Overall 8.8 Graphics 7.4 Sound 5.8 Addictive 8.3 Story 5.2 Depth 6 Difficulty 5.5
7.8
Yu-Gi-Oh! - The Eternal Duelist Soul Redrunelord
Violence is within human nature, for humans have had the lust for power and inflicting violence upon those that are weaker. Even the great Roman rulers felt this for, among their infinite achievements, they built the Colosseum to witness the violent nature of humans (watching their "will to survive" by unleashing said nature) out of pleasure. Over time, the concept of civilization tempered this blood lust, and humans found alternative ways to vent and feel empowered. Oddly enough, the past time of card games would become a vague way to feel powerful by leading legions of armies, such as in Yu Gi Oh.
Card games got a lot of potential for video game releases, as it is much more portable and affordable than collecting hundreds or thousands of cards. However, many card games made sloppy transitions and often die out quickly. For instance, the Pokémon Trading Card game saw one North American release, and its sequel being a Japanese port only. Both of these games, while decent ports, were still fairly sloppy and it shows. However, unlike the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Yu Gi Oh flooded the Game Boy Advance. As a result, it is difficult to sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly. How does this particular game compare to the plethora of other titles?
This is a bit of a complicated game to newcomers, so before going on an explanation is required. This brief explanation will not go into most of the rules, as that would take too long. If one is already familiar with the card game, then they can skip ahead to the following paragraph.The basic premise of Yu-Gi-Oh is to build a deck of 40-60 cards to wage battle against other deck-wielding strategists and to try and beat them by lowering their life points to zero. The deck would consist of monster, magic and traps cards, and each turn the player would lay them onto the battlefield. A player can lay a maximum of 5 monster cards, and 5 magic/trap cards (which would share the same space). Monster cards can be laid in either a defensive or offensive position. The offensive position, as the name implies, allows for the monster to attack but the defense position prevents the loss of life points if defeated. In the event of no opposing monsters on the opponent's side of the battlefield, then the attacking monster could attack the life point's directly. The magic cards and trap cards could be said to be the supply lines if monsters were front line soldiers, as they provides essential support (such as raising stats, reviving fallen units, destroying opposition, and the list goes on) and the usage of magic/trap cards are a huge part of the strategy. That is the game, in the shortest and simplest terms.
Visually, this is debatably one of the best games from the Yu Gi Oh handheld games. While the game did not attempt to make usage of 3d rendering, it did not need to. If it was a trade-off between 3d graphics, and clarity, then clarity wins by a wide margin in this case. The fact of the matter is that this game is one of the clearest, and it isn`t a nightmare trying to figure out what to do to initiate a certain event. The color scheme is very clear, and doesn`t hurt the eyes. Animations are limited but, as this is a card game, unnecessary. The ones that do exist are fluent and pleasing. Overall, for what the game was trying to do (aka represent the card game in a straightforward and pleasant manner) the graphics succeed perfectly. Sometimes less is more, and this is a perfect example. The audio, however, is the exact opposite. The biggest problem with the audio is that it is very ill suited. The Pokémon Trading Card Game was similar, but Pokémon was generally a bit brighter than Yu Gi Oh anyways. It is very repetitive and just weak. The sound effects can also be perceived as annoying, and ill suited. The sound is very subjective, but overall it just doesn't work well.
Something that is very uncharacteristic compared to the other games in the plethora of ports is that this one has an exceptionally vague story, if one at all. The story is more-less a kid who is getting into the game goes to the local card shop to play with other people...and this works very well. The other games either tried to mimic the anime/comics or tried to spin their own massive stories, but this game kept it simple and to the point. In many regards, this makes the story more realistic (as it implies that the game unlike in the Pokémon Trading Card Game that its a world obsession) and in some respects stronger. While it would have been nice to see it a bit further, it works.
However, as the story isn't the main focus, the game play takes that position. The shortest way to describe it is that it's Yu-Gi-Oh.It is essentially a near perfect transfer of the card game, only the card selection is more likely varied than the average kid's. That is what makes this game work: it doesn't try to pretty up the formula of the original card game. How does it hold for people just getting into the game however? As far as tutorials goes, it is the polar opposite of Pokémon Trading Card Game. Whereas that game had a very in-depth mandatory tutorial, this game doesn't have one at all. While this does cater to some people who prefers to learn as they goes along, an optional introductory tutorial for those unfamiliar with the card game. This game caters to those familiar with the series, and lays down subtle hints that the player may recognize yet...it would have been nice to see more to cater to people who just randomly came across the game.
