Honshogi: Naitou Kudan Shogi Hiden

Honshogi: Naitou Kudan Shogi Hiden (Japanese: 本将棋 内藤九段将棋秘伝) is a shogi board game developed by Random House and published by SETA, released for Famicom on August 10, 1985. It is the **first shogi title ever released on the Famicom**, supervised by famous professional 9-dan shogi player Kunio Naito, and was only released in Japan. It combines shogi tutorials and single-player matches against computer AI. It fully implements official shogi rules, most notably the drop rule: captured enemy pieces can be dropped back onto the board as your own pieces, the signature mechanic that separates shogi from chess and Chinese chess. Players can choose sente/gote (first or second move), time limits, and handicap games such as rook handicap and two-piece handicap, with a total of 12 different match configurations. Its famous feature is the "matta" undo system: repeatedly press the button to ask the computer to take back the last move, friendly for beginners. Multiple AI difficulty tiers are available for new learners and intermediate players. The clean board interface uses the D-pad to move the cursor and place pieces. This game only supports single-player vs computer, no local two-player mode. It includes basic lessons to teach piece movement and fundamental tactics. While its AI strength is relatively weak by modern standards, it holds landmark status as the first Famicom shogi program. Most Chinese retro gamers experienced it via emulators. It is a classic Japanese board puzzle game on Famicom.

These are the default keys. Click the gamepad icon 🎮 in the player’s bottom toolbar to rebind them. Gamepads are detected automatically. On phones you get on-screen buttons.

1P

2P

The NES was always two-player — 2P uses the numeric keypad, and NumLock does not matter. No numpad? Rebind 2P to other keys in the 🎮 panel.