Random Game of the Day

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses (2003)
Developer: Konami
Platform: PlayStation 2
Induction Date: 02/23/2003

Stop kissing my butt old man!

If you have played the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading game either using the actual cards or digitally, you know that the mechanics of the card battle is pretty solid. Just because of that reason, it is almost guaranteed that any Yu-Gi-Oh! game that replicates the official rule of the card game properly will become very playable and extremely deep thus the many different releases and revisions found on Nintendo's handheld systems. The best Yu-Gi-Oh! game of them all though is Dawn of Destiny for the original X-Box. Konami has created a number of weird experimentation with the license and The Duelists of the Roses is one of them. The battle in this version plays out like a grid-based strategy game where you have to protect your leader creature by moving him/her alongside other summons within a small battle map. You still have access to spell as well as item cards and since there are a lot of cards to collect - over 850 of them - deck creation is still fun to experiment with here. Even though this game is not as slick nor engaging as the original premise, Konami's creativity is certainly welcomed because they could have just presented this game with the proper Yu-Gi-Oh! card battle setup - well actually, that would have made the game better. The storyline where you are being teleported to the past to help or fight against Yugi in Medieval Europe is captivating but the new battle mechanics will disappoint Yu-Gi-Oh! fans even though the story tried to cleverly justify the gameplay difference.

LIBRARY STATUS: 3 out of 5