麻雀64
Mahjong 64
Contents
1.Introduction
2.Translation Guide
1.Introduction
This is the second Mahjong game on the N64. It was reviewed in issue 3 of N64
Magazine, a U.K. Publication, and was given 65%, 4% less than Mahjong Masters.
They wrote "If you've never played Mahjong this would be a very tough way to
lean, with its copious Japanese text". However, if you can read Japanese this
game is actually a much better game than Mahjong Masters because it has several
practical lessons about how to play mahjong. Although, given the choice I would
rather play Mahjong Masters than this very serious game, because MM has a far
better sound track.
It has a story mode set in a Mahjong school, with various characters that chat
away as you play the game. This game requires 43 pages on a controller pak to
save. Its initial retail price was 8,580 yen, which seems a bit steep compared
to other games at the time.
There are 18 characters to play against, all of which have been rendered in ugly
CGI. Unlike the rubbery people of Majong Master, they went for a realistic look.
So the "humans" resemble characters in a foreign language text book from the
90s. There are nightmare inducing segmented 3D puppet hands which move the
titles. All in all, the game has this eerie, early 3D, uncanny valley feeling to
it.
Mahjong came to Japan from China, and it exists in numerous forms. The 4 player
Riichi version is most popular in Japan. It can be compared to the Western card
game rummy. An explanation of how to play Mahjong is far beyond the scope of
this guide, but I highly recommend Light Grunty’s YouTube channel and this free
book by Daiana Chiba:
https://dainachiba.github.io/RiichiBooks/
I would also suggest that you download the yaku (winning hands) cheat sheet from
worldriichi dot org. Trying to play Mahjong without knowing yaku means you are
very unlikely to win.
2.Translation Guide
A button – Confirm / Play a tile
B button – Cancel
Start Button – Game Start / display the menu
Z Trigger – Cancel
3D Stick / D Pad – Move the cursor
At the start of the game you enter a "Mahjong School". The aim is to learn the
basics of Mahjong and win several tournaments at school in order to graduate.
First choose which save file to use. You can hold L R and A to delete data
files. You are asked to first input your name and then your gender (男 male, 女
female). You will then be given two options, Rule Explanation or Start the Game.
If you choose to start the game you are then shown the map screen, with your
grade in the top right. Currently you are in the first grade. Going clockwise
from 12 o'clock the school buildings are:
校舎 School House, study the Mahjong curriculum.
記念講堂 Memorial Lecture Hall, join competitions here.
本部棟 The Main Building, Look at game records and rules.
校門 The school gate, quit the game here.
学生会館 Student Meeting Hall, play open games here.
図書館 The library, learn about Mahjong here.
When you pause the game, the following options will be shown:
View the current points of all players
View the records
View the current rules
View the Yaku (winning hands) sheet
Environment Settings
In the Library you can read the following tutorials
Problem Collection: Beginners Book
Prolem Collection: Practical Mahjong problems
Easy to understand Yaku sheet
Mahjong term dictionary
When you start the game the Memorial Lecture Hall will be locked.
Go to the School House and begin studying the curriculum. In the top right it
shows how many credits you need to advance to the next year group. Under that
are your current points. Then six lessons are listed from left to right.
In the bottom right of the screen there are two options, Go to the next school
grade, and start over. To beat this game you simply need to complete all the
lessons and earn enough credits to graduate. Good luck!
