1990 · Mahjong · Quiz

Jantei Monogatari

Jantei Monogatari is a hybrid of a traditional-style Japanese adventure game and a regular mahjong game. The player takes the role of the unnamed private investigator, and moves from place to place via menus, talking to different characters. The investigation happens through playing mahjong with each suspect: win and they'll tell you a bit more of what they know. At first, the investigator can only speak with the three girls in the photo, but as he wins games of mahjong against them, he gains information and experience that allow him to find new clues and talk to more suspects. The investigator will need to play against a dozen different opponents in his attempt to find out what happened to the kidnapped girl.

Released: 9 October 1990
Platforms: Sega Genesis TurboGrafx-16 Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD
Genres: Mahjong Quiz
Developers: —
Publishers: —

About

Jantei Story is a 1990 video game. It combines both adventure game and mahjong gameplay into a story about a detective looking for a lost girl. The game progresses as the player does rounds of mahjong against various female opponents to progress the story.

The game was released in Japan for the PC Engine on October 9, 1990 and the Sega Mega Drive on March 29, 1991. It led to a series of Jantei Monogatari games that lasted until 1993.

Keywords

anime
mahjong

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Story

Jantei Story begins with the detective searching for a missing girl. As the adventure unfolds, game of mahjong are interspersed through the story.

Development

Towards the late 1980s, mahjong-themed arcade games were popular in Japan game centers.

Jantei Story was one of the many mahjong video games released for the PC Engine that featured eroticized content, such as opponents who wear swimsuits. The developers called it less of a mahjong game and more of a game to take advantage of the animation capabilities of CD-ROMs.

Reception

Reviewing the PC Engine version, reviewers in the Japanese magazines Gekkan PC Engine , Marukatsu PC Engine and Famicom Tsūshin complimented the graphics and animation with one reviewer in the first magazine specifically noting the character's expressions and movements. While one reviewer in Marukatsu PC Engine found the characters and their voice actors matched well, a reviewer in Famicom Tsūshin found the voice acting to be amateur.

One reviewer in Marukatsu PC Engine and Hippon Super! said that the game felt like an arcade mahjong game. While a reviewer in Gekkan PC Engine felt that challenge was balanced, a Marukatsu PC Engine reviewer said the quality of Jantei Story as mahjong game itself was just average. A second reviewer in Marukatsu PC Engine said the opponents' mahjong skills are okay in the first half, but become ridiculously difficult in the second half.