"Not bad, considering that I never cared for the anime..."

To be honest, I never cared for Yu Gi Oh! in any of its forms, be it games, anime, manga, or the card game. To me, the translated anime and manga were inferior to their Japanese counterparts, due in part to the target audiance, while the games were based on the card games instead of the anime.

And again, I'll be honest: I am a Magic: The Gathering player (a causual one, anyway), and always viewed Yu Gi Oh as a knock-off, a game that never could really match the depth of Magic. Yes, I played the GBC title Pokemon: The Card Game, but that was because Pokemon was, at the time, the closest thing to a portable Magic title.

Well, years have passed since I last played a serious game of Magic: The Gathering, and years have passed since Yu Gi Oh began its takeover of the youth's of America. Now, other series have become far more popular in the minds of the average consumer, as far as the TV category is conscerned. Yet the card game goes on strong still, with some cards fetching almost as much as a Black Lotus (for those not aware, a Black Lotus is a VERY old, VERY much coveted, VERY rare, VERY VERY expensive Magic card).

Because the card game is still such a strong seller, Konami, the company that brought you Castlevania and Contra, decided to squeeze their license on Yu Gi Oh to create a DS title of the popular game. Never minding the near-dozen individual releases on the GBA and GBC, the DS version promised to have many upgrades and new features.

And, again, to be honest, I could have cared less about yet another Yu Gi Oh release, having worked at both GameStop and Wal-Mart long enough to tire of the sight of the blond-card player's image. But, as with Pokemon CCG GBC, I wanted a portable card game to keep me busy. Neverminding that I was (and am) still having a field day with Advance Wars DS, I decided to grab the card game, hoping that the US$35 would not be wasted in vain.

Well, was I satisfied? Was my thirst for a deep CCG on the go met? Will I get to the answer before you go away?

I have to say that I was satisfied with the game, but not as much as I could have been.

First and foremost, I will NOT go over how to play the game or the in-game menu, since the game itself has a VERY deep and informative help and how-to guide built in and accessable at any time via the Shop on the map. And even if you haven't played Yu Gi Oh before, if you have ever played Magic, then most of the basic premises will seem familiar (being the stubborn idiot that I am, I went into this without reading the rules and figured most of the tricks out within minutes, though some things, namely the defense, took an hour to realize due to the fact that I was too busy experimenting).

Now, when you are not involved in card battling, the game can be downright boring, as there is really nothing to do sans building decks, though the puzzle option (later) is a very good, fun activity that I appreciate, having tried my skills years ago at simmilar puzzles for Magic (and Pokemon) in old InQuest magazines.

To do anything at all in the game, you must use the map by default. The map is supposedly based on the city that you type in at the beginning, though I found it to be more like a Japanese city than Shelbyville, KY (not to mention larger). You move the cursor around, using it to either select one of two default buildings (supposedly with more later) to go to (the shop and your home), or to search for duelers. Searching is accomplished by moving the cursor around until it changes from blue to either green or red, green meaning that you are close to another dueler, and red meaning that you are right on top of them.

Also of note on the map are the two default buildings, your house and the store. Your house provides you with a PC to link with other gamers or keep records of those you dueled with, a place to sort your cards (which can really be done anywhere with a button click), a bed to sleep at night, and a save place. The store sports a place to spend your KC points (earned via each battle and completion of a puzzle) for cards, a table for the rules and puzzles, and a Password machine, though it has to be unlocked AND requires KC points AND can only give you one card per password, and you must already have the card.

Dueling requires only a simple interface, and the one given is quite simple. A selects a card and allows you to either read a description, set the card, summon a creature, or activate a spell, as well as change the phase of the turn. B cancells a choice, or brings up the Turn menu if pressed with nothing selected. Pressing X toggles the description option, which is a VERY welcome option.

It's really not required that I go into the actual card battle, as it would take up far too much space, and is hard to describe due to the fact that some of you may know how to play, and others do not. Yet the game does start off rather well, though you probably will not win any duels until you buy a few cards or get really lucky, providing you are new.

Graphically, the game is fairly well. There really is nothing here in the dueling part that could not be pulled off on the GBA, and really only the 3D models in the buildings seems a bit advanced for the GBA. Still, the graphics are rather nice, if blurry at times, and serve the basic function of the game.

Music is, suprisingly enough, not a horrid myrriad of jingles and irritationg screaches. The music is actually pleasing to listen to at times, and rarely gets on my nerves. Many sound effects are a bit basic, though, with one sounding like a sound from Super Mario Bros. on the NES. Yet the sounds do work, which is a good thing.

Replay is dependent on how far you are willing to go in the game, as well as whether or not you can find another player with the game willing to play. Collecting all of the cards is also a biggie, though whether or not Konami designs a way to load all new cards into the game would determine how long you will play this.

All told, this is a very functional game, worth it if you wish for a portable CCG that is actually good or if you are a Yu Gi Oh fan. This game has very little to do with the series on which it is based other than the card game, and is quite easy to get into.

Score: 8 of 10

*Best Features: Tutorial, easy interface, description system, music
*Worst Features: Graphics are a bit simple for the DS, map system a bit annoying, trying to explain to coworkers why you bought a Yu Gi Oh title
*If You Liked: Any Yu Gi Oh title on the GBA/C, Pokemon CCG GBC, Magic: The Gathering Online
*Guilty Pleasure: Realizing just how good the game is

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/01/05, Updated 11/20/07

Game Release: Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour (US, 08/30/05)