Another World Mahjong Girl Review: Dealt a Bad Hand
I’m usually willing to take a chance on things. Though I’ve covered several titles from publisher eastasiasoft, I’ve never actually played a game of Mahjong. So, I thought that perhaps tackling Another World Mahjong Girl would be a good introduction to the massively popular tile game. I also didn’t mind the mild ecchi elements that are made pretty apparent from the get-go. In the past, I’ve enjoyed games like Stella Glow, as well as series like Danganronpa and Senran Kagura. Though I don’t feel sexy elements are required in every title, sometimes they’re used to good effect. So, I went into Another World Mahjong Girl with relatively high hopes. Unfortunately, those hopes were pretty quickly dashed.
Succubi and Mahjong, What Could Go Wrong?
Another World Mahjong Girl takes place in a sprawling fantasy setting. This is a story full of elves, fairies, and even succubi. Your goal is to become the very best at Mahjong, naturally. I should mention that at least at the start of the game, you’re playing a very naughty succubus that enjoys a little smack now and then. Which may not scream Mahjong to you, but that’s not my main complaint. No, my primary complaint is that Another World Mahjong Girl does a horrible job of actually teaching you how to play the game.
I Need More Help Than This
Now, it’s fair here to say that maybe I shouldn’t have tried Another World Mahjong Girl when I’ve never played a game of Mahjong before. But I still maintain that in any game, the basic rules and core mechanics should be explained sufficiently. And while it’s true there is a help section you can peruse, it’s not very clear. Furthermore, there’s no tutorial to walk you through the mechanics. Instead, I just sort of randomly picked a tile to discard every turn, and would luck into my only wins in the game. See, if you have the right arrangements of tiles, the game will automatically prompt you to play certain groups. Often, this was to my benefit, but I never felt I knew what I was actually doing. And that’s after staring at the help section in excess of an hour.
Exploring Waifu Land
Despite my issues with the help section, I did manage to get through several chapters pretty much by sheer luck. But my frustration with the situation made the entire game a slog. Unfortunately, that applies to the sections where you “discipline” your girls to boost their stats. I’d be fine if this had any lasting benefit, but other than eliciting a couple of moans and causing the girls to blush, none of the associated stat boosts seemed to last more than a few minutes, which I found utterly perplexing. Though, if you are the sort that enjoys dioramas, you can place the girls you’ve added to your team in various positions.
Fluffy and Adorable
The best part of Another World Mahjong Girl was the aesthetic. Each of the 20-something girls you’ll encounter and add to your ranks is gorgeous and looks different from the others, though there’s definitely a tendency for most of them to be well-endowed. If I was just ranking this on the art alone, it probably would have fared better. Sadly, the music and sound design didn’t hold their weight and didn’t really add anything to the adventure.
Sexy Mahjong Isn’t Enough
I know that mature games have been taking a beating lately, and I hate to add to that. But I really cannot recommend Another World Mahjong Girl, unless you’re already an expert at Mahjong or really enjoy ecchi. I know eastasiasoft is capable of much better than this, but the lack of a coherent tutorial or explanation of the game made it almost unplayable for me as a rookie. Unfortunately, no amount of great artwork can fix that deficit in the game, much to my chagrin.
Final Verdict: 2/5
Available on: Nintendo Switch (reviewed); Publisher: eastasiasoft; Developer: A.R.T. Games Co., Ltd; Players: 1; Released: October 20, 2023; ESRB: T for Teen – Violence, Suggestive Themes; MSRP: $9.99
Editor’s note: The publisher provided a review copy to Hey Poor Player.
