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After many spin offs, tournament additions, and other side Yu-Gi-Oh projects, Konami has finally released their second full-fledged RPG of the series. What makes this style of Yu-Gi-Oh so compelling is the fact that you finally have some story and purpose that best follows the popular anime TV series. While I personally have never quite understood the whole premise and popularity of the show and its card game, fans will be happy once again to play as many of their favorite characters attempting to stop the Destroyer. Typically, the Yu-Gi-Oh games are just basic card maps and pallet that recreate the compelling card game fans love so well. This version supplies the good basics of any RPG as well as the structure of the card battling system. You have a vast overworld, complete with character text and persona picture pop ups. The worlds are varied, detailed, and truly capture the imagination of the show. Some slick full motion anime video cut scenes help the story along nicely will also treat gamers. When in battle, you have the familiar card dueling pallet that you have seen in most other games in the series, but the card detail in this version seems to be a bit cleaner, making card recognition easier from a glance. In retrospect, the game looks like an old school RPG, which is not a bad thing for fans of the genre.
Audio has been very well done for a cart-based game. The sound track is a mix of techno and orchestration that properly sets the mood for each event. Sadly, there is not any voice acting in the game, but I guess that would be too high of a hope for the little handheld. To display emotion, a sound effect follows a balloon that appears next to your head, whether it is a question, exclamation, or other, the emotion is perfectly identifiable in both sight and sound. Game play is very familiar to fans, while non-fans will be lost from the start. This game has the hardcore Yu-Gi-Oh gamer in mind. Not only are you absent of any background story, but there is no training found in the game to help novice gamers. If this is your first romp in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe, I suggest starting with an earlier title to familiarize yourself with the basics. For veterans of the series, you will find the CPU tough but fair in knowing how to use their decks properly. There won’t be many duelers in the game that you encounter that will roll over easy for you, so know your deck before advancing into battle. Since this Yu-Gi-Oh title is a tried and true RPG, expect a minimum of 30 hours of gameplay here. For more fun, you can link with a friend, trade, and battle to give the game even more lasting appeal. Not being a serious fan of the series myself, I went into this game with fresh eyes. Now I know more than your typical 30-year-old gamer maybe about a Yu-Gi-Oh game. With that said, I highly recommend this to fans of the genre. I, on the other hand, heed others who are new to the game play style to try an older title first before taking this adventure.
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