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Shanghai
上海
Shanghai is a mahjong solitaire puzzle game released by Sunsoft in 1988 for arcades. Players remove matching pairs of tiles from a layered arrangement, working through the stack until the board is cleared or no valid moves remain. Tiles can only be selected when they are free on at least one side and not covered by another tile. The game supports two-player simultaneous play, allowing both players to select pairs from the same board in competition. The tile set uses traditional mahjong symbols including characters, bamboo, circles, winds, and dragons. Players use a joystick and buttons to move a cursor across the layout and confirm selections. The challenge increases as fewer tiles remain and accessible pairs become harder to find.
- Developer
- Sunsoft
- Released
- 1988
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 2P
- Rating
- 4.2 / 5 (3.5K)
- Last updated
Shanghai Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Shanghai on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Shanghai Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Shanghai on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Shanghai" Arcade longplay 1988
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Shanghai released?
Shanghai was released in 1988 for the Arcade.
Who developed Shanghai?
Shanghai was developed by Sunsoft, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Shanghai support?
Shanghai supports up to 2 players, ideal for couch co-op or competitive sessions on the Arcade.
What type of game is Shanghai?
Shanghai is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Shanghai for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Shanghai runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Shanghai in the browser?
No. Shanghai streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Shanghai?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Shanghai work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Shanghai this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Shanghai. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
