What this game did not capture was the essence of the cartoon, the card game, or anything really close to the franchise, besides the names and likenesses. What’s more the game is a strategy RPG, and a weak one at that. You play as either Kaiba or Yugi, each with their own story lines and endings. You battle for map controls in duels of 3 on 3 monster battles. The whole game is based around a new dueling device created to eliminate the card battling styles of old. What it does is show how valuable that system really is as this new battle system is a dull, repetitive, and virtually lifeless display of so called action.

The visuals are even up to snuff. It resembles more of a GBA title, much less a monster console like the Cube. The presentation is made up of many dialog cut scenes full of reading and still pics. No anime, no voice-overs, no nothing. A believe me, if you’re going to force me to read multiple lines of story, you better make it good. Instead, you’ll find yourself wondering if they will ever shut up so you can get into what little action there is to be had here. Once in the thick of battle, the visuals spice up a bit, with nicely designed monsters, and some nifty specials preformed by them. The graphics are no better or worse than you would see in a Monster Rancher title. Throw in some poorly textured over world and you have a game that makes the term mediocre seem superior.

Audio is not much better. The game has no voices in it at all. I guess the license fees were to high, or the talents were too busy, whatever the reason the game comes off as dull because of it. The battle sounds are decent, but used for every monster in the game. No monster has distinctive sounds as they all use the same audio throughout the game. The only saving grace here is the score that is lighthearted and seems to get you geared up for a game you’ll never play. The fine orchestrated score is the only thing that keeps you from dosing off in your chair.

The game play is made up of very elementary strategy RPG style controls. Gather up your troops, move them along the map, and find a foe, battle, and repeat. Even in the battle scenes the controls are basic, with only a few options to choose. You can attack, use a special power, and use an item, and my favorite, wait. That’s right, after all the long, tedious dialog, I get to choose to wait some more. How exciting! The game boils down to no more than a turn-based nightmare that will excite no one with a pulse. This pitiful design is not only an insult to me as a gamer, but I feel for the Yu-Gi fans out there who expect more from their franchise. Turning this card battle title into a strategy RPG was a mistake.

I cannot for any reason recommend this title to any fan of the series. Collectors may want this for the special 3 pack of cards inside, which is more valuable than the disc that you pay the 40 bucks for. There just didn’t seem to be much care put into this title, and if I were a fan of the series, I’d consider this title a slap in the face. You are capable of much more Konami.