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“Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links” is a F2P collectible card game where players summon monsters via cards and occasionally send each other to the Shadow Realm. The game was released in Japan in Nov 2016 and was released worldwide in Jan 2017. The plot of Duel Links (yes, the game does indeed have a plot. Well, sort of at least) is about Seto Kaiba creating a virtual world (a world called Duel World) where duelists can relive the glory days of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime (so, basically Season 2 and a bit of Season 1) and that’s all there is to say about the plot.We’re talking about a mobile game after all.

Moving on to gameplay is where things get interesting, Duel Links is based on “Speed Duel” rules where players have decks as small as 20 cards and start with 4000 Life Points, making duels very short and also dependent on what good cards you can draw on your first hand. An extra twist that Duel Links has are the different characters that you can play as. You unlock characters from the anime, and they have special skills based on the theme of the character, for example. Kaiba can start a duel with the field card “Mountain” already in play giving his dragon cards extra attack and defense.

This is what happens when Yami Bakura summons Dark Necrofear.

Duel Links is packed with content, in single player you can play against NPC Characters of the anime and in multiplayer you can play casual and ranked duels against other players. In addition to that there is always some event going on where you can get extra rewards, and as soon as one starts another begins, so there is always something to do. You’re probably wondering how grindy is this game and how much Pay2Win is this game. Well, the game is pretty darn grindy, but it’s okay as it can be rather addictive if you’re into Yu-Gi-Oh or card games in general.

The game has an Auto-Duel feature, where the duel speeds up and the AI takes over for you and plays your cards. So this can be useful if you’re playing against a random NPC, but the AI won’t be able to pull complicated plays like you could. The Auto-Duel feature is not always available, when it comes to dueling other players or characters from the anime. So you’re on your own. With regards to PVP, you can put together one or two competitive deck for ranked PVP just by playing and getting cards with in-game currency. However, if you want to have twelve competitive decks for ranked PVP, then it’s going take a long time for you to reach to that point. Well, at least if you intend to do so without buying cards with real money, as for guides on how to put together competitive decks on a budget. I would recommend you to read through the GAME A Duel Links guides.

Special Characters like Pegasus, Bakura and Melvin can be unlocked via events.

In conclusion, Duel Links can be a fun little game that you can play on the side, or it can become huge if you really get into it. The game has fun and addictive gameplay, lots of content. The art style is very good-looking since it’s the same that made the anime successful in the first place. To top it all off the voice actors from the show reprise their roles in the game, there is a lot of banter between the characters, Dan Green and Eric Stuart do a great job.

Pros:
+ Fun and addictive
+ This game channels the power of Dan Green
+ Good art style and music

Cons:
– Grindy and a bit Pay2Win-ish
– No Egyptian God Cards, yet…
– This game doesn’t properly explain what Pot of Greed does

Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound/music: 3/5
Controls: 3/5
Replay Value: 4/5

tgg grade 3.5 out of 5

Veredict: 3.5/5
Despite the down sides of Konami’s “Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links. The game is still a pretty decent F2P MMO collectible card game for both adults and small children alike, and why is that? It’s because Duel Links offers a rather entertaining and addictive gameplay experience.

Title: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
Developer: Konami
Format: Android
Genre: MMO/Collectible card games
Resolution: Highest possible on Android
Release date: 2017-01-11
Difficulty: Normal
Spent time: +6 Hours
Average grade internationally: 80% Gamerankings.com
PEGI age rating: +12
Price: Free-to-play