Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul

"It's time to d-d-d-duel on Game Boy Advance!"

So hey, are you a fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game?

If you are, then you're in for a treat when you pick up a copy of Yu-Gi-Oh The Eternal Duelist Soul. Not only is it an excellent game in its own right, it can be played on those long road trips when you have nothing else to do besides counting passing cows on the roadside. Don't believe me yet? Well then, read on...

Gameplay 9/10
Being a CCG, this will either rank really high or really low depending on the player. If you're already a fan of the YGO TCG then you'll fall in love with it the minute you pick it up. If you hate the TCG then you have absolutely no reason in the world to buy it, since you need to have a reasonable handle on the rules of the game if you want to have fun with it. (Not that it's a bad choice for beginners either. It should be fairly easy to pick up, a lot more so than the DBZ CCG.)

Unlike DDS, the rules of EDS are identical to that of the YGO TCG. This means that players will no longer have to deal with confusion fusions as well as overly powerful cards that can annihilate any opponent in the game by itself. All cards come 'as is', which means whatever it does in real life is what it does in EDS.

There's not much to say about gameplay other than that, seeing how you select your opponent and then the duel starts. The fun value of the duel itself will depend on you.

Story 2/10
My ranking may be a bit misleading, but this is only due to the fact that there is really no story behind this game. There are some random events like Weekend Duels that may occur from time to time, but otherwise the story of this game is on par with that of Pong.

Audio/Video 9/10
Now here is where this game will shine. If you've played Yu-Gi-Oh Dark Duel Stories before you'll know that the graphics of that game were pretty sub-par, even if it was a GBC game. Not so here. EDS boasts graphics that run smoothly and flawlessly, and the card pictures are beautifully illustrated with each viewing. Because of this, the game won't become boring until you finish it because there is actually something to look at on the screen.

The music here is average, but let's be honest here. CCGs are not designed with an emphasis on sound, so the repetitive background music won't hurt it too badly.

Replayability 8/10
This is a CCG after all, so obviously replay value is one of its stronger points. Opponents can be duelled multiple times to win booster packs as well as access to higher levels of duelists. Even after you have completed the game, you can always go back to duel people again and again. Modify your deck and give it another theme, then do it again once you get bored with your current deck. The fun never ends!

Buy or Rent?
This game definitely merits a Buy, but rent it first if you're still unsure. I guarantee that if you're still playing after your first five duels, then you'll be hooked for quite a long time to come.

Overall 8/10
A wonderful job by Konami for producing such a marvelous game. There are some glitches that could have been fixed, but you have to expect that from a CCG, which is never perfect to the point of it being completely flawless. If you're a fan of YGO but you don't own this yet, what are you waiting for? Go out and pick this one up ASAP!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/03, Updated 02/10/03