Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Duel Academy

"War-Lions, Soul Tigers, and that creepy Dr. Crowler, OH MY!"

Konami is back at the wheel with yet another Yu-gi-oh! game, and this one is sure to please. Yu-gi-oh! GX: Duel Academy brings the entertaining characters from the new cartoon, throws them together with the classic game style from almost EVERY other Yu-gi-oh! game (which you can choose whether that is good or not), and brings them together in one little, tiny, weensy cartridge. Ahh, new game smell.

The game drops you right in at new student orientation, and introduces you as, of course, the newbie at Duel Academy. You meet with the usual cast of characters: Chumley, Syrus, Doctor Banner, and of course, Jaden Yuki, hotshot extraordinaire. The whole school is in an uproar about the title "King of Games," which is the Holy Grail of Duel Monsters.

The game offers you a tutorial, which you can leave at any time, but if you are new to the entire concept of Yu-gi-oh!, you are going to want to play through all of the lessons, maybe even a couple of times. If not, just go ahead and get dueling.

The music on YGO GX: DA is not that great, but then again, it is a GBA game, which I have found does not offer that great of sound quality anyway. So given the system, it's good enough not to annoy the living daylights out of you.

Gameplay is, like all the other games, very basic. Talk, Duel, repeat. You will find yourself having deja vu, cuz it will seem like you have done the same thing over, and over, and over, and over......... The reason, you have.

The game controls are easy enough to figure out, but if you have played the previous titles, the Deck Edit screen is a bit difficult to navigate at times, and just trying to look at a card will aggravate you, because you have to remember to hold down the R button to view it's text. Other than that, they have added a related card feature, which allows you to select a Fusion or Ritual Monster, go to the "To Main Deck" selection, hold the L button, and hit A to add all related material or ritual spell cards at the same time.

The selection of cards is, of course, larger than ever, with over 1200 cards, including sets up through Cybernetic Revolution. the only problem I have found is that, as usual, certain cards are missing. Spear Cretin, Soul Exchange, Ballista of Rampart Smashing, the Planetary Agents (Mars, Saturn etc.), just to name a few.

This game is a lot like the other games in the fact that Yu-gi-oh! itself is a love-it-hate-it series. For fans of the show and the card game itself, this game is a must-buy, the same goes for those just looking to get into the series. I personally, would recommend this game to anyone who just needs something to absorb a great deal of their time, because this game will get addicting at first.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/19/06