Platform: PSP, Nintendo DS

Genre: Puzzle

Number of Players: 1 or 2
 

There was a game on the SNES years ago that became something of an addiction. The game was Shanghai 2: The Dragon's Eye, but it was something that unfortunately didn’t really catch on with American gamers. Shanghai was more of a Japanese game, though times have changed and some games that the Japanese developers thought wouldn’t be accepted have become cult hits. Shanghai, or mahjong, is something that you can find quite easily on many online gaming sites, but as far as console games, it’s still a rarity here in North America.

Once again, imports save the day, and if you’ve been looking for an import title that can waste hours of your life, Shanghai is just the thing. The idea behind Shanghai, just in case you’re not familiar with it, is really quite simple, and this isn’t the classic mahjong but instead, the solitaire version. All you need to do is match two tiles to remove them from play. These tiles however are stacked on one another, so in order to reach the lower ones; you will need to match those that are on the upper portions.

Shanghai offers a number of different modes of play. First, there is the classic mode which can be played either as a timed or a free play mode. In timed, as you may have guessed, you do have a time limit. During play, you can use a clue that will allow you to see all possible matches, though you are limited to how many of these you can use. You can also go back as far as the moves so if you reach a point where you can’t find any matches, you can undo your progress and attempt to follow a different course of action. The free mod will also let you select different background music and themes and both modes let you select the degree of difficulty.

The challenge mode brings into play some new and unique tile layouts. This mode shows you how many tiles are left but it’s also a race against the clock so to speak. Once you’ve completed the screen, your total will be added into the list of high scores, so it’s always a challenge to see if you can do better each time. Once again you have the option to select the level of difficult and there are a number of different tile layouts to choose from. Another variant is a score mode and as you continue to eliminate tiles, there are moments when new titles appear on the play screen, then tiles will flip over, and the game continues to grow more complicated as you play further.

The extras mode of the game features more tile combinations to play. These are much like the classic mode where you can change the background image and the music that accompanies each of the puzzles. However, there are some other changes added into this portion of the gameplay. You have the standard variety of mahjong where you simply remove tiles, but you can opt for some other styles. There is one where each match has the tiles dropping into other portions of the field, another that flips tiles when you match and plenty of other options as well. If you are still looking for a challenge, there is a verses mode where you can play either against the computer or another player.

Shanghai is a game that doesn’t need complex graphics, and this doesn’t have them, though what you will find here looks great. The background don’t detract from what’s going on within the game itself, though the repetitive music can get a little annoying at times. The controls also allow you to use the analog to slightly flip the tiles left and right or up and down to get a better view of those that are covered, but the ability to zoom in would have been a nice touch.

Even though Shanghai might be completely in Japanese, it’s fairly easy to understand what’s going on and how to play it, though there might be a little bit of a learning curve at first. I’m a little surprised that no one here bothered to license the game for release here, but if you have some extra cash and you love games like this, it’s really not a bad import to add into your game library.
 

-mike-