That doesn't say that people who isn't a fan won't enjoy it. The game encompasses a large amount of strategy, and anyone who likes utilizing a vague amount of their mental capacity would enjoy this game. The difficulty levels are hit or miss, partially depending if the player uses the passwords or not. Each password would summon a single card, and the lists are readily available with the Internet. However, it is 100% optional, and the player could opt to simply play with the cards they win (after every won game, they gets a pack of five cards). Early on, the opponents are easy but as time goes on the adversaries and their decks grows more elaborate and complicated to battle, requiring an "evolve or die" philosophy. Battles could either range from easy as can be, tremendous battles of epic proportions. This game is also addicting. It is one of those games that once picked up, it is difficult to put down due to the nature of the battles and the desire to just get better and "collect them all" to steal the Pokémon term. Actually, the focus is more to become powerful rather than collect every single card.
One thing also worth noting is this game is entirely oriented towards multiple players. It makes sense, but a real kick in the gut for the gamer who prefers single player campaigns: most of the menu options are oriented towards two or more players getting together and having a blast between trading or having games. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but as Vizzed lacks multiplayer at this point, it reduces the actual value of the game.
In short, this is an extremely solid Yu Gi Oh video game. This is a game that really has to be played to believe or understand, but if someone enjoys Yu Gi Oh, or strategy games, then this is one that should be believed. All in all, it's recommended. It has its flaws, like the audio, but the technical prowess makes it completely worthwhile, albeit the soundtrack for "The Gladiator" would be much desired with the browser set on mute. It's recommended to try this game, and it's recommended to learn what it means to have a full developed deck to conquer your adversaries and make them feel one's terrible vengeance and furious anger. It is what is, and it's a solid card game worth trying.
Graphics 9 Sound 2 Addictive 8 Story 5 Depth 7 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 10-15-11
Updated: 10-15-11
Review Replies: 2
8.5
Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal Duelist Soul Lazlo Falconi
When Yu-Gi-Oh first came to American shores I was 13 or 14, right in the target audience's age group, and oh boy, did I fall into it, hard. I was disillusioned with the Pokemon Trading Card Game's newest expansion packs, and, to be honest, at that time, the Pokemon Trading Card Game wasn't very fun. But Yu-Gi-Oh came out and blew the youth Trading Card Game market out of the water! Konami really hit a home run with a highly addictive card game that was simple to learn, but had nearly infinite complexity, even in it's early stages. In an arena dominated by Wizards of the Coast and Magic: The Gathering's rules, Yu-Gi-Oh came about with a truly fresh trading card game, that seemed to have no connection to the other popular games of the time, and it came with a Saturday Morning cartoon show with an engrossing story to boot. It's no wonder the game took off almost instantly!
When Eternal Duelist Soul hit the market, the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game was still fairly new in America, with only a handful of expansion packs, and only three or four prefab decks. But this game packed every single card available at the time into the game, and gave us a portable, electronic version of the table-top game we all loved. Konami also released several Playstation games around this time, which were not related to the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game, instead focusing on battling monsters, but with Eternal Duelist Soul, Konami took the route that the Pokemon Company had taken with its GameBoy Color version of its own trading card game, making a faithful port of a fun game into the portable market.
However, in contrast to the Pokemon Trading Card Game's electronic version, Konami opted to not include a story-driven quest. Instead, upon starting the game for the first time, you are greeted by one of Yugi Moto's friends, Tea Gardener. She will tell you that you need a deck to play, and have you choose from one of three decks.
You cannot see which deck contains which cards, so the selection is pretty random. She then explains some basics of the game to you, and you're sent to the main menu. Here you can select from several options, as seen below.
When you select Campaign mode you will be brought to the meat and potatoes of the game. Initially there are only five opponents for you to choose from, but as you beat them, more will eventually open up. Selecting any one of them will have them introduce themselves and their style of play. The first five opponents are friendly players who will play a relaxed game with you. This is a good chance for you to get cards to add to your deck. The opponents are all characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh TV show, and they have playing styles similar to their personalities in the show. They also have the same decks they do in the show, with the same cards. For instance, Mai Valentine has a deck featuring her Harpie Ladies so even before you challenge them you can know what to expect.
When starting a duel, you play Scissors, Paper, Rock to determine who goes first. Whoever wins selects if they want to be first or second, then the word DUEL drops in from the top of the screen. If you hold R and L at this time, the game will speed up some animations to make the game move a bit more quickly. This has no actual effect on gameplay, it's purely cosmetic.
After this you're dropped into the field of play, which is set up just like any Yu-Gi-Oh tournament mat, and you start your duel.
