Nintendo Computer Mah-jong Yakuman (コンピュータ マージャン 役満, 1983)

In 1989 Nintendo released the Game Boy - the masterpiece of engineer and inventor Gunpei Yokoi. The Game Boy offered an interface port through which two (or more) Game Boys could be connected to each other, using the so-called link cable. This provided head-to-head gaming and exchanging of game items, which many Game Boy titles - including the smash hits Tetris and Pokemon - used to great effect.

Following the Game Boy, the game link would be adopted by other handhelds including the Sega Game Gear, the NEC PC Engine GT and the SNK Neo Geo Pocket, to name a few.

Although the Game Boy was the first game platform to bring the link feature to the masses world wide and make it successful, it wasn't the first with this option. That honor falls to another Nintendo game created by Gunpei Yokoi: the Computer Mah-jong Yakuman (コンピュータ マージャン 役満).

The Computer Mah-jong Yakuman was released in 1983, three years after the launch of the Game & Watch series. Contrary to the Game & Watch series, which had stormed the world since the start of the 80s, Computer Mah-jong Yakuman did not see a Western release. This was probably because of the limited popularity of May-jong outside Asian territories.

The small sized manual resembles those of Game & Watch games

Computer Mah-jong Yakuman was aimed at a more adult market and does not use the Game & Watch series name (it also does not include a clock function). The product code is MJ 8000.

Nintendo Computer Mah-jong Yakuman (1983)

The size of the game is around 24 by 8 centimeters, and it is 2.5 centimeters high.

The game play is more elaborate than the typical LCD game of the time. This was reflected in the retail price of ¥16,800, which at the time of release was around three times the price of a Game & Watch game.

Better read the manual before diving into the game. Many buttons!

The game play requires a large number of buttons; to select Mah-jong stones on the display and make moves. The manual does a good job of explaining all this.

Like Game & Watch, Computer Mah-jong Yakuman uses an LCD display. But instead of using crystals to represent individual figures like Mario or Donkey Kong, the game has an LCD dot matrix display, with rows of tiny dots, similar to the screen of the Game Boy (except that each dot could only be on or off without a shade of gray).

The game has an LCD dot matrix display

The manual shows how each of the 34 different May-jong tiles is represented on the dot matrix screen. Although the characters and drawings are simplified because of the limited amounts of dots (the limited screen resolution) available, most are still easily recognizable.

The manual shows how the traditional Mah-jong tiles appear on the screen

When we take a look at the back of the game, we see the battery door. It runs on 4 AA batteries.

Although the game is nicely portable, Nintendo clearly expected Computer Mah-jong Yakuman to also see a lot of use at home. For this Nintendo provided the option to power the game with an AC adapter, saving on batteries. The adapter was sold separately, for ¥1,000. It has product number MJ 8001.

Computer Mah-jong Yakuman AC Adapter MJ 8001

The top side of the game has two connectors: one for the AC adapter, and behind a small sliding door, there is a second connector for... a game link.

Game link (MJ 8002) and AC adapter (MJ 8001) connectors

With a single Computer Mah-jong Yakuman, you would play against a computer opponent. But the "for 2 person connector" (2人用コネクタ) allowed two Computer Mah-jong Yakuman games to be hooked together. This provides a four player game for two human players and two computer opponents.

The game link cable (2人用ケーブル) was sold separately, for ¥2,000. It has product number MJ 8002.

Computer Mah-jong Yakuman game link cable MJ 8002

This game link cable is the first of its kind, predating the Game Boy link cable by 6 years.

Game link connector and cable

It is very easy to hook up two Computer Mah-jong Yakuman games. Simply plug the cable in both games and you are ready to go.

Although this link cable was a nice innovation at the time, it wasn't until the Game Boy before linking up became a success. The sales numbers for the Computer Mah-jong Yakuman were a drop in the ocean compared to the phenomenal success of the Game Boy. It must have been hard for the average Computer Mah-jong Yakuman owner to find a friend to link with. The Game Boy on the other hand, became so widespread that it was never difficult to find another Game Boy to connect to.

Most likely produced in small numbers, the cable has become very difficult to track down these days. It is much harder to find than a copy of the Computer Mah-jong Yakuman itself.

The full Computer Mah-jong Yakuman family: games, adapters and link cable

The year 1983, in which Computer Mah-jong Yakuman was released, was a watershed year for Nintendo. The Computer Mah-jong Yakuman represents the end of an era (which started in 1977 with the Color TV Game Series) of dedicated game machines that could only play a single type of game . Nintendo would continue to release new Game & Watches for a while, but from 1983 onwards the more complex video games would find a new home: the Family Computer. But that's a different story altogether.

