Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses

"For a Special Kind of Breed"

Introduction

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelists of the Roses is, as you most likely already know, a game for PS2 recently released on Feb. 19th. It also holds title to the new craze rivaling Pokemon (okay, dominating Pokemon)on the WB. The general concept of the game and the TV show involves dueling, dueling and yet again more dueling. It's downright addictive, and I love every minute of it. So why such an average score for a good game?

Story (6/10)

Basically, you play a duelist summoned to old Europe (Europe?!) to help some feuding countries out. There are 2 different paths to take at the beginning, and each one plays out to a different plot. I don't want to spoil anything, so that's about as detailed as I'm going to get about the actual plot. However, there are some basic complaints found within the game. Let's face it. The dialog is dry but the story is interesting, give or take the hardy amounts of predictability thrown into it. But, that's not what makes this game great.

Game Play (10/10)

Okay, so maybe I'm going a little overboard with the score here, but this truly is the bulk of what you'll do, considering this game is entirely *not* story driven by any stretch of the imagination. For anyone who has played Forbidden Memories for the PSX, this might be a tad bit of an eye opener for you. There is NO free duel in this game and, instead of relying on ATK power this time around, Konami decided to integrate a little strategy into the mix. Ok, a lot of it. Movement is now incorporated into the battles, as well as a deck leader. The deck leader has no means of ATK or DEF, but instead serves as a punching bag for the opposing side. He/She summons monsters to come to his/her aide during the battle. However, a summon level, replenished after each turn, determines which monsters you can summon and at what time. VERY strategic. Maneuvering around the board to your opponent's deck leader proves to be a challenge in the beginning as well, as cards tend to be physically weak. Of course, that's where fusion is integrated, and it benefits the player well. Furthermore, instead of gaining cards after a battle automatically (to those who have played previous Yu-Gi-Oh! games), you are given a slot machine to gamble with. Getting 3 of the same in a row is crucial to obtaining rares, but getting 3 different cards also proves beneficial, as any card sent to the graveyard tends to show up in the slots, even fused monsters. When choosing which cards you want in your deck, you must also take into consideration the Deck Cost. Each card costs a certain amount, and it has to be lower than your opponents deck cost in order to duel them. Again, strategy elements. Lastly, reincarnation. After 5 duels, you have a choice to ''break down'' a card into 3 different cards. Again, this is valuable when obtaining rare cards.

Graphics (7/10)

Alright... How good can a card game get? I mean, it is most certainly better than Forbidden Memories for PSX, as the battle scenes load MUCH faster and tend to be more graphically impressive. They aren't, however, anything we PS2 gamers have not seen before. Nice, just not over the top great. I even read one guy on the boards claiming it held its weight to Final Fantasy X. ^_^ Trust me people. It's nothing like that. The effects used for some of the monster's attacks are nicely executed, and I've ran into no slowdown during these mini-movies. Quite nice indeed. Also, the cards are just as you would expect... They look like cards. Nice cards in fact. There is a little pixellation though on some of the icons indicating elemental attributes and card type, but nothing to really complain about.

Sound (5/10)

This is better than Forbidden Memories, but it still lacks. There are some upbeat tunes that won't annoy you... much. There's just really not much to say about it. Either you love it, or you hate it.

Playability (9/10)

Ok, this is the big one. There are 2 scenarios to play with and 850 or so cards to collect. You will not be putting this game down soon if you're interested in collecting them all. You could easily spend months on this game getting everything that you want for your cards, or just the same, a few days. It all depends on your level of commitment.

Final Thoughts

This is a good game. It takes a little getting used to in the beginning, even for vets of the series, and because of this, I cannot recommend a solid purchase for this title. A rent would do everyone better, as it's just not that *great*, nor is it horribly bad. It takes a special type of person to enjoy this game, not just anybody. Take it for a whirl for a while and give it a shot. It may start out rocky, but eventually, it turns into a great and enjoyable adventure.

Final Score (7/10)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/22/03, Updated 02/22/03