"It's hard. Rock hard. But not totally terrible..."

I fess up, I hate Yu-Gi-Oh!, the TV show. Just as much as I hate the TV shows of Pokemon, Digimon and other disgustingly over-hyped, pathetic, mind-numbing and childish TV anime shows. But my best mate, on the other hand, can't get enough of them. So, in exchange for borrowing a few of my games, I borrowed Yu-Gi-Oh! (amongst other games.) I expected it to be a cheap cash-in of a craze which has kids hooked. I was wrong...

HARD AS NAILS

OK, before I even get into the main meat of the game, there has to be a warning. It's hard. Not challenging, challenging is an understatement. This game IS HARDER THAN DIAMOND. Even though I now understand the rules, it's still an absolute nightmare, your foes will mercilessly punish mistakes, and you will probably be driven to the brink of absolute insanity.

That said, even though you'll have your backside handed to you on a regular basis, it CAN be very enjoyable. This game requires you to really know the rules for Yu-Gi-Oh! inside out and blindfold, in which case this game will probably be a walk in the park. But I had not even watched the TV show properly (Maybe caught about 10 minutes on Sky One... but thats about it.) So you may - no, you WILL need to read a rulebook or FAQ before you even start.

UMM... HELP?

This is what knocked the score down to a 5. The noticable LACK of any tutorial system in the game - now, I'm not fussy, but at LEAST they could have had a newbie introduction or something? Is that so much to ask, instead you are thrown in to read hints from people scattered about the city. And then, the hints are cryptic, and eventually you have no choice but to fight someone. This hard, brutal approach is shockingly bad tactics from the developers, and the lack of any kind of learning curve could have knocked this game down to a 2.

But it's not. So why 5? Because I don't hate it. But it's true that I'm not a Yu-Gi-Oh convert. The tactical play is actually quite fluid and clever once you have come to grips with it, and your first victory will send you into a ''World Party In Five Minutes'' attitude. But I have to be honest, I am probably the most patient gamer you'll meet (If I can sit down and play Martian Gothic in one sitting, you'll understand HOW patient) but the mass majority will probably be suing the developers for the fact that their GBA's are now in many little pieces. No sympathy for the developers here, they kinda asked for it when they made it so punishingly difficult.

TACTICS OGRE

I could drone on about the graphics, but for the love of god, IT'S A CARD DUEL GAME! What in heavens name do you want? There is nothing you can do to jazz this kinda thing up. Which works against it I agree, a few battle monster animations would have been nice. But it doesn't make it a laborious process, just makes it standard fare.

I could drone on about the music, but again, thats not relevant. You get the same experience, sound up or off. The music isn't the worst you'll hear, but it didn't rock my world. And I doubt it will rock yours.

One thing I will drone on about is the tactical aspect, I will expand on this. There are many tricks you can use to knock your opponent out - you can steal one of his monsters and use it against him (If the monster is really tough, it works quite well), use chains to cause increased damage, and use support cards to strengthen your side or weaken your opponents. Theres more, but I won't ruin them for you, it's rewarding to beat the enemies in this game, but it's all a matter of how long you can keep throwing yourself at it.

YU-GI-ERR...

So here it is. It's not the cheap cash-in you'd expect, but that doesn't make it any better. It's not for the casual gamer either, or really for those with no Yu-Gi-Oh! expertise. This is aimed at players who know the series and tactics inside-out, and for that purpose, I guess it works.

But as a game, it is just too damn frustrating to really be worth you shelling out your cash. Yes, it's rewarding, yes you can glean enjoyment out of this if you're a masochist like me, and yes, it's got more Yu-Gi-Oh cards than you can shake a Yugi at... or something.

But theres so much missing - a learning curve, a variety of characters to beat up, a tutorial... trust me, if you buy this game, check yourself into a padded cell for the duration of your play time... that way no-one gets hurt. Except your own peace of mind...

OVERALL

Graphics: 6
Standard fare for a card duel game.
Sound: 5
It's not terrible, but I would turn it down.
Gameplay: 5
Rock hard. But rewarding if you can take the punishment.
Difficulty: 2
Just far too difficult for it's own good, and lacking any major tutorial.
Replay Value: 3
I doubt many of you will play this twice.

Overall: 5
It's not terrible, but not good. WHile this definately isn't a standard cash-pig for the Yu-Gi-Oh! merchandising monkies, it's not good enough to justify 30 of your hard earned notes. Do everyone a favour, and put that towards another game instead. If you do get it, you'd best hope your patience can hold out...

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/12/03, Updated 05/12/03