The first few enemies have very easy to see patterns of attack, but again, it's just a simple way to beat some people and add cards to your deck. When you beat an opponent, you will get to choose from a selection of expansion packs, each with different sets of cards in them. When you select one, five cards from the set will be randomly given to you, and added to your trunk. Once you have more cards to play with, you can start changing your deck in any way that you would if you were playing the real Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game.
There are also a few other features to gain cards to play with. There is an in-game calender, which advances one day for each normal duel you participate in. Every "Saturday" you receive a copy of the Weekly Yu-Gi-Oh, a magazine with five randomly selected cards to add to your trunk. Unfortunately, there is no actual magazine for you to read, which is somewhat disappointing, though I suppose that there could only be so many articles, and after a while, reading them would get tedious.
Additionally, twice a month there is a dueling tournament, in which Solomon Muto will appear and talk to you a bit about the trading card game, then he will randomly select an opponent and forces you to play against them, best out of three. This allows you to utilize your side-deck more prominently, as between each bout you have the opportunity to switch out cards to help gain an edge against a certain type of opponent.
Another interesting way to gain cards is through the password system, which allows you to insert cards that you really own into the game! This helps you to advance your game early on if you already play the TCG, and have a style of play unique to you.
Additionally, this game features 1-on-1 link-cable support, but your friend must also have a cartridge to play with you. You can battle them or trade cards, which adds an interesting level of realism to the game.
The Deck Edit menu option is pretty self explanatory, but it provides a very nice and intuitive way to see the cards you have in your trunk, and to add them or remove them from your deck. You also have the option to sort through your cards by different criteria, and can filter the list to only see Magic cards, or Trap cards.
The graphics in this game are very simple, but in a way, it's almost better that way. Every pixel seems to serve a purpose, but the game still looks very nice. The art from the cards is the same as the art on the real cards, adding to the feel of actually playing the game. But, it still plays exactly like playing a card game, so don't expect monsters to start jumping out of the cards or anything. Although there are some instances where the game adds a bit of flair, just to make things more exciting.
The music is also very simple chiptunes, but it adds a nice sort of ambiance to the game's mechanics. The first few opponents have very light-hearted and fun music that emphisises how fun the game is, and as you fight more challenging opponents, the music slowly becomes more oppressive and dark. Over all, I'd say the musical selection in this game isn't something that I'd rush out to download, but I certainly enjoy hearing it in the game.
All in all, the game was a great venture into the handheld market for the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, and one I still play to this day. Although the next game in the series improved many mechanics of the game, such as automatically increasing the speed of the animations, making holding R and L at the beginning of a duel unnecessary, this one will forever hold a special place in my heart, just for being the first. Or maybe it's because after the first set of expansions, I quit playing, and the newer ones feature cards I don't like...
Graphics 7 Sound 7 Addictive 10 Depth 5 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 4.6/5
Submitted: 01-15-12
Updated: 01-15-12
Review Replies: 0
8
Eternal Duelist Soul bluethew0lf
I play this video game on my Gameboy Advanced regularly. To me, it is a card game like poker only better. Yu-Gi-oh was very popular back about a decade and everyone was collecting cards. What I enjoy most about it is the strategy that is necessary to win, building a solid deck and the vast number of cards to choose from. This game was created towards the beginning of the anime and has only the classic cards, but in my opinion, it the best of all the Yu-Gi-oh Gameboy games I've played.
I rate the graphics a 8 because though you don't get to see the graphics of the monsters summoned like in the anime, but the cards are replicated nicely and you do see what is going on on the field as you play, like when a monster is summoned you see the little tornado to indicate the summon. The visual is very clear and easy to understand.
The sound gets an 8. I like how the sound effects are accurate and clear throughout the game. There's sound for everything that happens in game play so if things are moving a bit fast visually, you will be able to get what is happening by sound. I also enjoy the music. Somehow the music is relaxing and winds me down.
As for addictiveness, I rate 9. If you really enjoy card games and/or if you like the Yu-Gi-oh anime, you will likely play this game over and over again. For me it has become a habit.
This game gets a 7 for story because it is mainly working towards obtaining all cards. After you win all the tournaments and obtain all the cards there is really no more story in the game.
I rate the depth a 7 because though it takes a while to win all the cards and build a strong deck, after you do, the fun is mostly gone and you want to start over again.
The difficulty of this game is around 7 because unless you cheat and turn off the game or reset when you are about to lose, you will lose a lot. Many of the duelists are pretty tough after the first group until you can strengthen up your deck.
