT BUYS THEM.

:lol I guess I was asking for this...

I only bought one (PC) Mahjong game (Four winds, very good), so I suppose you'll have to search elsewhere ! (already 6+ games on DS, I can't be the only one)



meppi : I use gnugo myself (on my PDA for portable go), and I don't want to play too much computer go, so I wait for online play with incoming telegame's board games collection.

buy PSP Mahjong fight club (konami) - it's REALLY good, and i'm TOTALLY SERIOUS.

Thanks... Don't have a PSP yet, but I'll remember it.

 

[Jonnyram]

Don't get Yakuman DS... the face of the pieces isn't that clear. In fact, I think the GBA version is better.
No wait, you can buy my copy - it's reeeeeally good, honest

 

[radios shipping overview]

There was a similar thread about this recently, elsewhere. Yakuman DS ended up being recommended, along with Mahjong Keiji for GBA:

Vol.1 The Mahjong is a good game, but it's really dry. The introduction is technically less impressive than Choumakaimura's on SFC, and there is stupid stuff like not being able to hear what BGM you picked in the options before playing a game. There are neither many modes nor much help, it's just a fine one player story mode where you must beat different boss characters by winning games with specific conditions (like winning with twice as much money as the boss, beating the boss with one of his own tiles, stuff like that...), and a fun multiplayer game because of the pictodoodlechat thingy.

Now the really good thing about Vol.1 The Mahjong is that, either in multiplayer or against the CPU, it also manages 2-player taisen mahjong (the rule used in most 18+ mahjong games such as SuchiPai and Taisen Gimmick) and even 3-player mahjong, which is quite an uncommon feature. This versatility is the game's main strong point. And it's also the DS mahjong game I play the most (note that I only own this one and Yakuman, I only tried the other ones through means too shameful to mention).

Yet Yakuman DS still gets my vote as the INSERT CREDIT AWARDS 2005 BEST MAHJONG GAME ON THE NINTENDO DS, which IGN awkwardly forgot to include in their humongous list of 79½ award categories per console. There are a lot of reasons for saying it's the best mahjong game of the year, which I explained in a long stealthy review that got lost somewhere.

In a nutshell, Yakuman DS is your friend. It does everything possible to teach you mahjong with numerous modes and challenges. It has a mahjong school with Lakitu as a teacher and one of the most complete and effective mahjong dictionaries, that cleverly considers the touching screen to allow hypertext functions (words in blue in any text can be clicked to read their definition). Yakuman DS also has various "learning curve" options such as the ability to see what are the dangerous tiles in your hand if you are not used to take advantage of the information given by discard tiles, or having the CPU giving you a clue to what would be the safest tile to drop in your next move. This last option is very well balanced in that an expert player can still win against a new player using it. Yet if the new player watches carefully what tiles the CPU chooses (instead of blindly following its advices), he or she can learn more about the basic strategies of mahjong. And all those different options can be selected or disabled in multiplayer plays. For instance you can show your hand to newbie friends without them showing theirs, and/or have one of them being helped by the CPU to know which tile to drop. Intelligent Systems developed the game and there's as much consideration put in Yakuman DS as there is in Famicom Wars DS. It only costs 3800 yens new, so it's not much more expensive than Vol.1 The Mahjong (2800 yens new).

However, there's a GBA slot in the DS. So if you really want to go for the best Mahjong game playable on the system, it's 麻雀刑事 ("Maajan Keiji" > Mahjong Detective) on GBA, hands down. One of the very first games of the GBA, released by Hudson not long after the system's launch. Here's the official site. It's not as cheap as the others if you buy it new, but you can also find it used for much less. It does mutliplayer with a single cartridge, although you'll obviously need four GBAs and a link cable to do so, since the DS doesn't allow that. Best single player mode ever, with a real investigation and completely insane characters. Kind of the (much awesomer) spiritual successor to Mahjong Cop Ryuu, which I'll talk about in the 5 games topic if I find the time.

http://forums.insertcredit.com/viewtopic.php?t=1517