The premise is simple, easy to learn, and highly addictive. Every version of Shanghai also has at least one type of undo function which allows you to take back the last step you made ( Shanghai II also offers a shuffle option that allows randomly re-arranging the remaining game pieces, which gives players another chance of solving the game should they get stuck). As with all Solitaire-type of games, lack of proper planning may sooner or later lead into an unsolvable dead end. If you can’t find a matching pair, a hint function highlights open tiles, but that option should be used with care. Players need to plan ahead which pairs to remove first in order to open up other tiles. While picking matching pairs is very easy at first, the game gets harder and more strategic over time. Game pieces can only be selected as long as they are “open” to either the left or the right side, and as long as there isn’t another tile on top of them. The player is now tasked to remove that stack by taking away two identical stones in each turn. At random, the 144 game pieces (which consist of two sets of 34 matching pairs native to Mahjong, as well as two additional matching quartets) are stacked into a tower somewhat resembling a turtle. Due to its single player nature, Shanghai is therefore often referred to as Mahjong Solitaire. Shanghai shouldn’t be confused with Mahjong itself, even though they generally use the same game pieces, since the latter is usually played by two to four players in a gameplay style reminiscent of rummy. In its most basic iterations, players are presented with a tower made out of 144 individual gaming stones, which are usually taken from the classic Chinese game Mahjong. So, the decision was made that instead of localizing the Japanese version of the “uninteresting sequel,” Activision would port the older Shanghai II: Dragon’s Eye and make it the better game! Interestingly enough, from that point onwards sequels in the series would drop numerical references altogether.įor those of you who still don’t know what I’m talking about, Shanghai is a simple, but addictive puzzle game. But the end result, in his own words, “ stunk: The graphics were ugly, and the game didn’t have any interesting features to add”. According to him, marketing had decreed that Dragon’s Eye Plus had to be a numerical sequel. What had happened? Well, if the lead designer of the Shanghai series over at Activision at the time, Tom Sloper, is to be believed, it’s mainly because they were unhappy with what the Japanese developers had made out of the game. So while 1991 had already seen the release of Dragon’s Eye Plus: Shanghai 3 in Japan, in 1994 the US would apparently receive the earlier game instead. However, three years after that sequel had graced Japanese Mega Drives with its presence, Activision decided to port its earlier PC title Shanghai II: Dragon’s Eye for the American Genesis, handing the port over to Brian A. created and published Dragons Eye Plus: Shanghai 3, which basically was a port of Shanghai II and released it for both the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafX CD respectively. The following year, the Japanese software house Home Data Corp. Both versions were still developed by Activision. It now included more variations of the same premise, as well as an additional, new gameplay mode. But when the game was first released in the West in 1990, it had been changed a bit and was now known as Shanghai II: Dragon’s Eye. In 1989, Shanghai II appeared on Japanese MSX computers, as well as the TurboGrafx CD home console. Even the Sega Master System was graced with its own version in 1988. In the wake of this unexpected success, the title was over the following two years virtually every other platform imaginable, be it handheld, console or home computer. Let’s dig a bit into it: In 1986, Activision had landed a surprise hit with the original Shanghai on the more graphically advanced home computers of the day, especially the Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga. However, the Genesis version of Shanghai II has a rather intriguing and convoluted development history behind it. Shanghai is maybe one of the oldest but still ongoing video game series in existence: Almost every platform imaginable has by now seen one version or another, from the Apple II to the Nintendo Wii. Publisher: Activision Players: 1 Released: 1994
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