GENRE
	Card-Based RPG
	DEVELOPER
	KCEJ
	PUBLISHER
	Konami
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONNECTIVITY
	no
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Yu-Gi-Oh!, the latest card-battling game/franchise, makes its way for the first time on the GameCube for an exclusive, all-new adventure. Despite the appearance being similar to ?Magic: The Gathering,? Yu-Gi-Oh! sets itself apart from other card game clones with its deep variety, non-linear gameplay and rules that are easy to learn but hard to master. However, The Falsebound Kingdom, throws all the card battling conventions out the window. Huh? You might ask. Well, Konami have transformed a card game into an RPG for the RPG starved GameCube. While it isn?t anything revolutionary and its received a real hammering from other reviewers, it should keep RPG fans in tact and will definitely keep Yu-Gi-Oh! fans happy, but how about the rest of us?

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom is a spin-off from the growing franchise Yu-Gi-Oh! For the uninitiated, Yu-Gi-Oh! has two parts, the first being a card battling game similar to "Magic: The Gathering," where you have a deck and try to eliminate the opponents life points through battling strategies. The second is a wacky anime with the usual wacky hair-do characters, where good must battle evil while taking a journey of discovery along the way. As expected, the battling is represented with the card duels. While previous games were heavily concentrated on the card battles, TFK changes this completely. In the card game, there were three kinds of cards: Monster, Magic and Trap. TFK gets rid of the majority of magic and trap cards, while taking a large slew of the monsters and recreating them in a physical 3-D form.

visuals

The games downfall is definitely its technical side. It was released in Japan way back in 2002, but that doesn?t excuse some of the shortcomings. While the monster animations and 3-D recreations are very impressive, the battle environments are not. Neither are the out-of-battle sequences, which really are quite atrocious. They look like they?re running off the N64. The screens and in between mission presentation is bland and bare-boned. There aren?t any animated cut-scenes or voices from the show, which is a shame when the potential is considered. Other than some fantastic and faithful representations monsters in 3-D, the rest looks like mud. Still battle animations pick up a bit of the slack but environments are repetitive and the scenarios are poorly done.

audio

The game soundtrack is quite good, its solemn and moody nature is actually quite well suited for the game. Though it?s nothing memorable nor will everybody like it, not to mention a bit repetitive. In all honesty, the rest of the sounds are forgettable. Frankly, I?m still not sure whey none of the games so far have used the TV show?s voice actors. Not only would this have increased the games sound quality by a huge magnitude, but it would have made the cookie-cutter scenes a lot more interesting. Especially with some of the interestingly articulate dialogue. In all, really nothing to see here.

gameplay

While being a side adventure to the regular anime series, TFK still boasts virtually the full cast of characters from the show. In TFK, Yugi (the main character) and his friends, Tea, Joey, Tristan and Bakura, are invited to laboratory that specialises in the production of virtual-reality games. Here, while testing the prototype, something goes terribly wrong and they all end up stuck in the virtual world, the Falsebound Kingdom! While the story is far short from compelling, it is mainly there as a medium to allow the player to meet up with characters from the show. While Yugi represents one side of the game, the other is represented by his rival, Seto Kaiba At the start, you can choose whose campaign you wish to partake. Depending on the campaign, players will meet different characters from the show i.e. in Yugi?s campaign you?ll meet his friends and other familiars while in Kaiba?s campaign you?ll meet the seedier characters such as Pegasus and Bandit Keith.

Most people would probably be wondering, so how is this RPG different from any other? Well, TFK is not your standard roam and romp freely across a huge world, similar to Pokemon or Final Fantasy. Instead, TFK is kind of like a RPG and RTS (Real Time Strategy) hybrid. Confused? Well its nothing on the level of Starcraft or Age of Empires, it's thankfully, much simpler than that. The players campaign is driven across a number of missions. Each mission takes place on a RTS-style scenario and your players start in a base. The scenario is constructed around mountains, rivers, forests, deserts and many other geological features. The objective for most missions is to acquire another base that is controlled by the enemy or defeat someone in particular, while protecting your base and by not letting your main character be eradicated. You are also able upgrade your base functions, in terms of defence, shops etc. Controls are quite simple, with all you control options displayed on screen when required. That is, when the in-mission cursor is pointing over your base, the controller buttons appear onscreen with their corresponding function. While this interface is simple, the button display makes it accessible and comes as a unique way of controlling an RPG.

