Yakuman DS

Yakuman DS is a mahjong game for the Nintendo DS produced by Nintendo. Yakuman DS is based on the Chinese game Mahjong, featuring various Mario characters. The game was released only in Japan in 2005 by Nintendo. One year later, Nintendo released the game again in Japan with an online mode, with the name of Wi-Fi Taiou Yakuman DS.

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Yoshi
 * Toad
 * Princess Peach
 * Donkey Kong
 * Wario (unlockable)
 * Waluigi (unlockable)
 * Bowser (unlockable)
 * Princess Daisy (unlockable)
 * Petey Piranha (unlockable)
 * Bowser Jr. (unlockable)
 * Toadsworth (secret)

The Opponents
Naturally, the character the player has chosen will not be available as an opponent.
 * Goomba: The easiest opponent, he's really weak but he may win sometimes.
 * Princess Daisy: Normal opponent, she never melds her tiles, unless if it is a "closed kan".
 * Shy Guy: An easy opponent, he melds his tiles frequently.
 * Koopa Troopa: A defensive opponent, he melds his tiles frequently, unaware of getting a yakuless hand.
 * Boo: Normal opponent, he may win with a concealed or melded hand.
 * Birdo: Normal/Easy opponent, she likes "riichi" but she sometimes melds her tiles.
 * Diddy Kong: Normal/Easy opponent, plays similar to birdo.
 * Toad: Easy opponent, he normally likes having a concealed hand.
 * Princess Peach: Normal opponent, she uses a lot of defense and melds her tiles, but she knows when her hand has a yaku.
 * Mario: A Normal opponent with balanced skills.
 * Hammer Bro. (challenge unlockable)
 * Luigi: Normal/Easy opponent, he can play in many ways.
 * Yoshi: Easy opponent, he never declares "riichi", but he can get lucky enough to get the "13 unrelated tiles" yakuman.
 * Donkey Kong: Normal/Hard opponent, plays in many ways.
 * Toadette: Normal/Hard opponent, she is speedy and she can win the hand faster.
 * Toadsworth (secret character): Hardest opponent in the game, he plays in many ways, may use "Open riichi" if on.
 * Wario (secret character): Hard opponent, he plays in an offensive way and he likes "Open riichi".
 * Waluigi (secret character): Hard opponent, he can win the hand faster.
 * Petey Piranha (secret character): Hard opponent, plays in many ways.
 * Bowser (secret character): Hard opponent, likes "Open riichi" and he acts offensively.
 * Bowser Jr.: Hard/Normal opponent, unlike Bowser, he is skillful, not offensive.

Other characters

 * Lakitu (hosts the tutorial mode of the game and provides in-game hints and advice)

Play Mode

 * Free mode- In free mode the player can freely choose CPU opponents to play against, The players can use their own rules.
 * Challenge mode- Win by fulfilling a given set of conditions with a given set of opponents. Easy, normal, hard and expert challenges are available, with Wario and Waluigi being unlocked after completing all the Easy challenges, Petey Piranha unlocked after completing all the normal ones, Bowser unlocked after completing all the hard ones and Toadsworth unlocked after completing all the expert ones.
 * Ranking mode- The character chosen starts at rank 20. He/she plays against the other characters to ascend and possibly become rank 1 (top 3 opponents are Petey Piranha, Bowser, and Toadsworth in ascending order). Note that the ranking system works by winning points from beating other players; thus, the top opponents do not need to be unlocked in order to ascend above them.
 * Local multiplayer- A game for multiple players (up to 4), all within range of the DS wireless radio, DS Download play is available.
 * Online multiplayer- Like online multiplayer for other DS games, with the same Friend Code system. Voice chat is available.

References to Other Games

 * Mario Kart Double Dash!! - Most of the characters' voices are taken from this game.

References in Later Games

 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl-Yakuman DS is mentioned in Toadsworth's trophy.

Trivia

 * The game is named after the rare winning hands (役満/Yakuman) that are worth 32000 (48000 if east/dealer).