Kazuki Takahashi’sYu-Gi-Oh!is best known for its anime series and the collectible card game based on the hit show. Much likePokemon, both the anime series and the card game have inspired numerous video games over the years.Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelis the latest iteration in a long line ofYu-Gi-Oh!video games, offering players a new twist on the classic collectible card game.
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelis a four-player multiplayer title based on the collectible card game but with a unique twist. This might alienate some long-time fans of theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise or may even be confusing for newcomers to the franchise. Luckily, a little bit of background reading on howCross Duelworks should help to alleviate this confusion.
A Board Game Twist to the Classic Card Game
Instead of a direct four-player deathmatch or team vs team card game,Cross Duelplays more like a board game. While this might seem a little out-of-place for casual fans and newcomers, this is an interesting callback to the early chapters of theYu-Gi-Oh!manga as well as the first iteration of theYu-Gi-Oh!anime which is now known as season zero.
On the board, players can place three summoned monsters and three spell or trap cards similar toYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links. While there is a Graveyard for discarded cards, there is no Extra Deck. The placement of the three summoned monsters determines which lane they belong to. Monsters in the center lane will move forward to the opponent across the player, while monsters in the left and right lanes will move in those directions.
Game Modes in Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel
There are five game modes inYu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel: Tag Duel, Ranked Duel, Raid Duel, Room Matches, and Event Matches.
Tag Duelsare single-player matches in which players are tagged together with a character from theYu-Gi-Oh!animeseries of their choosing. Tag Duels are great for players to learn the rules of the game as well as earn Gems and Skill Materials which can then be used to unlock Skills to set on monsters.
Ranked Duelsare the equivalent of an online deathmatch mode. In Ranked Duels, players are pitted against three other human players and only one player will emerge victorious.
Raid Duelsare four-player co-op matches against a common Raid Boss. Not only are Raid Duels different because all four players are working together to beat the Raid Boss, but monster cards can also be set Raid-only skills.
Room Matchesare for setting up local games with friends. Here, players can set up options such as Starting LP for each player and the maximum number of turns.
Finally,Event Matchesare special, limited-time Tag Duel or Raid Duel matches. These event matches feature characters from the anime series and allow players to gain resources such as Skill Materials to unlock Skills or Character Pieces used for unlocking Tag Partners.
Card Types in Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel
Trap and Spell cards are present inCross Duel. However, for now, there are no continuous spells or instant traps. This might all change in a later update though, as continuous spells, for example, could greatly affect the game.
Monsters are similar inCross Duel. A lot of the monsters are 4-star or lower Normal monsters which means that they can be summoned with no other requirement. Monsters with more than 4-stars require a number of Tributes, meaning they need one or two monsters removed from the board before they are summoned.
Ace Monsters, in a sense, serve as the player’s “ace in the hole” card which they always have at the beginning of their turn. Ace Monsters have powerful Exclusive skills which can tip the balance of a match in a player’s favor.
Game Mechanics in Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel
Summoning is similar to theYu-Gi-Oh!card game except that, similar toDuel Links, players can only summon up to three monsters. The player must choose whether to summon the monster on the left, center, or right lanes which will determine where the monster will move.
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The summon mechanics in theYu-Gi-Oh!card game are present inCross Duel. Link, Pendulum, Synchro summons, and so on are all there. However, they’ve also been loosely adapted. For example, Fusion summons don’t require a Polymerization or other summoning card. Instead, Fusion summons are done after certain requirements on a Fusion monster card are fulfilled.
Deck Building in Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel
Decks consist of 20 cards which include monsters, spells, and traps. However, only one of each card is allowed. This is similar to a Commander deck inMagic: The Gatheringwhere players have to create a deck consisting of single copies of each card.
Just like in the regularYu-Gi-Oh!card game and otherYu-Gi-Oh!video games, cards come in a variety of rarities. These are Normal (N), Rare (R), Super Rare (SR), and Ultra Rare (UR). Duplicate copies can be used to unlock Skill Slots on monster cards and with more Skills attached to a monster, the more powerful it is.
Tag Partners in Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel
Players are able to team up with their favorite characters from the anime (including Seto Kaiba himself) in Tag Duel games. Tag partners provide commentary and flavor to single-player matches.
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Currently, only a limited number of Tag Partners are available, but eachYu-Gi-Oh!anime series so far is represented. With this in mind, players can look forward to having Joey Wheeler, Tea Gardner, or even Yami Marik as Tag Partners in the future.
Mobile Exclusive (For Now)
Currently,Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelis only available for mobile devices (Apple and Android). There seems to be no official word fromKonamion whether or notCross Duelwill be available for PC and console. Even so, that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen.
Previously,Duel LinksandMaster Duelhad simultaneous, or almost simultaneous releases on mobile, PC, and console.Duel Links,however, remains only available on iOS, Android, and PC, whileMaster Duel, is alsoavailable on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duelis available on mobile devices for iOS and Android.
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