Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004

"Yu-Gi-Oh! returns with a mild welcome!"

Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004 is the latest version of the famous dueling card game to hit the GameBoy Advance, however there are some noticeable changes that may affect the decision of whether to BUY or RENT this title.

GRAPHICS:
The game looks great and the card picture detail is satisfyingly accurate. Character pictures and in-game gameboard look pretty much the same as it did in both Eternal Duelist Soul and Worldwide Edition.
Overall there isn't much more in the way of graphics to mention, as this card game was all about the gameplay. Which brings us to the next category...

GAMEPLAY:
Here's where we get into the meat of the title. Yu-Gi-Oh kinda veered off course last time with Sacred Cards and many were disappointed. I am quite pleased to say that WCT2k4 is a solid return to the official card game rules that we all learned to love. In fact, it is simply a 'return' to the old rules and not much else.
Aside from a decent upgrade in the cards, which may put fans decks somewhere around the Phaoroah's Guardian series now, and the additional option of having 3 different decks to combat different opponents, there really isn't much new here in the way of gameplay that differenciated it from its predecessors.
The main menu got a bit of a face lift, and rather than the city street map menu we used in Worldwide Edition , where we chose a direction and faced the opponent we bumped into, we are given a rather unappealing, yet more strategic character-stat menu. In this menu you will see the opponents picture, information on that opponents type of deck (life gain, beatdown, etc), and below that are 5 new stats that show the attack, defense, startegy, luck and intellect levels of that particular opponent. I find this does give new strategic considerations when choosing an opponent, albeit I would've preferred the more eye-appealing city street menu which gave it a more interesting and fun approach to duelling.
Main gameboard hasn't changed, and most if not all rules seem to be in tact from previous editions. Much like the EDS game, you start with a first tier of opponents and by defeating them numerous times you will unlock more tiers of new opponents which are obviously more difficult and with them new Booster Packs (meaning better cards?).
AI we discovered has been slightly increased, not allowing for the many stupid decisions it made in other versions. Mind you it still isn't near perfect, but it has gotten ALOT better.

OPTIONS:
This is either going to make or break the game, and in my opinion I believe it will probably be it's downfall.
While most graphics and gameplay rules are almost similar to it's past versions, the one major option change is the fact that YOU CAN NOT ENTER PASSWORDS any longer. So no more buying the game, ripping it open and sitting for 3 hours inputting the passwords from your favourite real deck.
However, before you 'pssfft' the game away, one must realize that this opens up a new element of reality to the game table. True fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! will realise that like in real life, you don't input passwords. The challenge must be to attain better cards through reward Booster Packs and conquer the odds. If one cannot overcome this small challenge without putting in their own cards, then this game may not be for you. I for one took the challenge and found it is NOT impossible to build a good deck from scratch, and in very little time. Not to mention more fun too...no lie!
I started with a 'starter deck', and within about six or seven games I was starting to rack up some good wins and great cards from reward boosters (5 or 6 in a pack), and did it WITHOUT all the fancy magic cards I was used to having.

SOUND:
The music in this game is GREAT! The in-game tune hasn't grown old and annoying, but instead very uplifting and really gets you into the mood of the game. I'm quite happy with this improvement. For some strange reason the sound of the cards hitting the table while being dealt sets me on edge...probably just me! Otherwise, only smiles in this category.

GENERAL:
Basically, that's all there is to it. It's more comparible to Eternal Duelist Soul, minus the Password feature, and added the deck and opponent strategies.
In closing I don't truly look at this as a new Yu-Gi-Oh! game, but rather an upgraded version. I like it, and enjoy playing it just as I did the others if not more so. If someone is looking for a greatly updated Yu-Gi-Oh! game with the official rules, a little more fair play and a bit more realistic strategy (on both player and CPU's end) then I recommend this game.
If you absolutely NEED to cheat, stick to EDS and Worldwide Edition. As the old adage goes, ''..only SERIOUS players need apply!''.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/04