written by TheChoujinVirus
Disclaimer: This review may contain spoilers to this game.
Yu-Gi-Oh is a card game that everyone knows about, one of the significant TCGs people have known about for a long time. Yu-gi-oh has many games, with the recent being 2016’s Yu-gi-oh Duel Links. Though released this month of January 19th is the latest incarnation of the game. Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. A game found on Steam, Switch, and on your smartphone. If you’re interested, let’s see how this game goes well.
Brief Summary of gameplay
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel follows the more current rules of Yugioh (Master Rules 2020/2021). One could explain the whole aspect of the game, but here’s a link from the official Yu-Gi-Oh website that gives a better explanation of how to play the game. However, to summarize the game, you play monsters, spells, and traps to reduce your opponent’s life points (LP) to 0 before they can. You have the duel mode, which pits you against other people online, though you have a unique model known as “Solo” mode. The solo mode is the game’s story mode in a sense. Not much of a story except explaining the lore of the archetype you’ll be playing. For example, one of the Solo stories has a cute story explaining the Cyber Bug archetype and its role in that universe. They also teach you how the archetype is played and even some combos that give you a way of what other archetypes can go well or how to play the deck further. The solo content rewards things like cards of the archetype, a free deck of the archetype (think of it as akin to the game’s version of a structure deck), and some good things like cosmetics and gems (the premium currency of the game). Gems are used chiefly for buying booster packs to improve your deck or some cosmetic items such as mats for your cards, sleeves for them, and even little pets that sit on your side on the field (they do not affect the game, but they sit there).
King of Games: What the Game shines in.
The game has so much potential that it makes it impressive. One such example is that compared to Duel Links, you do have a ton of cards to build any archetype you want, from Blue-Eyes to Cyber Dragon and then some. You’re not limited to specific cards. Another benefit is they introduce “Secret Packs” now. What are these Packs? Well, whenever you craft a card in the game or open a master pack, you may get a chance of finding some cards of a specific archetype. These secret packs are more or fewer archetype packs that let you get that core card set without playing gamble with the Master Packs themselves. It also makes investments oh so worth it if you’re building decks. Lastly, the soundtrack is excellent as you get some good music while you duel, and the tone changes whenever things like close to victory or when a boss monster is summoned to the field. It’s got plenty of work.
Dueling Dog: what the game flounders.
Though the game is good, it has some significant flaws. One such is that the game kind of tosses you into the series right away. So new players entering the first time or old players who haven’t kept up with the franchise may be overwhelmed with all the new mechanics. Luckily, the tutorial does teach you the basics, but most of the time, there are some things the tutorials won’t explain that require experience. Another issue is the crafting and premium currency. When building a deck, you’ll be using some UR (ultra rares) staples that can be expensive as you may have to cannibalize some other UR cards to get something viable. I wish they could convert some of the Normal, Rare, and Super rare tab to acquire UR materials without buying boosters. Lastly is the Secret Packs duration. When you unlock them, you only gain access to them for around a day, then you have to get the cards again, which can be inconvenient if you need to get some cards from other aspects. Another and officially final thing is there are no other duel formats. While Duel Links gave us Speed Duels (a format for faster play), master duel only has one format, which is current, which means if you want to play a game with no Link Monsters or Pendulums. So no old days of just playing old-school rules or other formats.
Should you D-D-duel and get this game?
In short, should you get this game? Yeah, you should if you’re a fan of Yugioh. Also, ever since Dueling Network got shut down and Duelist of the Legacy became obsolete with the current gameplay, Yugioh Master Duel’s something that requires you to understand and play. Also, as a former YuGiOh player, it’s something great to do. By the way, I do play the game too and if curious, I roll a Cyber Dragon deck. If you’re interested look up “TCV” and you’ll see me. If you want to add me as a friend, DM me if you want
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