Yu-Gi-Oh!: Reshef of Destruction

The Good
-NOTHING!

The Bad
-Saving System -Deck Building System -Story -Interface

The Bottom Line
You know in some RPGs, you reach a point where, in order to beat a tough boss, you spend one or two hours just running around in circles for encounters, fighting for the XP and level ups you need to go further.

What if I told you about an RPG that did that to you in the first 30 minutes, and it never stopped.

That is what Rashef of Destruction is all about.

You play as character who never appears in the show, whom you get to name. You're followed by Yugi, who has lost his Yami-Yugi powers, and is worthless, and Joey, who is just as worthless. They follow you around everywhere, and only make themselves useful in the departments of 4th grade level smack talk, and serving as your teammate in double duels.

I'd just like to say here, that double duels are nothing special. Two characters challenge you to a double duel, and you have pick which character plays. Not that it changes anything really.

No, if anything, Yugi and Joey just drag you down. You can duel them both if you want to, but the rewards are just humiliating.

This is where I explain how you build a deck. Decks are 40 card big. Each card has a cost, which is anywhere from 0 to 999. The cost means nothing in a duel, only in deck building. You have two stats that relate to the cost. They are 'Deulist Level', and 'Deck Capacity'. Deck Capacity is earned by winning duels, normally in very small amounts. As this goes up, your Duelist Level will level up. Here's the painful part. You can only use cards that have a cost equal to, or lower then your 'Deulist Level', and the combined cost of all cards in your deck can't surpass your capacity.

Seems like a good idea right? Keeps new player from ruining the field with super powerful cards given to them by their friends?

Ok, that's nice argument, but here's mine. Lets say Yugi uses a card called 'Spellbinding Circle'. It's a good card. It really is. Weakens all my foes monsters. It's cost is 160, and my DL is stuck at 120. So heres the plan: Keep dueling Yugi, build up the DC and DL, and win some Circles...

I keep getting 1 DC from him. Each time I win. I have no idea how long it will take to get to the next level, as the game will not tell me. I just fight him over and over again, and over time, get 3 circles, and move up to level 135.

I'd like to add that the game has no clock that keeps track of how long you've been playing through the game.

I don't know why I get so little DC from my fights from Yugi. The game clearly holds him in higher regard then me. How do I know this? Simple, he plays with the Spellbinding Circles that I have been fighting him for so long for the right to use.

So why not fight other characters? Well, here's the thing. These guys are better then Yugi. They, with their DL, bring monsters to the table much more powerful then mine. This is why you want a higher DL, so you can use better cards, even if you already own several copies of them.

That's enough of my Deck building beef. Here's another beef.

The saving system. I believe it was established in Pokemon Red/Blue, that all Gameboy RPGs must have a save anywhere system. The games are just more enjoyable like that. Other options? Sleep saves, like those seen in Castelvania: AoS, and Kingdom Hearts:CoM, are the most viable alternative.

The only place in the game I can save at, is at the main characters computer, in his home. The computer also restores your Life Points. This is because you carry you're life point total from on match over to the next match.

This whole game is broken. It's very dynamics bring nothing but pain to those who play it. The difficulty curve is designed for die hard marathon gamers, not the kid audience the Yu-Gi-Oh brand targets. Maybe, if I really wanted to, could put the effort into beating it. Deep down, however, I know that it's simply not worth it.