Reviewed: December 18, 2006
Reviewed by: Justin Nixon
Publisher
Konami
Developer
Konami JPN
Released: November 14, 2006
Genre: Strategy
Players: 1-4
ESRB: Everyone
5
6
4
5
4.9
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Since I got my PSP I have been nothing but impressed with the capabilities of this handheld. I love my DS Lite, but the PSP is capable of so much more. The graphical power alone is reason enough to spend $200. You can surf the web, listen to music, and play videos too. It can do it all.
The thing that stands out the most is the gaming. It may not have as strong of a library as the DS but the quality of the better games surpasses that of most DS games, until now. Say hello to the newest game in the ever-growing Yu-Gi-Oh library, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force. It just happens to be the first Yu-Gi-Oh game on the PSP. I guess I picked the wrong time to get a PSP. If you haven’t noticed I’m not he biggest fan of Yu-Gi-Oh games. I know the sorrows of the series on the DS and I was hoping to avoid it on the PSP. I thought wrong.
If you’ve played any Yu-Gi-Oh games in the past you will know what to expect. That’s right, card battling, and lots of it. This time around though, you can get a partner and battle 2-on-2. By get a partner I mean walk around the Academy saying nice things to people and giving them gifts. This adds a little bit of good and a whole lot of bad to the overall experience. If you think card battling is boring when you have to wait on one computer controlled player make decisions then you can imagine what it’s like waiting on three computer controlled players make decisions.
The good parts of the game include collecting the cards, managing your cards, and making decks out of your cards. Even making a deck can become a headache after a while though. You can trade your cards and decks with other players. You can also win cards through winning card battles. You can enter into tournaments that are accessible at certain times. These times will be marked on your calendar. You can talk to basically anyone and challenge them if you want to as well or you can just make conversation. You are given four dialogue options to pick from to try and persuade them to be your partner. It isn’t that direct though, most of the dialogue is just saying nice things to them, but in the end the goal is to try and get them as your partner.
The multiplayer may just be the best part of the game. You can play with another friend and battle it out in a Tag Team battle. The battles go much faster since you don’t have to wait on three computer-controlled players, which is a definite plus. If you have a few friends that are into Yu-Gi-Oh and want to show off your new deck there is no better way to do it than battle them head to head.
Unfortunately, when you get right down to it the battling is not so good. It is not only boring but it is complicated as well. If this game is actually targeted toward young children I don’t know what Konami JPN was thinking. The battles are very complex with many different things to take into account, like strengths and weaknesses to name a couple. Not only does this complexity make the game practically unplayable at times, but it also takes away a large chunk of enjoyment. I have never played the card game of Yu-Gi-Oh before so this may just be part of the game but to me it felt unnecessarily complicated.
As your walking around the Academy you’ll realize that although this game as cutesy look to it, it actually seems to work. Everyone has small bodies and big heads and looks cartoon-like. The environments aren’t the greatest with little detail but at the same time it fits with the whole cartoon-like graphics.
The in-battle animations can be pretty good. The cards come in very crisp and are easily readable and distinguishable. The different battle animations will catch your eye and add a little bit of spice to the sometimes-boring card battling.
There really isn’t much sound in the game beyond a few sound effects and some music. This is kind of surprising, but it doesn’t really hurt the overall experience that much. The small amount of music that is heard is very sparse so don’t expect a loaded soundtrack.
If you are a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh and don’t mind the complex rules from the trading card game then this game should be in your PSP library. If you are just a casual fan looking for a good multiplayer game then you may be able to get a few hours of enjoyment out of this game because the multiplayer is definitely one of its strong points.
Other than that I wouldn’t bother with this game. I found the battling to be too complex. Building a deck gave me a headache after a while too. There are better games out there for 30 bucks so don’t waste your money.
I’m not a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh and, I don’t really care for card battling games either. This was doomed from the beginning. I played it with an open mind though and found some enjoyment out of collecting cards and managing my decks. Once the battles started all that enjoyment went away I went back to disliking card games.