Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards [GBA] Review

Developer	Konami
Publisher	Konami
Genre	Role-Playing

It’s that time again. Konami has released yet another Yu-Gi-Oh GBA game, and this one follows the card-based formula pretty closely. While the packaging might have you believe there’s a real story-based RPG experience to be had, this is the same old dual after dual after dual Yu-Gi-Oh. That’s maybe not a bad thing, but those hoping for a new experience will be sorely disappointed. Take away the ability to duel with a friend, and well... there’s nothing here, other than some visual improvements, to excite fans of the series.

Gameplay - Yu-Gi-Oh is a customizable card game, much like Magic: The Gathering, although not quite as deep. Players create their own decks, choosing from over 1,000 cards (in this version). Summoning monsters allows you to attack and defend, and there are countless other spells and trap cards with a variety of effects. Some raise the player’s health, others give stat boosts to certain creatures, etc. Much of the strategy in Yu-Gi-Oh comes from deck construction, although when your computer opponents pose no challenge, there is very little reason to take the time and effort required to build a powerful deck.

The lack of challenge is the biggest problem with this version of Yu-Gi-Oh. Not only is the game over pretty quickly, it’s ridiculously easy. The initial deck the player is given can take the player to the end, with only some minor tweaks as the game goes on. Even if the player does lose a battle, there is no real penalty. The game lacks any kind of link-play, which is really a shame, as dueling a friend is the best part about these types of games, especially when the solo game is so easy.

There are a couple RPG elements here, but they are hardly worth noting. Instead of selecting who to dual next through a series of menus, you’ll now need to search the city to find the next battle. There are a lot of people to dual, although they lack personality, with the exception of the characters from the anime. Finally, with each battle won, the player earns points which allow them to insert more powerful cards in their deck. Having to win a certain number of battles before putting powerful cards in your deck is nothing more than an annoyance.

Graphics - On the plus side, the game looks great. During a dual, players can now see the art on the cards without having to specifically go to the card and examine it. This change alone makes each dual much more visually exciting, although the graphics when walking around the city are bland and uninteresting.

Sound - The audio is also a bit better than the last version, as there is more than one battle theme, but anyone spending a serious amount of time with the title will undoubtedly turn the sound off.

Bottom Line - It’s too bad, but the last card-based Yu-Gi-Oh (Stairway to the Destined Dual Worldwide Edition) is a much better game than the Sacred Cards. While the basic Yu-Gi-Oh gameplay is here, with some nice new visuals, the overall experience has been far too simplified with easy AI opponents and little motivation to improve one’s deck. The raw number of cards in this game is impressive, but few will take the time to craft a master deck when there are no worthy opponents. It’s hard to recommend this game to anyone, even a hardcore Yu-Gi-Oh fan.

Review by Joe Mackie