Subject: Review of "The Sacred Cards" game

The new Yu-Gi-Oh game for Game Boy Advance is on the
shelves.  I got a copy yesterday (Wednesday, 11-5). 
Here are my first impressions of "The Sacred Cards":

1. First and foremost, this is NOT A RE-CREATION OF
THE TRADING CARD GAME!  The Worldwide Edition is still
the best video game that simulates the actual trading
card game.  The dueling system in The Sacred Cards is
slightly different (I'll explain later).

2. The storyline surrounding the duels is better.  It
follows the Battle City story, beginning as the
tournament begins.  You can walk around on the map,
talk to people, challenge them to duels, explore
different rooms, and run really fast.  You start with
only a small section of the total playing area
available, but as you beat more duelists, it unlocks
more areas.

3.  You earn money by beating duelists.  You can use
this money to buy cards at the card shop.  But buying
the cards doesn't mean you can use them (see parts 4
and 5 below).

4.  First, each card has a cost towards your deck. 
This is different than how much money you pay for it. 
The "cost" of each card is a number that basically
tells you how good the card is.  Now, your deck has a
maximum total cost, called your deck capacity.  When
you begin, your deck capacity is pretty low.  That
makes it difficult to include good cards even if you
have them because you have to keep the total cost of
your deck below your deck capacity.  For example:

a) I have several 900 ATK monsters in my deck.  I
think most 900 ATK monsters have a cost of 72.
b) My deck capacity is full.  The sum of the costs of
all the cards in my deck equals my deck capacity.
c) I get a 1200 ATK monster from the shop.  It has a
cost of 121.
d) I want to put in my 1200 ATK monster and take out a
900 ATK, but I can't.  I can't take out a monster with
a cost of 72 and add a monster with a cost of 121
because that would exceed my deck capacity.
e) So I have to take out TWO 900 ATK monsters (total
cost 144) and add a 1200 ATK monster (cost 121) and
another terrible monster with a cost of 23 or less,
like Skull Servant.  

Your deck capacity increases as you win more duels, so
as time goes on you can include more and more
high-cost cards.

5.  But there are more limitations!
You have a duelist level (sort of like experience
points in an RPG).  This determines which cards you
are experienced enough to use and which you aren't. 
If your duelist level is lower than the "cost" of a
particular card, you can't put it in your deck!  You
can purchase good cards from the shop or win them from
other players, but you have to leave them in your
trunk until your duelist level is above the cost of
the card.  For example:

I have a duelist level of 138.  I got a Dark Magician.
 Dark Magician has a cost of 20 (a cost of 20 is
really low - the game understands that a two-tribute
level 7 monster is not very good).  Because the Dark
Magician's cost of 20 is lower than my duelist level
of 138, I can put Dark Magician in my deck and use it.
 But I got a Jinzo too.  Jinzo has a cost of 238.  I
am not yet experienced enough to put Jinzo in my deck,
so it remains in my trunk.

As you duel more and more, you gain experience and
increase your duelist level, allowing you to use
better cards with higher costs.

You start with a duelist level of 72.  That pretty
much means the highest ATK you can use at the
beginning is 900.  I had to win some duels before I
could use 1200 ATK cards.

6. Your deck must contain 40 cards.  No more, no less.
 That's fine with me.

7. The dueling system resembles the card game we know,
but it's not quite the same.

a) There are five monster zones and five spell/trap
zones, and you start with 8000 LP.
b) You can play monsters in attack or defense mode.
c) Some monsters have effects, but you have to choose
to use their effect instead of having them attack or
turn into defense mode.
d) The sacrifice rules are mostly the same:  1 monster
for levels 5 and 6, 2 monsters for levels and 8, but 3
monsters for levels 9 and above.
e) Monsters that have effects in the trading card game
do not necessarily have those effects in this game. 
For example, Magician of Faith, Mask of Darkness,
Morphing Jar, and Morphing Jar #2 are all normal
monster cards in this game.
f) You begin the game with very few spell/trap cards
(like 2 or 3).  But nobody else is playing spell and
trap cards at the beginning, so you're okay.
g) Trap cards automatically activate if their trigger
is satisfied.  You do not choose to activate them. 
For instance, if I had Trap Hole down and my opponent
summoned Lord of D, Trap Hole would automatically
activate, even if I didn't want it to.  That's
assuming Trap Hole has the same effect, I haven't seen
it yet.
h) You can only have five cards in your hand.  If you
have five cards at the beginning of your turn, you do
not draw.  You are allowed to discard cards whenever
you want.
i) All cards go face-down when you play them.  For
monsters, you have to tell them to attack for them to
turn face-up.  For spell cards, you have to set them
face-down and then activate them.  But the funny thing
is, whether a card of yours is face-up or face-down,
you can always see the card image.  It has a small
icon on it to indicate if it's face-down.  This is
somewhat confusing.

7. If you just want to duel, I'd stick with the
Worldwide Edition, even though the duelists on that
game are not very good.  But if you're interested in a
MUCH more fun storyline, the Sacred Cards will be
super fun for you.

8. There is, of course, the appeal of using the three
God cards.  I have not reached that point in the game
yet.  That should be interesting.

9. Graphically, this game is about on par with the
Worldwide Edition.  The graphics on The Sacred Cards'
duel screen are lousy (Worldwide Edition is much
better), but the map is well done, and the images of
the main characters when you talk to them are great. 
The Sacred Cards' map is far more graphically intense
than Worldwide Edition's.

10. Promo Cards are included (Negate Attack, Perfectly
Ulimate Great Moth, Riryoku).  None of the cards
included will see much play in tournaments, but they
are all featured in the cartoon.  That makes them fun
to have.

11.  Final note:  There have been some Yu-Gi-Oh games
that were just not worth buying (cough - Duelists of
the Roses - cough).  This one is better than that. 
Even though it's not exactly like the trading card
game, it fulfills the fantasy of the cartoon.  I
recommend that fans of the cartoon definitely buy this
game.

You can always reach me with questions, comments,
criticism, and ideas at SamTiger54@yahoo.com.

Happy dueling!
Tiger