Check out the following post for a marketing brochure featuring the Computer Mah-jong Yakuman.

Nintendo Color TV Game Series (カラー テレビゲーム シリーズ, 1977-1979)

Before Nintendo released the Family Computer in 1983, it had already created five home-use TV video game machines in the Japanese market. Between 1977 and 1979 four games were released in the Color TV Game series. The fifth game was Computer TV Game (CTG-HC10), which came out in 1980.

Though the Color TV Game series (カラー テレビゲーム シリーズ) was successful, contrary to the other Nintendo toys and games of the era, not too much effort was put into creating a unique experience. For the most part, these machines adopted concepts developed by Magnavox and Atari.

The four Color TV Games released between 1977 and 1979

Atari’s home version of Pong was released during the holiday season of 1975, and in 1977 Nintendo was ready to take a slice of the Pong clone pie when it released the Color TV Game 6 (カラー テレビゲーム 6) and Color TV Game 15 (カラー テレビゲーム 15), offering 6 and 15 Pong-style game variants respectively.

The machines were co-developed by Mitsubishi Electronic and did not prominently feature Nintendo branding on the casing.

The Nintendo video game consoles of the 1970s

These first TV Games were followed by two somewhat more original creations: Color TV Game Racing 112 (カラー テレビゲーム レーシング 112) in 1978 and Color TV Game Block Kuzushi (カラー テレビゲーム ブロック崩し) the following year.

Racing 112 is a racing game that could be played by a single payer, using the provided steering wheel, or by two players using the paddles.

Block Kuzushi is clearly inspired by Breakout, and featured six game variants with some original ideas.

In upcoming posts we will take a closer look at each of these four games, and their power adapter accessory:

• Color TV Game 6 (CTG-6S / CTG-6V)
• Color TV Game 15 (CTG-15S / CTG-15V) and its Service Manual
• Color TV Game Racing 112 (CTG-CR112) and a leaflet
• Color TV Game Block Kuzushi (CTG-BK6) and a leaflet
• Color TV Game AC-Adapter (CTGA-901R)
• Color TV Game leaflet (CTG-6S / CTG-15S)

Nintendo Rabbit Coaster Game (#2) and New Coaster Game (ラビット コースター ゲーム, ニュー コースター ゲーム, mid 60s)

One of the very first toys Nintendo released was the Rabbit Coaster Game, from around 1965.

Around the same time, more coaster games were released by Nintendo: a second Rabbit Coaster Game (ラビット コースター ゲーム) and the New Coaster Game (ニュー コースター ゲーム).

We have added "#2" to the name of this Rabbit Coaster Game, to distinguish it from the other toy with the same name. However, it is possible that this one is actually the oldest of the two, as the exact release dates or release order of these games is not known.

Rabbit Coaster Game (#2) and New Coaster Game

Rabbit Coaster Game (#2) was the simplest of all coaster games, as well as the cheapest; it retailed for ¥500.

The box art features a very colorful artistic rendition of the track the "magic beans" will race on, as well as - appropriately - a number of running bunnies. The blue and pink drawing at the top shows one of the beans in a tumbling motion.

The beans pictured on the top of the box even have funny bunny faces.

Rabbit Coaster Game (#2)

The game consist of a single fixed sloping track, with four curves. The sign in the middle of the track says "Rabbit Coaster". A small box holding around 10 beans completes the set.

Close-up of one of the magic tumbling beans

If it wasn't for the beans' funny movement, this would be quite a boring race. However, a lead ball placed inside the beans slides back and forth as it rolls down, giving it an unexpected tumbling movement, which results in an unpredictable, exciting race. The lead ball also slows down the bean, prolonging the duration of the race.

And.. they are off!

Here we see the beans racing down the track, after they have been released at the top. The curves in the track are positioned in such a way to provide a fair race; all beans have to traverse the same distance to the finish.

We have a winner: the red bean

The red bean made it in first!

A Nintendo logo is embossed on the base of the toy, next to the finish line.

Although this Rabbit Coaster Game is fun, the track is a bit on the short side. The New Coaster Game improved on this, and even added some new twists to the concept.

New Coaster Game retailed for ¥800. For the additional three hundred yen over the Rabbit Coaster Game (#2) shown above, it provided an extra level to the track.

