プロ麻雀 兵64 雀荘バトルに挑戦 Pro Mahjong Soldier 64: Mahjong Parlor Battle Challenge 1.Introduction 2.Controls 3.How to play 4.Pro Players in the game 1.Introduction Released by Culture Brain for 6,480yen on 5-Nov-99, this is the 6th Mahjong game on the N64. The Tsuwamono of the title probably means soldier, but I suppose it could also be translated as warfare or strategy​. It is part of a long running series, but I find it one of the more boring Mahjong games. It features 16 real life players, some of which also featured in Athena's Pro Mahjong Extreme. It appears that it is part of a long running series of "Mahjong Soldier" games that have been released on many consoles. It one of the various games that Culture Brain released for the N64, including the fighting games Fist of the Flying Dragon Twin and SD Legendary Fist of the Flying Dragon, the half-hearted money grab; Nintamarantaro 64 Game Gallery, and the pet simulation Hamster Story. Culture Brain are still operating as of 2021 but it seems they have not released a game since 2017. Mahjong came to Japan from China, and it exists in numerous forms. The 4 player Riichi version is most popular in Japan. It can be compared to the Western card game rummy. An explanation of how to play Mahjong is far beyond the scope of this guide, but I recommend Light Grunty’s youtube channel and this free book by Daiana Chiba: https://dainachiba.github.io/RiichiBooks/ I also recommend downloading the Yaku (winning hands) cheat sheet from worldriichi dot org. 2.Controls 3D Stick / D Pad - Move the cursor A Button - Confirm B Button - Cancel Start Button - Pause 3.Translation guide The game requires 16 pages to save, so if you need to edit your controller pak then please hold down the Start Button with any game in the console. When you first start the game you are prompted to make your own character. You are asked to enter a name of four characters. After which select the 決定 option to continue. You will the be able to choose between male 男性 or female 女性. The game will then ask you to choose from one of four save files. You will then move to the main menu with the following options. 雀荘バトル　- Mahjong Parlor battle　－ Try to win the most points in 6 games. 大会 - Tournament - Join 3 original tournaments with differing rules フリー対局 - Free Game - Play against any of the 16 real players 指南モード- Instruction mode - Lessons for beginners and intermediate players 個人成績表 - Personal results - Look at your results here 総合ラン表 - Total rankings - Look at your combined ranking in the tournaments システム設定 - System settings - Change the tiles and rules here 雀荘バトル Mahjong Parlor battle There are 6 parlors to beat here. Each is owned by one of the 16 pro Mahjong players featured in the game. You will start each parlor with a set amount of points as follows Left side Animal House - Ara Masayoshi, 250 points Flying Dragon - Mitsuru Ando , 200 points Mentanpin - Tanaka Toshiharu, 250 points Right side Distinguished Citizen - Masateru Kaneko, 250 points Law - Masahito Iida, 200 points Blessings of Heaven - Takeo Kojima, 200 points 大会 - Tournament There are three tournaments to choose from CB 杯 - CB Cup - An 8 player tournament 各人戦 - Master Battle - A 16 player tournament, only the top 2 advance. 最強位戦 - Strongest Rank Battle - An 8 player round robin. 指南モード- Instruction mode Here you can choose your teacher, from a selection of historical Mahjong Players. Each has 1 beginner lesson and 2 intermediate lessons. 個人成績表 - Personal results screen CB 杯 - CB Cup wins 各人戦 - Master Battle wins 最強位戦 - Strongest Rank Battle wins クリア雀荘数 - Number of Mahjong Palors you have beaten Under that are your percentage rates for certain Mahjong actions. システム設定 - System settings Tile colours Tile back colours Music on or off Game speed Reset the rules to the default settings Change your name Reset your data Adjust the screen locaiton Go back 4.Pro Players in the game The game features 16 real life pro Mahjong players. 5 of them featured in Mahjong Extreme released in 1997.　Because the Japanese are generally very private people it is sometimes hard to find out information about individuals. 野吹　敬三 Keizo Nobuki A player who won the Japan Mahjong Alliance grand title in 1993. 高橋　正彦 Masahiko Takahashi A former pro player who now runs a Mahjong club in Tokorozawa. It is "A healthy mahjong with the motto "Don't drink liquor, don't smoke and don't bet. In order to enjoy the spirit of healthy mahjong try to be gentle to the other players. Please do not hum shamisen tunes and strictly refrain from criticizing you opponents." 