Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX isn’t a typical Yu-Gi-Oh! game, or a conventional video game for that matter. Rather, it’s a resource for avid fans of the competitive side of this historic card game, allowing competitions to carry on with more speed and convenience due to its list of helpful features.

The Almanac Section

This area of the game includes a vast selection of cards, from the infamous Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon to Cyberdark Impact, and includes some starter decks as well as structure decks and promotional packs like the McDonald’s exclusive offering years ago. There are also some tournament card packs and Duelist League packs for the pleasure of avid Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. It’s a fantastic source of nostalgia for these players who have closely followed the series over the years. However, using this almanac tool often isn’t very helpful during an actual card game. It does pose a search feature to quickly find a specific card, though it’s unlikely that lovers of the card game will utilize this “game” when making decisions in real-time.

Not a Traditional Yu-Gi-Oh! Game

Although the game title suggests a regular Yu-Gi-Oh! game, this is anything but - rather, it’s an almanac which spans a range of cards used in tournament-style competitions. It’s essentially a database for every pack or promotion that was available at the time of release, so the game itself is quite outdated with minimum contemporary use. There is a convenient “card combos” section that can be used in actual duels, since it allows players to get ideas for more effective combinations.

Useful Duelist Tools

Lastly, the Duelist Tools portion of the game features Dice Roll and Coin Toss features as well as a Life Point meter for players and their opponents to utilize, not to mention a turn counter for further convenience. Both the Coin Toss and Dice Roll features are perfectly functional, and the Life Point measures offer the most function in the midst of an actual competition - Life Points are set to 8,000 at the start of each match, and adding or subtracting lives makes it easier to keep track of each competition. This makes it much faster and more convenient than keeping track of duels with pen and paper or a calculator, and the Turn Counter feature keeps track of the duel’s length. Instead of using a high-level graphic calculator for coin tosses and score calculation, the Duelist Tools make Yu-Gi-Oh! competitions a breeze to keep record of.

Bottom Line

Although it isn’t a typical Yu-Gi-Oh! video game and more of an informational almanac for players’ convenience, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX serves to assist loyal players of the card game by offering a list of helpful tools. However, seeing as it doesn’t present some kind of actionable experience like its predecessors, this title is tough to regard as a high-quality video game.

Similar Titles

For some of Konami’s most beloved titles during the mid 2000s, players should check out Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Gradius V, and Castlevania Judgement for action-packed adventure experiences.

Pros:

• Card packs can be conveniently searched and sourced
• Duelist Tools such as the Coin Toss and Life Point features can keep tangible Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament-style card games on track

Cons:

• There’s no real entertainment aspect since the game acts as an almanac for the traditional card game
• It has no use other than a tool to support competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! card games