Final Romance 2

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TAISEN IDOL - MAHJONG FINAL ROMANCE 2

VIDEO SYSTEM 1995

Description:

Final Romance 2 is like all other traditional video mahjong games. It features a cast of female opponents, items, and an intensely progressive difficulty. What makes this game stand out from the rest is that it does everything just right.

Final Romance 2 was the first in the series to shift in art direction from the realistic CG idol imagery, as seen in the first, to the appeal of anime design which the Suchi-Pai series exploited when it was first created. That said, the artwork in this game is great, by far the best in the series. The opponents are appealing and are drawn in great detail. Even the layout of the mahjong table and tiles looks good, not much so for its detail but its simplicity and 3d perspective.

While most of the items in this game can be found in other mahjong game, there are others that are unique to the series such as one that allows the player to steal half of the opponent's score. This can be extremely useful when dealing with later opponents. There's also an item that let's you see the opponent's tiles. I love this item, which many mahjong game includes, as you can easily see how the opponent always seem to get the right tiles to make the big hands :)

Many mahjong games make it difficult to obtain items due to how points toward items are given in particular games. In this game, items are crucial and can be bought round after round as long as you continue to win with good hands since whatever score you win by will go directly towards purchasing points, at a one to one ratio, to buy items. While there are nine opponents in the game to beat, and each new opponent has a score 4000 more than the previous, with good conservation of purchasing points, good use of items, and overall smarts in making the right hand, it is more than possible to beat this game in one go.

Though without items, the game can be fairly difficult to beat, simply because of the huge scores that you need to overcome to beat each of the later opponents. Of course, you can also try to defeat the opponent three times to win as well with the hopes that the opponent doesn't make any crazy good hand, which the opponent always seems to do, that eliminates all your hard earn points. Defense will probably help for a change.

Final Romance 2 is your basic video mahjong game that just does everything right. Quite frankly, it's the best in the series and one of mine personal favorites in MAME to play.

Difficulty: 5/5
Artwork: 4/5

TAISEN IDOL - MAHJONG FINAL ROMANCE 2
MINI FAQ

Who Starts First?

A pair of dices is rolled. If the dices add up to an even number, you start first. The opponent starts if the dices add up to an odd number.

How to Win/Lose a Match?

To win a match you can either win three rounds against the opponent or you can win by decreasing their score to zero or below. Whichever comes first.

You lose the match when your score goes to zero or below.

Number of Opponents:

Each Opponent's Score at Opening Round:

First opponent's score is 10000. Each opponent, thereafter, has an increase in score of +4000.

10000, 14000, 18000, 22000, 26000, 30000, 34000, 38000, 42000.

Your Score at Opening Round:

1000.

Points Gain/Lose when Tenpai/No-Ten:

1000.

Points Lose when Reach:

1000.

Scoring Multiplier:

Type C.

Number of turns per player per round:

18.

Are there Items?

Yes, 8 total.

What does Each Item Do?

Item A. This item lets you discard as many tiles at the start of the round and replace them with other random tiles. Can only be use at the start of a round.

Item B. This item lets you see the tiles in the opponent's hand. Can only be use at the start of a round.

Item C. If the round ends and you have Tenpai, this item gives you a last chance to win. You get to pick from a group of three facedown tiles, one of which is the winning tile needed to go out. The other two are not. You win the round if you choose the right tile. You get Tenpai if you choose the wrong one. Can only be use at the end of a round when you have Tenpai.

Item D. This item makes your opening hand into a more complete and rarer hand. You can upgrade this item in the item menu up to 5 times. Each upgrade further increases your chance of a more complete and worthwhile hand. Can only be use at the start of a round.

Item E. This item increases the number of Doras for the given round. Can only be use when you win a round.

Item F. When you Reach, the next tile drawn by you will automatically be the tile needed to go out. Can only be use when you declare Reach.

Item G. This item does not let the opponent win the round if she has the opportunity to go out. If she wins, the tile is taken away and another round is started. The tile blasts away into outer space, literally! It is automatically used when the opponent wins the round.

Item H. This item steals half of the opponent's score and gives it to you. Can only be use at the start of a round.

You start off with 1000 points to purchase items at the very start of the game. You get further points depending on your score in mahjong for each time you win a round. Winning a round with a score of 8000, for example, will earn you 8000 points to use to buy items. Note that if you continue, having below 1000 points, your points will automatically go back up to 1000.

Mini-Game:

There is a mini-game after defeating the 3rd and 6th opponent. A numbered tile to the left of the screen is revealed and another tile on the right isn't. You get to choose whether or not the tile faced down is higher or lower than the one revealed. Press A to guess that the tile will be a higher number or press B to guess that the tile will be a lower number. You gain points for items each time you guess right. You can guess for three different tiles. The game stops when you guess wrong.

Can you Bet?

No.

Are there any Secrets?

None that I know of.

Dip Switch:

To access the dip switch, press F2.

Press A to move the cursor down, B to move it up, and Start to choose a setting.

Hard Settings	Setting Description
Color Bar	Check Colors.
Cross Hatch	Display Cross Hatch.
Key Check	Test Control Buttons.
Sound Check?	Code select???
Credit	Adjust Coins per Credit. Default is 1/1. 1 coin for 1 credit.
Vs. Play	Allow Vs. Play or not. Default allows Vs. Play.
Demo Audio	Turn on (Yes) or off (no) audio during attract mode. Default is Yes.
Exit	Return to main menu.

Game Settings	Setting Description
Player Score	Adjust the amount of points that you start off with at the beginning of every match. Default is 1000 points.
Computer Score	Adjust score amount that is increased after each opponent as well as starting score for the first opponent. Default is +4000 for each new opponent and a starting score of 10000 for the first opponent.
Game Level	Adjust game level/difficulty. Default is 4.
Kuitan	If you choose Yes, as it is on default, you can receive a Yaku for Tanyao (All Simples) if your hand is revealed or concealed. You are allowed to make revealed sets in this case and still receive the Yaku. If you choose No, you can only receive the Yaku for Tanyao if your hand is entirely concealed. Default is Yes.
Pinfu/Tsumo	If you choose Yes, you can only receive the Yaku for Pinfu if you go out by Tsumo. If you choose No, you can receive the Yaku for Pinfu if you go out by either Tsumo or Ron. Default is Yes.
Undressing	Show (Yes) or don't show (No) the undressing cut-scenes in the game after each win. Default is Yes.
Vs. Score	Adjust score amount that each player starts off with at the beginning of a Vs. match. Default is 20000 points.
Vs. Item	Allow (Yes) or not allow (No) items in a Vs. match? Default is Yes.
Exit	Return to main menu.

Miscellaneous:

You can press the Ron button while an image is scrolling during the cut-scenes to stop it from moving for a few seconds.

When you start the game, at the bottom of the screen will display a message reading "Player-1 Side." The reason for this is because MAME emulates both first and second player's screen, just not in a dual screen fashion. To switch between player screens, press F1.

Though you can switch between player screens, audio for both screens are played over one another no matter which screen you are displaying. If you have demo audio turned on in the dip switch, which it is by default, then as you play on one screen, you will hear the audio sound playing from the other screen as well. This can be rather annoying. To eliminate this problem, simply turn the demo audio off.