Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Linksis a rather interesting footnote of the series' lengthy video game history. It’s a mobile title that removes numerous parts of the famous card game’s format and effects to make the game faster. It’s also noteworthy for making players obtain new cards either as item drops or in 3-card booster pack pulls that have rarities seen ingacha app games. As much as these sound like they detract from the experience,Duel Linksworks and is one of the most accessible ways to experience theYGO TCGto date.
Yu-Gi-Oh!Duel Linksoriginally launched on mobile devices in late 2016. A year later, the game was released for PC on Steam. WhileDuel Linkswas given critical acclaim by tons of fans, some hardcore players lamented the lack of a proper card game simulator that featured theYu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Gamein full capacity. This demand for a truly digitalYGO TCGexperience led to the creation ofMaster Duel. However, even though there’s a full-fledged simulator for the game itself,Duel Linksstill has its place alongside it.
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Link’s Unique Format
The famous card game has been loved by many, but also criticized for being rather complicated.Yu-Gi-Oh!has dealt with complaintsfrom former players for years, and these concerns have seemed to only grow with each new format added to the game. OneYGO TCGgame can easily take hours, and while some diehard fans don’t mind this, it’s one of the more common issues with the iconic TCG that many people take issue with.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Linkschanges this for the better. In the mobile game, players experience a condensed version ofYGOby playing in “Speed Duel” format. This particular version of the card game features two sets of three spaces for monster, spell, and trap zones rather than the usual five per row. Decks are limited to only 30 cards at most, andsome monster effects such as the Crystal Beastscards have been changed to compensate. These changes may not seem like much, but the Speed Duel format lives up to its name and Duels that once took hours now take minutes with the mobile title’s improvements to the game’s formula - a welcome change that has kept fans playing since launch.
Duel Link’s Developing Storylines
WhenYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Linkswas first released, many fans of the series that love the animated spin-offs were upset to see that the game was strictly only the originalYGOand its respective characters. However, as of 2017,Yu-Gi-Oh! GXwas added, which began a small tradition of adding a new world based on a different anime season roughly every year. Along with adding new cards and summoning methods to the mobile title depending on the season added, these worlds came with new characters with events reflecting canon stories in the shows they came from.
Following player feedback obtained through event surveys, the update that added the world based onYu-Gi-Oh! 5Dssaw the events slowly be intertwined into their own original stories for these characters. Some of these plot lines take place after the original anime season, such asArc-V’sevents implying that the villain bested at the end of the series may return. Even thoughCross Dueluses anime characters afterMaster Duelopted to focus on card loreinstead,Duel Linksis the onlyYGOvideo game currently that not only focuses on the anime but continues the narratives of finished seasons to bring new content to fans.
Even as the mobile title approaches the last anime made in respect to theYu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Gameitself,Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, the game has yet to add aVRAINSworld. This world, if the track record of previous releases is anything to go by, should launch for the game sometime in September. That world, along withArc-V’s, still has a fair amount of character additions to give the game content for quite some time. However, ifDuel Linksdecided it wanted to focus on letting otherYGOeras cross over after the final world is added, plenty of fans wouldn’t have an issue with it as that type of crossover hasn’t been seen in the series since 2010.
Apart from that, due to the way the game is made simpler and quicker to play,Duel Linksremains one of the most welcoming ways to playYu-Gi-Oh!for both veterans and fans wishing to learn the game at their own pace. Even though there are two other titles on the same platforms that may compete withDuel Links, the way that these titles offer completely different experiences to set them apart is perfect for any fan. However, it’s very clear that Duel Links is the most accessible, which gives it a bit of security against theexperimental nature ofCross Duel, and the definitive experience of theTrading Card Gameas a whole found inMaster Duel. Due to this, it’s very likely thatDuel Linkswill remain important for plenty ofYu-Gi-Oh!fans for a long time.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Linksis available now on Android, iOS, and PC.
