Yakuman (役満) is a 1989 mahjong video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for its handheld Game Boy as one of the Japanese launch titles. It is the first entry in a series of first-party Japanese mahjong games on Nintendo systems, with sequels on the Famicom,[1] Game Boy Advance,[2] DS,[3] Wii,[4] Wii U,[5] and 3DS.[6]

Yakuman
Cover art
Developer(s)Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Composer(s)Hirokazu Tanaka
Platform(s)Game Boy
Release
  • JP: April 21, 1989
  • CHN: 1995
Genre(s)Board game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Summary edit

 
A sample game of Yakuman being played.

As one of the four original Game Boy games available for the Japanese launch of that system on April 21, 1989, Yakuman was released alongside Alleyway, Super Mario Land, and Baseball. It is the only game of the four that was never released outside Japan. It has both a single player mode and a two player versus mode.[7]

Japanese mahjong is a four player tile-based game where the goal is to take points from other players by drawing and discarding tiles until a winning hand is made. A "Yakuman" is a class of rare and valuable winning hands that can be composed of different combinations of tiles than normal hands.[8] The mahjong in Yakuman is a two player variation of this game.[9]

Legacy edit

The Yakuman Player as seen on the cover art appears as a collectible sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[citation needed] He appears again, as a spirit, in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ "役満天国". 「FCのゲーム制覇しましょ」まとめ. 17 November 2008.
  2. ^ "どこでも対局 役満アドバンス". www.nintendo.co.jp.
  3. ^ "役満DS". www.nintendo.co.jp.
  4. ^ "役満Wii 井出洋介の健康麻将". www.nintendo.co.jp.
  5. ^ "役満 鳳凰 | Wii U | 任天堂". 任天堂ホームページ.
  6. ^ "役満 鳳凰". www.nintendo.co.jp.
  7. ^ Yakuman at MobyGames
  8. ^ "Japanese Mahjong Scoring". August 16, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16.
  9. ^ 役満. www.nintendo.co.jp (in Japanese).
  10. ^ Hernández, David (December 21, 2018). "Todos los espíritus en Super Smash Bros Ultimate". Hobby Consolas. Retrieved January 26, 2024.

External links edit