Overall, I rate this game an 8 because it is addictive, fun, and takes a little mind power but not too much so I find it unwinding (as long as I don't keep losing ;) ).
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 9 Story 7 Depth 7 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4.6/5
Submitted: 03-28-15
Review Replies: 1
10
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul Review XxEzraxX
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul, this game brings back a lot of memories for me. It was the first Yu-Gi-Oh! game I had ever owned and I loved it, the game centers around you being a duelist, you must first choose a starter deck then you are sent directly to a menu with the options Campaign, Deck Edit, Calender, Record etc. If you choose Campaign you will see the first four duelist you can face Yugi, Tristan, Joey, Tea and Bakura. They are all fairly easy but you have to beat them a set amount of times to move on to more challenging duelists. Every time you defeat one you are given a screen where you choose from a list of packs and you get five new cards.
A new feature that was added to this game that I found interesting was the Calender, on certain days on the calender you will see that there will be a tournament so you get to randomly face one of the opponents that you have unlocked and win some very rare cards, also there are magazine subscriptions that will be sent to you on random days that give you extra cards as well. If you are into getting as many rare cards as you can there is a password section on the main menu where you can take the codes from the bottom of your cards and enter them to transfer them over to the game and play with that card. Now you can have your Buster Blader or Magician of Black Chaos. I found this feature extremely helpful when it came to deck building, sure it might take a while to enter in large amounts of codes but can be completely worth it when you have all of the cards you want.
Another thing I really liked about this game is the fact that while you are playing, it is like an average duel with your friends unlike Dark Duel Stories where you just throw out monsters and hope for the best. This game actually has strategy behind it, and at times it can make the game more challenging. I rated this game a 10, like I said before I owned this game at one point and really loved it. It made me feel like I was an extremely good duelist if given the correct cards. And I think the only thing that did bug me about the game was that you were given God cards randomly but couldn't use them, I mean why? It just didn't make sense to me, because all you could do was just look at them.
Anyway, I rated the graphics of this game an 8, they where really good and the mouths of the characters even moved while you read their dialogue. The cards looked pretty good, the only thing I didn't like was the moving background of the dueling field it often made me feel dizzy and sometimes just flat out got on my nerves. For the sound of the game I rated it a 7, it could just be me but at the beginning I really liked the music and enjoyed listening to it but after a while I just wanted it to stop. The music eventually got stuck in my head and drove me crazy. It is a nice catchy tune at first, but then it turns into the tune of death.
As the for addictiveness I rated this game a 9, when I first got the game I just could not put it down. I even stopped playing my Pokémon games for a while so I could focus more this game. I was hooked, it is fun and a great way to test your skills as a duelist and if you are a new up and coming duelist this game is a great way to figure out how to play the duel monsters card game. As far as depth goes I gave this game a 7, it is a pretty long game considering you do the same things over and over again. Once you get to the last set of duelists you will soon find out that there is really no official way of beating the game and you just go back and keep dueling over and over the people you already beat or just start a whole new file.
The difficulty I gave a 7 as well, because at the beginning (like most games) when you are dueling Yugi and Tea and company, you will see that they are super easy and can be defeated in no time. But as you move on and face more people like Marik the game becomes harder, the hardest opponent that I remember is the duel computer, it's deck was suppose to be constructed to be a perfect match against your deck making him harder and harder to face each time, but once you get into the groove and beat him a few times he is really no problem at all.
Overall, this game was an amazing addition to the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and I hope that one day they make either a remake or another game just like this one. I had a great time playing the game, and reviewing it. And I really hope this review inspires you to pick up the game and try it out for yourself. I might even begin a new file again, it was very entertaining the first few runs I had of the game and I would recommend this game to any Yu-Gi-Oh! fan young or old.
Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 9 Depth 7 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4.6/5
Submitted: 10-27-12
Review Replies: 1
7
Yu-Gi-Oh enternal duelist soul diabeticzach
Overall: 7 because of lack of depth and story my 8 year old brother could beat this game asleep if he wanted to. But if you like the YugiOh card game then its up your alley so to speak. Sound wasnt impressed always ended up pulling up my Windows media player, and there are so many ways to just stall the other players deck and win every time. Now as for graphics for the GBA its mediocre nothing compared to games like fire emblem or FFtactics but its average. So if you like the card game in real life check it out compare and take notes etc thanks and have a good time gaming Diabeticzach
Graphics 5 Sound 3 Addictive 5 Depth 5 Difficulty 3
Review Rating: 2.8/5
Submitted: 04-28-11
Review Replies: 0