Shanghai Mini review by substance J

One of the first few videogames I can recall playing, ever, is Shanghai. It was so easy to spend a half an hour on my ancient IBM computer, matching up the little tiles between rounds of Pac-Man on the Atari 2600. Now many years later I've somehow ended up with Shanghai Mini in my collection. Oddly enough, I play it casually between rounds of Pac-Man on my NGPC. What a strange, strange world...

Graphics
I'm a little surprised Shanghai was ever ported to a handheld console to begin with. It's no graphical showcase, but I wouldn't be the one to think, "hey, let's try to fit these few hundred tiny little mahjong tiles inscribed with complex characters onto this 160x152 screen." The result is quite good though. The many tiles are easy to discern without too much effort, and they don't look bad, either. Though it will start to strain the eyes after a while, and it can be difficult to judge the depth of some pieces. The presentation here is really good, especially in Tournament mode. Bruce Lee -- Shanghai player extraordinaire? The player characters are a really nice touch.

Sound
The pumped up 'Oriental' style tunes in Shanghai Mini are great. The BGMs are catchy and have a good pace to them, which really helps to keep you from getting burnt out as you repeatedly scan the board for matches. The SFX don't come into the picture much, as you'd expect.

Gameplay
Shanghai is one of the most universal games ever. You probably have a version of it packed along with your PC's operating system, or you've likely played one of its many incarnations elsewhere. If not, well, here goes. The base gameplay of Shanghai is very simple. There is a large board of stacked mahjong tiles with various characters printed on them. Matching tiles that rest on the top/edge of the arranged stack can be removed from play. This is continued until the entire board is cleared. It's hyper-simple, but does provide some strategy, if you think ahead and have a bit of luck on your side. The 3 gameplay modes (Classic, Tournament, Dynasty) presented in Shanghai Mini are all enjoyable and control well with the D-pad, which simulates the use of a mouse.

Overall
I found my copy of Shanghai Mini cheap (about $20), and I'd say it's been worth it for the price. The simple gameplay can be a relaxing alternative to the action games and fighters on NGPC, but it also provides a good challenge when you want it to. The solid production values are a nice bonus. Shanghai Mini is excellent for what it is. But...it is still just Shanghai. The pros and cons of that are as clear-cut as the gameplay itself. You'll either enjoy it, or be bored to death. You probably know already which way it will go for you.