Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour

Reviewed by Leland Bonaparte
September 1, 2006

Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Consoles Available: Nintendo DS Numbers of Players: 1 - 2 ESRB Rating: E for Everyone Website: Click Here

Screenshot from Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour. Courtesy Konami. Click image to enlarge.

Yu-Gi-Oh!, one of the world's most popular card games has hit the Nintendo DS. Since the introduction of the card series to the video game industry, the concept has been very interesting. The way the game has been interpreted on the DS is probably the best yet. This was a perfect marriage.

The touch screen system and the use of card or strategy games are a perfect marriage. When selecting a card there is no hesitation, and the card or effect that you selected comes up right away. KC points are what players can earn from duels to do various things such as purchase cards from the game shop. There is also a 2-player mode that allows trading cards and dueling.

There are a lot of things in this game to help you. There is a tutorial to teach one how to play the game. Once you complete a certain task, no more than 50 points will be awarded. There are over 1000 cards to collect, and you will see some of your favorites. Another interesting feature is the battle locator. By dragging the stylus along the screen, it will change into different colors. First, when a duelist is in the area it will turn green. Next it will turn red when you actually find someone ready to duel. All of the classic Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are ready to duel.

One of the few problems I found with this game is that certain cards are cut off on the bottom screen. This makes it difficult to identify the cards without selecting them. I guess the pink and all of the other colors just don't mix. Also, the music in the game will put you to sleep. It doesn't fit the game and takes away from the energy. If you can get over that, the gameplay is great! One feature that could have put this game over the top is multiplayer online play. That would have been off the hook if it had WiFi access.

Cheaper than buying countless packs of cards, waiting for that one special move, this game is a great buy for parents and allows players to interact with each other online. No more collecting or dealing with sleeves. It's all done in the palm of your hand. If you are trying to learn the actual card game, this is the way to go. Replay value is high since there are tons of masters and challengers waiting to compete with your best deck! Yu-Gi-Oh! has been popular since it came out. Each year the series has become better and better, and as technology gets better so do the games.

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