1 part RTS 1 part RPG, 1 part YuGiOh
User Rating: 5.5 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Falsebound Kingdom GC
I have both the U.S. and Japanese versions so if I make a mistake in the review with a name or place it’s because I couldn’t remember from which had what….. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom is a non card based game, instead it uses the actual monsters as an army commanded by people in a Real-time Strategy based RPG. The RTS is the main part of the game where you move your units on the map to bases and to fights. The fights are in RPG format, teams of three fight each other in turn based combat featuring all those RPG moves everyone knows. Moves such as…. “attack” where you pick an opponent to attack “special” not all monsters have it but it does a special attack “item” use an item in your inventory to replenish HP or power up a monster or do an attack with an item “guard” reduce damage received that turn “wait” exactly what it says “escape” run away from the fight, may not always work Now let’s talk about the story….. You can choose yugi or Kaiba to start with but I’ll just do Yugi because I got stuck in the Kaiba one and can’t finish it…..there is also a Joey (Jono) campaign but again not much different… When the game starts Yugi and his friends are invited to try a new videogame based on Duel Monsters (betcha didn’t expect that ^_^) but not using cards. When you get there you get into a pod and BOOM an “error” in the machine traps Yugi and his friends there until the game is over. Once there you start your journey as Prince Yugi the commander of the royal army and your loyal officer/trainer Shimon is there to help. The story mode is told in chapters with no voiceover or cut scenes so the ability to read is essential! Up until about halfway into the story it seems like a typical Yu-Gi-Oh! “Prince Yami” back story but after you defeat Heishin a new evil takes over his name is…… SCOTT!(not in the JPN version but Scott is the worst villain name ever so we’ll go US with it) Scott the evil game programmer has taken control and wants you to lose so he takes control of your friends and turns them on you, you turn them back, Yami Bakura shows up, yada yada yada and after 22 missions on Kaiba or Yugi you win (Joey has 10 missions) After you win you unlock challenge mode, it has almost no purpose….. I left it alone when I realized….. Overall it is a slightly unbalanced RPG and a slightly chaotic RTS, goof for a challenge yet at times tedious and boring….. not so much for kids and yet that is what it is aimed at….. fans of the series will enjoy it and so will RPG enthusiasts but it isn’t a wide range audience game at all….. Ok here are my 3 pros and 3 cons list PROS 1. Konami game that uses the Konami code! (use it in an empty area on the map for gold!) 2. the graphics are stunning and near perfection! 3. manages to mix RTS and RPG quite well while holding a YuGiOh! Storyline CONS 1. bad AI 2. no multiplayer 3. no replay value at all, but too long for just a rent…….. 