荒 正義 Ara Masayoshi 1952- Born in Hokkaido, Masayoshi is an offensive type player who has won several major Mahjong competitions including the grand title in 1997 and 2003. He has also written many books about Mahjong. He initially planned to retire early and "live in a town near the sea with a harbor so I can eat delicious fish every day", however due to the effects of the bubble economy he was forced to continue playing Mahjong. 原田　正史 Masahashi Harada A player who won the Pheonix Battle competition in 1997. 木村和幸 Kazuyuki Kimura Kimura still plays Mahjong and recently won a major tournament in 2020. He is now a Junior High School baseball coach, and he runs his own twitter account. 村田　光陽 Mitsuyo Murata 1968 Born in Tokyo in 1968, he was active as a pro for about 20 years. He now runs his own blog about Mahjong. 沢崎　試 Sawasaki Makoto 1955- Born in Gunma, he grew up on his parents farm. When he was young boy he suffered from empyema and often missed school. When he became a Junior High school student facilities were built around the farm causing the business to fail, and putting Makoto's future in jeopardy. He discovered Mahjong at university in Tokyo. However when he was 26 his wife left him and he was so shocked that he could not find a job for a long time. He later started working at a Mahjong parlor which Takeo Kojima often attended. He turned pro at the age of 29, and now at the age of 60 he has taught the current generation of champions. But he is still winning competitions to this day. Sawasaki's motto is "Have fun and win." " 下山　道夫　Michio　Shimoyama I can't find any information about this player. Sorry! 前原　雄大 Yudai Maehara 1956- Born in Tokyo, Maehara became interesting in Mahjong after reading Mahjong manga as a child. He earned the nicknames"Kabukicho Monster", "Super Beast", and "Hell's Gatekeeper". However, he dislikes the nickname "Gatekeeper of Hell", saying that "whether it is heaven or hell, a great person is usually not just a gatekeeper." On October 22, 2019, at Daiwa Securities M League he was involved in some controversy after he pointed his fingers to the heavens in a victory pose. He was given a yellow card after it was ruled that his victory pose could be interpreted as "inciting the other players". The decision was controversial and a team mate of Maehara's later also repeated the pose in solidarity after winning a game. It has now become Maehara's signature gesture. 安藤 満 Mitsuru Ando 1949-2004 He was a well known pro-Mahjong player and teacher. He took the title of Master in 1989. But in the very same year he was diagnosed with cancer which he fight for the rest of his life. 飯田　正人 Masahito Iida 1949-2012 He played in the A League of the Japanese Professional Mahjong League for 28 terms, longer than any other player in history. He was planning to return to the game when he died of cancer. Hailed as perhaps the greatest player in Japanese history he was nicknamed "Mr. Highest", "Great Mahjong Genie" and "The White Whale. 小島 武夫 Takeo Kojima 1936-2018 The "star" of the game. Kojima was promoted prominently on the box art. He was a well known player, nicknamed Mr Mahjong. He was the first chairman of the Japan Professional Mahjong League. His rank was 9. He hosted several late night Mahjong programs and wrote many Mahjong guides. Even at 75 he managed to win a Mahjong grand prix in 2011. Due to making most of his income from gambling he did not receive any kind of pension from the Japanese government. He passed away at the age of 82 from heart failure. 金子　正輝 Masateru Kaneko 1956- Nicknamed "the cat", he is famous for pausing and thinking for long periods of time without moving, even when appearing live on TV. Some commentators have joked that watching his games is like watching a still image. He owns Mahjong parlors in Fukuoka and Saitama prefectures. He enjoys traveling and it is said that he travels to South Korea once a month. 清水　香織 Shimizu Kaori　1973- Born in Tochigi prefecture, she is the first woman to win the G1 title throne. Her nickname is the Cement Queen because of her attack style. 渡辺　洋香 Yoko Watanabe 1973?? Born in Oita prefecture, she became a pro player in 1997. In 2002 she became the highest ranked female player. Aside from being a pro Mahjong player she has also modeled and in 2006 she opened her own Mahjong Parlor called "Fairy".