FamiQuest #0005 – Mahjong

June 11, 2018 Dylan Cornelius Leave a comment

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TILE IN THE WORLD

PUBLISHER/DEVELOPER: Nintendo

RELEASE DATE: 08/27/1983

I’m already overwhelmed.

The road to completing this FamiQuest is fraught with mahjong and baseball titles, including but not limited to Mahjong and Baseball. The latter is coming up soon, but Mahjong is already here as the fifth tile- er, title in the Famicom lineup. It is what you might expect, simple two-player riichi mahjong between you and the computer.

Do you know how to play mahjong? Then Mahjong will likely be a slow-paced experience, especially if you’re used to playing online, or against two to three other people in real life. Don’t expect to modify rules or find any options here. You can’t even compete against a friend. You challenge the computer in easy, normal, and hard difficulty modes, and that’s it.

I think I’ll just take my 30,000 and go home.

Do I know how to play mahjong? Sort of. I’ve learned the basics for the sake of reviewing SG-1000 mahjong titles, but not long after I learn, I forget. Perhaps it’s because I don’t play regularly, but that seems unlikely. I like the idea of mahjong, I rarely forget the rules of games I enjoy playing, and the core experience doesn’t seem that complex. For whatever reason, mahjong just never seems to stick.

Even though I can’t play very well, Mahjong still strikes me as a serviceable, if antiquated experience. Fine for 1983, unreasonably quaint for today.

1983: B, if you love mahjong

Today: C, even if you love mahjong.