Neoseeker : Tokoro's Mahjong Jr. (Import) FAQs : Tokoro's Mahjong Jr. (Import) FAQ/Walkthrough

Tokoro's Mahjong Jr. (Import) FAQ/Walkthrough

by KeyBlade999   Updated to vFinal on
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  • Game: Tokoro's Mahjong Jr.
  • Console: GameBoy
  • File Type: Formatted FAQ
  • Author: KeyBlade999 (a.k.a. Daniel Chaviers)
  • Version: Final
  • Time of Update: 10:11 PM 4/10/2013
  • File Size: 15.5 KB



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Introduction

Welcome to another one of my FAQs. This particular FAQ covers Tokoro's Mahjong Jr. This is another generic game based on the world-famous games of mahjong, which used to have quite the following after Joseph Babcock "Americanized" the game soon after World War I. While not as popular today, it still remains to be one of the most entertaining games I know.

It's been over fifteen years since this game's initial launch back in the 1990s by Vic Tokai and Milestone. And since then, not a single FAQ has been written for it. Well, there's always a first time for everything, no? Ever since the start of the GB FAQ Completion Project on GameFAQs several years ago - a project designed to get a guide out for every single GB game out there - many people have now been helped because older, rarer, less popular games have gotten guides.

And so, that is how I came upon this game. Thanks for listening to my ramblin'; hope you enjoy!





Basics of the Game

Starting Up

When you arrive at the title screen, press the Start Button to get a set of options.



After having chosen a mode with the A Button, you'll then choose avatars as applicable, then the game begins.

Here, you'll basically choose three AI players to play against. Afterwards, you see who gets the



Traditional Mahjong

The game field is simpler than in most mahjong games on a console. There are four portraits representing the four players - you are the bottommost of them. Next to each player, you'll find their current score, their discarded tiles (most recent at the right), and their name. To their left is their prevailing-wind tile.

You can also find a "Dora" tile by pressing the Select Button. On the block of tiles you'll soon see will be the "Dora" tile. This tile has a value one under that of the bonus tile, one that will likely make you take more points from your opponents - if the Dora tile is Bamboo 3 for example, then the bonus tile is Bamboo 4.

In mahjong, your goal is to use the 13 tiles in your hand, plus one that you can draw or your opponent discards, to create some various hands. The end goal is to get "mahjong" - the use of all of those tiles in various hands or melds without "overlapping" the sets. These will obviously be based on two things. First is the tile's value - whether it is "one", "two", whatever. With the Circle and Bamboo suits, this is easy - just count the number of figures on there! With the Chinese and Honor suits, it's a bit more difficult. You can just look at the image below. It's not an exact representation of the in-game images, but it's close enough.

^l1|The tiles.

As for the various hands, there are four main ones.

Hand Type Definition Examples
Pair Any two tiles that are exactly alike. Two Bamboo 4's, two blank tiles.
Pung Any three tiles that are exactly alike. Three Circle 2's, three Character 1's.
Kong Any four tiles that are exactly alike. Four Circle 5's, four Bamboo 4's.
Chow Sequence of three tiles of same suit. Bamboo 1-2-3, Circle 4-5-6.

There are also several special hands. These don't actually seem to use the "use all 13 (+1) tile" definition, so take it with a grain of salt, because I've yet to confirm them. However, also note that, with their rarity, comes extremely powerful attacks - it's a double-edged sword: you'll go for broke intentionally trying for these, so it's best to hope you get something close by chance.

Hand Type Definition
Thirteen Orphans 1 through 9 of a suit, each wind, each dragon, and one more of those used.
Heavenly Gates 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9 of any suit plus one of those used.
Hidden Pong Hand Four pungs you didn't steal.
Kong Hand Four kongs.
Honors Hand Hand consists of only wind and dragon (Honor-suit) tiles.
Pearl Dragon Three circle pungs/kongs, a circle pair, and a pung/kong of blank tiles.
Ruby Dragon The above, but uses the Chinese character set in lieu of circles.
Jade Dragon The above, but uses the Bamboo character set.
Great Dragons Three pungs of the Dragon tile set.
Great Winds Four pungs of the four Wind tiles.

When making the hands, there is but one other condition: you are only allowed to use one or zero pairs. The only exception is a hand made of seven pairs, though.

Turns will go from you to your opponent and back again. There is a distinct process to this. During this time, there are references to various actions.


  • Firstly, if you're able to steal an opponent's last drawn tile, you can do so. A dialogue box will appear signifying the possible hands you can make when such can happen. If you want one, hover the cursor over the option and press the A Button; if you don't like any of them, just press the B Button.
    • NOTE: If the tile you are about to steal will complete a mahjong hand, just call mahjong or don't take it. The mahjong option looks more like a square when referring to "stolen completions".

  • After that point, if you stole a tile, you'll need to discard one from your hand. Use Left/Right on the D-Pad to choose, and the A Button to discard.

  • If you didn't get the chance to steal a tile (normally your first turn), a tile will be drawn for you. This tile will be found in the lower-rightmost part of the screen, in the rightmost portion of your hand.

