I have unlocked all the game modes now, and so feel like I'm ready to write a review.
Even though this is the first Mahjong title I've bought on Steam, I have played Mahjong on PC before, and can make comparisons.
From a purely technical standpoint, the game's very nice. Once you suffer through one minute of completely unnecessary story at the start, you will be treated to a clear interface, pleasant unobtrusive music and nice graphics. When you start playing, there is a customisation button at the bottom. It lets you customise your game visually, giving you, among other things, a choice of 5 backgrounds and up to 6 tilesets (depending on the game mode). The tilesets are not named in any way, so I will just describe them:
- The default one. Looks weird. But it's high contrast and clear, I guess...
- Traditional. The one used in every Mahjong game. Looks pleasant.
- Traditional Bright. My favourite. Used to be the default in the first game of the series.
- Traditional Simple. Seems to be simpler and clearer than the other traditional tilesets.
- Numbers and Symbols.
- Numbers and Letters.
Now for the gameplay. There are 7 temples to choose from on the starting screen. Each is dedicated to a different game mode. After completing the first few levels of each temple you get the key to the next one. The game modes are as follows:
- Traditional. The classic 3D mahjong.
- Match. You are shown 4 random tiles at the bottom of the screen and need to find one or more exact matches for them on the board.
- Slide. Slide tiles around the board. When 2 identical ones bump into each other, they disappear. This mode can be quite challenging, depending on the obstacles. Seems to be unique to this series.
- Numbers. You are shown a number at the top of the screen. Find any pairs of free tiles on the board that add up to that number.
- Cube. A match-3-puzzler with sliding cubes. The most puzzling thing about this mode is "Why is it there at all?"
- Triple. Same as Traditional, but match 3 tiles instead of 2.
- Rivers. A 2D mode, where tiles can only be removed if they can be connected by a line with no more than 2 bends. The developer obviously considers this mode to be the hardest, but in my opinion, it's easier than the Slide mode.
Overall, Legendary Mahjong 2 Could have been one of the best, if not The best, Mahjong title on Steam. Unfortunately, the original Legendary Mahjong exists, and is better... The second game adds the Cube game mode, one new background and the new default tileset. Everything else is Exactly the same! Graphics, customisation options, interface, the levelling system and the game modes are all just ported over from the original. Which is a good thing if you liked the original, but makes the developer seem a bit lazy.
Ok, the second game seems a bit easier. And when you finish a level, you are automatically taken to the next one, instead of the level selection screen the original game took you to. Maybe I'm overreacting, and two extra mouse clicks needed to change your game mode are no big deal. But could someone pleas explain to me - why does the "celestial key", the one that you get after unlocking all the temples, unlocks the super-vanilla Classic mode we've been playing since the 1990s? You know, the mahjong tiles piled up into shapes of cats and castles and suchlike... It just doesn't feel like a reward.
Summary: By all means, buy this game. In a bundle with the original. During a major sale.
