Mini-Review of Unreal Mahjong Revision 2 Trial (東方幻想麻雀)
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:44 pm
After the response to my last Mini-Review I'm hesitant to post another. This game seems to have no obvious ero-elements and is only moderately pastel. 
Publisher: D.N.A. Softwares
Trial Download: Revision 0.41 Trial for Windows XP, Vista, Win7
Note, this program does not run well under Linux WINE. I was only able to get it running in a virtual XP box (if you are running some real flavor of Windows you will be fine)
The free trial does not appear to be time-based and seems to just have a limited set of features from the real game. It has, fortunately, most of the defaults for a modern Japanese Riichi game. The trial download is 52MB.
Unreal Mahjong Revision 2 is, apparently, an update to an older Mahjong game and is the precursor to Unreal Mahjong 3rd Generation. Only Revision 2 and 3rd Generation are still available for sale and supported by the publisher. These games boast an incredible number of characters (3rd Generation boasts something like 100 characters and more than twice that with art variations from different eras). Here in the trial you will have access to about a dozen characters.
While there is a Network mode included in the Trial, I've never been successful in getting it to play so I can't review it. The main 1P selection, however, is easy to navigate and fully functional - just with limited rule selection and character selection. When you select the main 1P game you are given a choice of East Only (Quarter Game) or the more common East-South (Half-Game) match selections. You can also play a 3P version of the game.
You can pick your characters - the first selection is who you play and the other three follow in suit. The trial gives access to a dozen of the characters.
Once you select your characters, you're pretty much into the main gameplay. There are no rules you modify on the way in (there is a very sparse settings screen for the trial as seen below). You play your standard Japanese Riichi mahjong - most of what you would expect is defaulted to enabled. Red Fives. Open Tanyo. Etc. The interface is straight-forward. You can double-click on a tile to discard it. All the standard options for PON/CHI/KAN/PASS, etc are available at the bottom and the game showcases your waits and legal discards, etc. All in all, it's what you would expect from a modern Mahjong with a solid User Interface. There are no voices (nor are there any in the full 3rd Generation game which I have) but the animations and sound effects are sufficient.
The winner is given a colorful screen showcasing the Yaku scoring elements and the points earned. Mangan!
During the game you can play with the BGM settings - selecting one of a half-dozen songs they provide in the trial.
There is a settings/options screen where you can change a few of the game settings. Mostly in the department of BMG and Sound Effects and Tile sets. There are a few game options in here as well.
There are also some non-standard Mahjong gameplay options. When you pick your characters you also pick a game parlor to play in. The standard Mahjong Parlor is just the normal Mahjong Riichi rules. In the other parlors they change up the rules - and give you access to individual character 'magic'. Your magic meter fills as you play and you can unleash some special character-specific power during the game. If you like your Mahjong a bit more pure, you'll likely not use this much. Admittedly, it is kinda fun to see the various powers for a change of pace!
Obviously I recommend trying Unreal Mahjong Revision 2 Trial. Mostly because it's free and does present a fine PC Mahjong Experience for the right price.
Publisher: D.N.A. Softwares
Trial Download: Revision 0.41 Trial for Windows XP, Vista, Win7
Note, this program does not run well under Linux WINE. I was only able to get it running in a virtual XP box (if you are running some real flavor of Windows you will be fine)
The free trial does not appear to be time-based and seems to just have a limited set of features from the real game. It has, fortunately, most of the defaults for a modern Japanese Riichi game. The trial download is 52MB.
Unreal Mahjong Revision 2 is, apparently, an update to an older Mahjong game and is the precursor to Unreal Mahjong 3rd Generation. Only Revision 2 and 3rd Generation are still available for sale and supported by the publisher. These games boast an incredible number of characters (3rd Generation boasts something like 100 characters and more than twice that with art variations from different eras). Here in the trial you will have access to about a dozen characters.
While there is a Network mode included in the Trial, I've never been successful in getting it to play so I can't review it. The main 1P selection, however, is easy to navigate and fully functional - just with limited rule selection and character selection. When you select the main 1P game you are given a choice of East Only (Quarter Game) or the more common East-South (Half-Game) match selections. You can also play a 3P version of the game.
You can pick your characters - the first selection is who you play and the other three follow in suit. The trial gives access to a dozen of the characters.
Once you select your characters, you're pretty much into the main gameplay. There are no rules you modify on the way in (there is a very sparse settings screen for the trial as seen below). You play your standard Japanese Riichi mahjong - most of what you would expect is defaulted to enabled. Red Fives. Open Tanyo. Etc. The interface is straight-forward. You can double-click on a tile to discard it. All the standard options for PON/CHI/KAN/PASS, etc are available at the bottom and the game showcases your waits and legal discards, etc. All in all, it's what you would expect from a modern Mahjong with a solid User Interface. There are no voices (nor are there any in the full 3rd Generation game which I have) but the animations and sound effects are sufficient.
The winner is given a colorful screen showcasing the Yaku scoring elements and the points earned. Mangan!
During the game you can play with the BGM settings - selecting one of a half-dozen songs they provide in the trial.
There is a settings/options screen where you can change a few of the game settings. Mostly in the department of BMG and Sound Effects and Tile sets. There are a few game options in here as well.
There are also some non-standard Mahjong gameplay options. When you pick your characters you also pick a game parlor to play in. The standard Mahjong Parlor is just the normal Mahjong Riichi rules. In the other parlors they change up the rules - and give you access to individual character 'magic'. Your magic meter fills as you play and you can unleash some special character-specific power during the game. If you like your Mahjong a bit more pure, you'll likely not use this much. Admittedly, it is kinda fun to see the various powers for a change of pace!
Obviously I recommend trying Unreal Mahjong Revision 2 Trial. Mostly because it's free and does present a fine PC Mahjong Experience for the right price.