  • Then you get to discard a tile, same as if you'd stolen a tile.
    • Alternative: Call mahjong or tenpai. More on the meaning later. You can access the menu with the B Button, if such is possible. To call Tenpai, you'll use the Japanese name in the menu that looks like it is two characters with a dash; to call Mahjong, you'll use the other, second option that is only two characters, with the second looking almost like an "E".

  • This pretty much loops until the end. This can be upon mahjong being called, in most games, or you'll start a new match after 18 tiles are discarded.

  • As you play, you can call Tenpai. This takes away 1,000 points if successful. This means that you only lack a single tile from having a mahjong hand. This forces you to only draw and discard the drawn tile until you get the tile that makes a mahjong hand. Note that the mahjong-making tile can come from either the tile you draw or your opponent's last-discarded tile.
    • This seems to not be allowed if you steal a tile, or with a Tenpai involving a seven-pair hand.

After a match successfully ends, the scores are calculated appropriately. The main basises for this are the rarity of the hands you've gotten, and the "Dora" tiles. If you look at the revealed tile on the central dead-wall during the match, you'll get to see it. That tile is one below the value of a bonus tile - for example, if the "Dora" tile is a Bamboo 5, then the bonus tile is a Bamboo 6. Got it?

Hands will generally end with everyone has discarded eighteen tiles, or someone successfully calls mahjong. After enough matches, an overall winner can be determined due to someone's score hitting zero (usually), and you'll be allowed to continue along to the next match as necessary. To win a mahjong match, your opponent's score must hit zero; you lose if yours does.



Strategies/Tips

  • Look at your hand and see what is a meld - and therefore should NOT be discarded - and what is close to a meld. Statistically speaking, completing a Chow (three-tile straight) is more likely in most cases than Pungs or Kongs. If you have an excessive meld (i.e. a four-tile straight), you'll need to analyze other potential options for the outlying tiles of the meld (lowest/highest, or just any one in a five-plus pairing) and, if you can't find one that's very likely, drop it.

  • Tiles in the suits (Bamboo, Characters, and Circles) tend to be best used for Pungs, Chows, and Kongs, whereas your others are better left for Pairs, if anything.

  • Leave yourself with as many options as possible. For example, let's say you're trying to make a Chow. You have the Circles 3, 4, and 6. Instead of hoping, for some arbitrary reason, for a Circle 5 to come down and make an excessively long Chow, look at the hand. We already have 2/3 of the Chow in Circle 3 and 4, but only 1/3 in Circle 6. You may as well toss out the Circle 6 and let the other Circles get completed with Circle 2 or Circle 5, generally twice as likely to happen than just Circle 5.

  • Again, leave yourself with plenty of options! This is extremely, extremely important! The AI will never just hand over a win. You need to leave a lot of flexibility in your strategies! In this way, you can open up your Tenpai call and more easily win the battles because the penalties against your opponent will be steeper.

  • You may as well try forming your pairs as early as possible. Don't use suited ones for this, but try to use the "Honor" tile set, which seem to just feature the large Japanese character. This also ties in to discarding tiles that are the least likely to form melds. Sure, it may not always work, but it's better than tarrying over which tile to remove from a more-likely meld!


Mahjong Minigame

This game is quite fun and simple, even though it has no reliance on the aspects of true mahjong. It's not that hard to play, either. Presented to you will be a grid of mahjong tiles - early on, at least, in the Honor suit's characters. You are to arrange them so that you have four rows, each with the same tile - four North winds, four East winds, and so on. You can move the arrows horizontally with the D-Pad (Left/Right) and vertically as well (Up/Down). You will shift the tiles by doing this while holding the A Button; the tile that would normally be moved "out" will be moved to the other side in the process.

Given that the game seems to be randomized, all I can really give is one tip. Try to avoid forming your rows. It does sound counterintuitive to the purpose of the minigame, but this does screw you up later on if you need to form other rows. Rather, try to work each column (except one "control" column) so that you only really need to shift each column up or down to complete the rows.





Credits

In no particular order...


  • Wikipedia:
    • A derived image of the tile sets.
    • Info on the various special hands.

  • GameFAQs, Neoseeker, and Supercheats:
    • For being the most amazing FAQ-hosting sites I know.

  • CJayC, SBAllen, and Devin Morgan:
    • General sucking up to the GameFAQs admins. =P

  • Me (KeyBlade999):
    • For making this FAQ. =P

  • You, the reader:
    • For hopefully enjoying this FAQ.




Version History

  • Final:
    • First and likely only version of this FAQ.
    • Time: 10:11 PM 4/10/2013.




Legalities

This FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

ゥ 2013 Daniel Chaviers (a.k.a. KeyBlade999).

If you would wish to contact me concerning this or my other FAQs, use this e-mail: keyblade999.faqs@gmail.com, or PM (Private Message) me on the GameFAQs message boards.


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This is the end of KeyBlade999's Tokoro's Mahjong Jr. (GB) FAQ.

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