Arcade Archives Vs. Mah-Jong

Genre: Mahjong

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local / Local Wireless)

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Review:

Vs. Mah-Jong is a version of traditional Mahjong (also called Mahjong Rummy) released in Japanese arcades in 1984. This is the second game in Nintendo’s Vs. series of Arcade games, and it was previously never released in Western territories. In 2020, this game was released untranslated on Nintendo Switch as a part of the Arcade Archives series.

Of all the classic Nintendo games never released in the West, I am baffled at Hamster, the folks behind the Arcade Archives series, making the choice to bring this of all games to the West. We are not hurting for Mahjong games on Nintendo Switch, and this one doesn’t seem to be better than other modern games. In fact, in many ways it’s far worse.

Putting aside the dated pixel art graphics that can make it difficult to make out the more ornate tiles, this version has menu choices in untranslated Japanese for some important game decisions, has a timer that ticks down on your turn even while playing against an AI opponent, doesn’t let you arrange tiles in your hand as you please, doesn’t have a tutorial for novice players, doesn’t notify novice players when the opponent has discarded a tile they can take, and…. ah yes, there’s only two players in a game, instead of the traditional four.

This release does make use of the Vs. Series’ signature 2-screen mechanic in multiplayer, so two players can hide their hands from each other while playing. There’s also an ability to play with local split-screen, but this defeats the purpose of playing a game where keeping your hand secret is vital.

This release of the game also includes a new “Hi-Score Mode” that challenges players to make as many points as they can in one run. There is also a new “Caravan Mode” that does much the same, but with the limit being five minutes. In addition, this release of the game gives players a decent array of options, including various display options, sound options, challenge modifiers, button mapping, and online leaderboards.

I could go on to get into the absurd $8 price tag, but why bother? This is an absolutely miserable version of traditional Mahjong, and those who enjoy this classic game have numerous better options on Nintendo Switch. Please play one of those instead.

tl;dr – Vs. Mahjong is a take on the classic tile game that lacks some major features, is going to be impenetrable to newer players of the game, doesn’t even include a standard 4-player mode, isn’t translated from Japanese, and despite this is still selling for $8. You have numerous options for Mahjong on Nintendo Switch, get something else instead.

Grade: F

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