As with some of the other Nintendo toys from around this time, the box shows the game title in Japanese as well as in English. This was probably done to give it a modern trendy feel for the home market, rather than to make it appropriate for use abroad. Note the Nintendo logo in yet another style.

New Coaster Game

The bottom part of the game is a base with a fixed sloping track, much like the Rabbit Coaster Game (#2). Mounted on top of this, is a second track piece.

The innovative idea of this game is the way the two tracks are used by different racing objects. This is also why the game comes with two small boxes rather than one: one with the familiar tumbling beans used by all coaster games, the other one holds a little bag with silver ball bearings.

The use of these ball bearings is unique to the New Coaster Game. They will perform the first part of the race. At the start, they are placed side by side at the top of the track.

As soon as they are released, they race down. Because of the weight of the metal balls, they develop quite a speed.

After going through two curves in the top part of the track, the metal balls drop one level down. As they fall, they move one of the red levers each, releasing one of the awaiting magic beans. This is the handover moment of this relay race.

A small chime can be seen inside the base of the track

After they have released the lever, the metal balls drop on top of a chime and come to a stop at the back of the game, where their journey ends as unsung heroes.

Meanwhile at the front, the magic beans have taken over for the second part of the race. They tumble down the track, going also through two curves to ensure they all traverse the same length of track.

In the final stretch, the beans pass through a small tunnel and come to a stop at the finish line. An embossed Nintendo logo can be seen to the right of this.

Because of the way they move, the beans take a lot longer for their part of the race, compared to the metal balls. This gives a nice switch of pace to the game; first fast, then slow, with a ringing chime in the middle.

Nintendo Chiritori (無線クリーナー チリトリー, 1979)

In the early 70s, a series of remote controlled cars had been released by Nintendo (called Lefty RX). These used a rudimentary single-button radio control mechanism, allowing the cars to start and stop. Steering was not an option: the “left” in the name refers to the fact that the front wheels of the cars were fixed going to the left side.

A similar radio control mechanism would be used for another unlikely Nintendo toy designed by Gunpei Yokoi: Chiritori (Japanese for “dustpan”).

Radio controlled cleaner Chiritori (無線クリーナー チリトリー)

The toy was also referred to as "無線クリーナー", which means "radio (controlled) cleaner".

Cover page of the manual

Chiritori was released in 1979, and retailed for ¥5,800. It did not become a big seller and was produced in relatively small numbers, making it one of the rarer Nintendo toys and very difficult to find these days.

Chiritori is a remote controlled, battery operated mini vacuum cleaner. It measures a mere 16 centimeters across, with a small fan providing dust-sucking action. Although it can actually vacuum, this is not intended for serious cleaning. It would take you all day to do a single room.

Chiritori comes with a radio controller with a single button.

Both Chiritori and controller have small antennae for radio communication (using the 40.680 MHz band).

Also included is a sheet of stickers, which can be used to customize the body of Chiritori.

Sticker sheet provided with Chiritori

When switched on by turning the big white button on the top, Chiritori starts spinning in place (always clockwise). Press the button on the remote controller and it stops spinning and moves in a straight line in the direction it was facing when the button was pressed. Release the button on the remote again, and it stops moving forward and reverts back to spinning around. This control system allows Chiritori to be negotiated in any direction, but it is a bit tricky and requires practice.

The front of Chiritori clearly shows the white sucking mouth facing the ground, and the air outlet in the front.

The manual shows how to insert batteries and operate the Chiritori

The Chiritori and radio controller are battery operated. The Chiritori requires 4 C cells and a 9 volt block, the controller uses another 9 volt block.

Now if we flip the Chiritori over, we see the two main wheels used to move and a smaller non-motorized wheel providing additional support.

When the tray that collects the gathered dust is removed, the fan is exposed. This fan sucks up the dirt and drops it in the tray.

I am sure that by now you are dying to see it in action. Sit back and witness the video I made of the awesome cleaning power of the Chiritori!

Chiritori's quirkiness ensured an appearance in the of WarioWare games (WarioWare Inc, GBA, 2003). Check out the video below (by YouTube user oODiAbLoSOo).

As an aside: while writing this post I was plagued by yet another romanization question: I would expect "チリトリー" to be written as "Chiritori" or "Chiritorii", but Nintendo themselves write it as "Chiritorie" in WarioWare. Strange.

Anyway, if you like this post, then also check out this one about the accompanying leaflet.