Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel, a preview of a spin-off with very specific rules

Fans of one of the world’s best-known card games certainly can’t complain: not even a year has passed since Yu-Gi-Oh’s release! Master Duel on smartphones, PCs and consoles – tens of millions of downloads right now! – and Konami is ready with the next installment in the series. Given that the market is at risk of nearly saturating, it seems impossible not to compete with yourself: after Yu-Gi-Oh anyway! Duel Links and Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel (only when flying over console games) we’re ready to welcome Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel.

Next Yu-Gi-Oh!’s preview! cross duel: Konami invited us to attend an event entirely dedicated to the video game in question, which we remember will be released exclusively on Android and iOS smartphones (no PC and company this time) on September 6, 2020. Why should players abandon the already awesome Master Duel or join the new Crossover Duel? We tell you everything we’ve learned about these countless varieties, with very specific rules.

New rules: Cross Duels

Yu-Gi-Oh is constantly evolving as a collectible card game: you need to constantly keep yourself updated on new expansions, monsters, card types. Charter. As for the Yu-Gi-Oh case! Cross Duel apparently Konami specifically scrutinized the production as a spin-off with very specific rules. In fact, nothing you’ll find in Cross Duel will be anything like the content of Duel Links or Master Duel: the experience is now so snappy and seems to share more with the starter series than anything else, just the iconic. anime’s monsters and characters.

The offer mainly consists of: cross duels, with variants to be mentioned. To be as direct as possible, four players compete at the same time and share the field; each player’s division consists of three monster card regions and three spell and trap card regions, thus reverting to a simplification similar to that suggested in Duel Links (Master Duel had re-presented the entire terrain). That’s not all, because at the same time every area of ​​each competitor will be shared more or less directly with the others.

For example, central beast anyone can always and only attack the central alter ego of the challengers; the monster in the right field can only attack those on the left and vice versa. Explaining everything is admittedly complicated, but in reality the logic behind it is simple: there is no freedom in the War Phase, but one is dependent on certain movements. Therefore, the terrain should always be carefully studied and considered to avoid nasty surprises.

In general, other Yu-Gi-Oh rules have also been revised: it is no longer necessary to reduce to zero. life points (or Life Points) to win your opponent. Not only does each direct attack guarantee a score equal to the total damage dealt, but games generally end after eight rounds: a ranking is then determined and the person with that score at that moment. earns the most Lives. Additionally, the turn structure is demoted to the Main Phase and the Battle Phase (in jargon, Main Phase and Battle Phase, respectively): in the former, as many monsters as possible are summoned, ignoring the normal summoning rules and traps. has also been placed. ; in the latter, it is possible to activate magic cards, in addition to attacking, to gain general advantages over enemies.

Any good Yu-Gi-Oh! will understand how the overall experience has changed drastically, not for the worse: it’s just Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel aims to revamp the basic formula by adapting it to a revamped (and perhaps somewhat improvised) multiplayer context.

Game modes and potential

So far we have told you the basic formula of Cross Duels; bad game mode they will be different and varied as they always have been. Obviously, online games (classified and not by the possibility of creating rooms with about thirty friends at the same time) will see four players competing “against all”. But in Raid Duels, it will also be possible to participate in real cooperative battles: a huge monster will appear in the middle of the field with a truly incredible attack; For example, a Monarch monster can exceed 40,000 ATK. The goal of those present will be to topple him one by one as soon as possible. When a boss monster is defeated, another will immediately spawn, continuing in a chain of encounters with increasing difficulty.

There will be one again single mode It will let you challenge Yu-Gi-Oh’s most famous characters! weighted according to the various seasons of the anime: from Yugi, Seto, Jaden, Yusei to Yu-Gi-Oh! They ate. In this case, our collaborator will be controlled by artificial intelligence as well as by the enemies. The interesting aspect of this offer lies in the fact that a kind of “affinity” with the respective character will develop after the duel: this will allow you to unlock various types of bonuses, including the iconic monsters of the hero in question (yes). , we’re considering a variety of Seto Kaiba’s Blue Eyes).

of the potential and such beauties, indeed, Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel looks much richer than the last Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. For example, all monsters featured in the title will enjoy their 3D models, so they come to life on the field (but can also be enjoyed “privately” in a special menu). So it’s legitimate to ask how many monsters there will be in total, because we don’t believe Konami has revived every single card of the game released so far in a few months. Also, monsters themselves can be upgraded with a specific skill menu: however, this aspect is currently the least clear. We will need a real first-hand test to understand how it will affect the overall experience; In fact, we fear that microtransactions may cause unpleasant imbalances between paying and non-paying players. But you don’t need to bandage it before you break your head.