While most of the games RPG features are fairly standard, there are a few twists that set TFK apart. You start the game off in control of the main character and two other in-game ones. Each character is called a ?marshal? and is in control of a team of three monsters. Therefore, all the games battles are three-on-three monster battles. All the monsters in the game are reproduced off a 2-D base from the card game into full 3-D. Most monsters begin at level 1, where they hold their original card stats as well as added HP and a few other stats (such as type and speed). Through each victory, you obviously gain experience and as your level increases, so do not only your monster?s but your characters stats increase as well. The player stats mainly count towards base discounts but do have a few fringe benefits. If anyone other than your main characters team is completely defeated, they will eventually be revived but how many times they do this depends on the characters stats.

Since each monster on your team only has one attack, you need three for variety. However, wouldn?t that mean that each battle would just be a mindless romp where the strongest team will prevail? Thankfully, the developers picked up on this and have made a few amendments. Each monster has a certain amount of stars underneath their HP (in battle). Depending on the amount of stars your monster has, will depend on how many attacks they can make. Most attacks take one star, though some monsters have a special attack that takes two. Therefore, a battle finishes when your each side?s monsters run out of stars or if one side is eradicated. This leaves the possibility to verse someone several times before the battle is completed. However, to decide whether a battle is won or lost, will depend on which side has the most points. These points are gained in battle and are counted by the amount damage dealt to an opposition, but they can also be gained when a directed attack misses or when you heal one of your monsters. These two features really add a lot of strategy to what would otherwise be a very mindless activity. In the end the battles become quite addictive, real Pokemon style. In a way, that isn?t a bad thing. That is, for those willing to stick around, they?ll reap rich rewards.

Though will encounter several monsters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! world, an integral part of the game is acquiring them all. This is done through defeating wild monsters, rogue teams or just sending the right person to the right area. Though you will get some by simply completing a mission. Again, this facet of the game adds a kind of Pokemon-style of play. Not only does add interest and prolongs play but is extremely useful as you can customise the teams of any of the characters that you control. It leaves the possibility for a slew of combinations, where if they?re played right can increase your ?armies? strength and they can be used if you choose to replay the game once you?ve finished.

Controls for the game are dead simple; you shouldn?t ever have to look up the manual. In battle, out of battle and in between missions, they are all displayed on screen. Due to this, most of the menu surfing that is usually so prevalent in RPG?s has been eliminated. An example of this, during a battle, when you order an attack, instead of a menu appearing where you choose which monster (out of three), each one is represented either the A, X or Y buttons.

Overall, the gameplay is simplistic. However, there is a lot more strategy and depth here than has been given credit. The enemies AI is quite a bit above average and WILL give people a run for their money. While some people may not like the games simplistic outlook and others mightn?t warm to the games bizarre concept, those who stay will definitely not regret it. Especially those who are fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! The two greatest flaws in the game I believe are the clumsy save, which can only be performed between missions (each of which can last over an hour) and that the manual does a poor job of explaining the rules. In the end I pretty much learned what they were, on my own. For those who stay for the ride, complete all campaigns and collect all monster, your money is well spent. Over 40 hours of fun is on offer. Still, not everyone will stay on will feel obliged to do so.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, has been handed a beating from most publications. Even though its true that TFK won?t bring relief from the GameCube RPG drought, that doesn?t mean it has nothing to offer. Its technical shortcomings are easy to ignore and once you grasp the unique gameplay, it turns out to be quite a lot of fun. Definitely recommended for fans, they?re sure to have a ball. As for everyone else should at least have a rent.

7.1/10