Shanghai II

Shanghai II

PC-9800 - Japan - 1st edition.

Developer Sun Electronics, SystemSoft, AlfaSystem Publisher Sunsoft, SystemSoft, Hudson Soft Published 1989-10-?? Platforms Arcade, Game Gear, MSX2, NES, NEC PC-8800, NEC PC-9800, Sharp X68000, TurboGrafx-CD Genres Active puzzle, Cards, Match-finding, Passive puzzle, Puzzle, Single-screen Series Shanghai Multiplayer Alternating versus Distribution Commercial

Shanghai II is a mahjong solitaire video game developed and published by Sun Electronics in 1989 for the Arcade, and later ported to the NEC PC-9800, MSX2, Famicom, Game Gear, NEC PC-8800, Sharp X68000, and CD-ROM2 System. The game is the sequel to Shanghai and the second game in the Shanghai series. It was followed up by Shanghai III. It appears Activision only gave Sunsoft a license for Japanese distribution, as Shanghai II was only released in Japan. Activision created a different game with a similar title, Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye, for Western regions, however, confusingly, that game also saw a Japanese release on some of the same platforms in which Shanghai II was released. However, "Dragon's Eye" is the superior game.

Shanghai II expands upon the original Shanghai formula by adding five new tile layouts (and renames the turtle layout "dragon" for some reason). The computer ports let you save and load your game, and most ports let you undo moves, show available moves, and peek under tiles. New play modes include "campaign" where you try to finish every layout in order while being timed, "tournament" which gives you very little time to make as many matches as possible, and, in some ports, "2-player versus" where each player has only a few seconds to find a match before moving to the next player.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes.
Finished	MSX2: All solitaire layouts 2024-08-15, campaign mode 2024-08-20.

Having loved so many other Shanghai titles, and, haven't played a game in some time, I was eager to play this one. I found the MSX2 port to be the best looking, so I played it. After beating all the layouts on solitaire mode, I then tried to campaign mode which took me a couple dozen tries, but I eventually completed it.

Review

4	4	4	4	7

Best Version: NEC PC-9800

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The new features help make the game more accessible and increase it's replay-ability.
• The MSX2 and NEC PC-9800 ports have decent graphics.
• The CD-ROM2 System has decent music.

Bad

• The game is more like a level pack for the original game rather than a sequel. It adds some additional options and play modes, but that's about it.
• Most of the ports look bad. The Game Gear and Famicom ports just don't have the resolution to display the tiles effectively, and most ports use a terrible color palette which makes it difficult to distinguish between tiles.
• Most of the ports have bad or boring music.
• There isn't much of the way of a reward. Usually you just see a static "You Win" message, although there is a progressive background in campaign mode.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Box Art

• 

  CD-ROM2 System - Japan. Pretty nice Eastern dragon.

• 

  Famicom - Japan. Uses art from the arcade flyer. This is my favorite cover.

• 

  Game Gear - Japan. Eastern dragons taking tiles from a ship.

• 

  Sharp X68000 - Japan. Easter dragon line art.

• 

  SystemSoft - Japan. A rather bland cover with an Eastern dragon in a seal. Used for MSX2, NEC PC-9800, and NEC PC-8800. Each had a paper obi to signify the platform.

Documentation

• 

  Arcade flyer - Japan. An Eastern dragon playing Mahjong. This art was reused on the Famicom cover.

• 

  Arcade flyer - Japan. Alternate art.

Font

The font for the Famicom port is in the video game font collection.

Videos

Longplay - Game Gear - Solitaire.

Longplay - NES - Solitaire.

Game play - Arcade round 1-22.

Game play - NEC PC-8800.

Game play - NEC PC 9800.

Game play - Sharp X68000.

Game play - CD-ROM2 System.

Play Online

Arcade, CD-ROM2 System, Famicom, FDS Prototype, Game Gear, MSX2

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	There are no important characters.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are no important characters.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There are no important characters.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

The campaign mode of the MSX2 port has cutscenes after each layout where a mostly-nude magical woman grows from an infant to an adulthood.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	Shanghai II
Japanese	上海II	Shanghai II	Shanghai II

• MAME code: shangha2

Links