If one were familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh!, one might assume that any game with the name “Yu-Gi-Oh!” anywhere in the title would involve some type of card playing. While in most cases one might be right with that assumption, in this case one is WRONG! Ha! Suck on that one! While this game does take elements of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, at no point do you actually use any cards. Instead, you lead teams of marshals, who can control up to three monsters (monsters are taken from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game), against enemy marshals. The game is divided into many levels, and in each level the object is to take over the enemy’s main fort by defeating all of the enemy marshals that are guarding it. In this regard, the game is similar to Heroes of Might and Magic.
Since this game requires no knowledge of the card game in order to play, and the controls are extremely simple to learn, it would be easy for anyone to enjoy this game. The game is also quite visually pleasing, especially in battle when using certain special attacks. Unfortunately, the main thing that sets this game apart from any other strategy/capture-the-enemy-base game is the fact that it uses monsters and spells from the card game. In other words, if you’re not a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, and you’re just looking for a great game in this genre, there are probably other games better suited to your needs.
One feature this game has that I absolutely love to have in video games is the NEW GAME PLUS feature. Of course, they don’t call it New Game Plus, since that name is taken, but it’s the same basic idea. You start a new game and play through it; then, after you beat the game, you can start a new game using the same monsters you found, with the same stats and items you had.
In addition to just allowing you to play through the game as many times as you want, there are three different campaigns to play. There’s Yugi’s campaign, Kaiba’s campaign, and one SECRET campaign that is unlocked after completing the first two. Although a bucket-load of replay value is given to this game by the new game plus and the multiple campaigns, it is not exactly perfect. I say this because, although you have a lot to do, most of the levels are extremely similar, and it can get rather boring after a while.
Overall, the game is definitely worth buying if you are fan of its genre and you have some extra money lying around. However, if you aren’t a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and you have other games in mind you’d like to buy, this probably isn’t the game for you.
