Mahjong Gakuen

Mahjong Gakuen was produced by Yuga in 1988.

The title of this game translates from Japanese as ‘Mahjong Academy – Graduation Episode’.

This game was developed by no other than… Capcom! They could not publish it with their real name because of the ‘dirty’ nature of the game. Not that sexy mahjongs are considered THAT dirty in Japanese culture, but Mahjong Gakuen was different. Graphics were astounding, thanks to the artistic talents of young Akira Yasuda (aka Akiman, who soon became one of the most beloved Capcom artists). But the real plus brought by Mahjong Gakuen to its genre is the ‘interaction’ button (the ‘H’ one), which allowed the player to do kinky ‘things’ to the naked girls once they were beaten. By tapping faster the button, the animation sequence makes itself more and more explicit. Way too explicit for common Japanese arcades, which immediately banned the game or hid it in their darkest corners… but it was too late: Mahjong Gakuen sold in Japan like a regular Capcom coin-op, not like a product in the ‘hentai mahjong’ niche. This huge success was the natural result of the great effort developers put in their work (Akiman was so hooked to the project that he also lent his voice to the main character!). All this effort could not be wasted for a Japanese release only, and that’s why Capcom recycled the graphics of Mahjong Gakuen for another coin-op, meant entirely for Western arcades: “Poker Ladies”. They left behind the mahjong theme, opting for a more international video-poker one, and they licensed it to Mitchell, who in turn would license it to Leprechaun for the US.