Overview
Feudal Japan Mahjong game.
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Sengoku Mahjong is one of the rare 4-player mahjong titles for the PC Engine (1 human and 3 computer-controlled players). The game pits you against 12 real life historical figures from the warring states or sengoku period of Japan in the 15th and 16th centuries such as Yodogimi, Nene and the wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo.
The game has two modes, normal and campaign. Normal mode lets you select your opponents and then play a single set of mahjong games. Campaign mode is centered around a map screen where you attempt to reunify Japan by winning areas via mahjong games.
This is one of the earlier mahjong titles for the PC Engine, having come out at the end of the 1980s. As such, it is relatively simple compared to more story driven games that would come later on the platform. However, this game does exhibit quite a bit of personality and charm in the characters, their reactions, animations and dialogue. Each character has corresponding voice lines for the various mahjong moves like pon and chi, but they all share either the male or female voice. Each character is represented by a different pitch and tone as their text is printed to screen, giving them more differentiation and character.
Aside from the character portraits which are well drawn and animated, there isn't much else here visually. The board pieces are easy to identify, but the player might need to use the scroll feature to get a full picture of the game state.
The game is forgiving to newer players in that you cannot declare an illegal move and thus lose the game. Also, once you have declared richii, the game will automatically declare a win for you once your final tile appears. The difficulty for this game is reasonable, and it never feels like the game is cheating behind the scenes.
Overall this is an entertaining and approachable title for those who have at least a basic understanding of how to play. It is also somewhat unique in that the vast majority of mahjong games for the PC Engine are two player style, and not four player style. However, there are many other titles that have either training elements for newer players, or that have more exciting visuals, sounds, story elements and even RPG elements. For a straightforward four player style mahjong game that's easy to approach, Sengoku Mahjong is a great choice.
Robert DeVoe |
