Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Spirit Caller is the game fans have been waiting for! It is a sequel to Yu-Gi-Oh Nightmare Troubadadour.
(+) Pros: touch screen support of the DS gives a feeling of reality to game play; very in-depth tutorial system makes it easy for beginners to learn how to play; character customization lets you choose visual appearance such as a hairstyle and face; new Duel Disks, titles, and outfits may be obtained; players may obtain duel spirits with their own individual abilities; there are over 1400 cards; the game includes the option to duel players from all around the world with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection; and players are able to obtain special items and purchase cards from their Nightmare Troubadour games (with two DS systems). (-) Cons: Wi-Fi lags a little; 3D animations of the monsters have not improved at all since Nightmare Troubadour; not really appealing to people who don't like the series; not possible to be promoted to the Yellow or Blue dorm. Released in Japan on November 30th (2006) and in North America on January 2nd (2007), Spirit Caller (titled Spirit Summoner in Japan) has been one of the most talked about Yu-Gi-Oh games to date. Being a sequel to the first Yu-Gi-Oh Nintendo DS game, Nightmare Troubadour, this game has a similar style of game play. You start off naming a character and choosing from 10 different faces and hairstyles. Unfortunately, the game only has the ability to create a male character. However, there is talk that, in future games, there may be the ability to create female characters as well.
The story begins with you and Jaden taking the entrance exam at the KaibaCorp headquarters. KaibaCorp being a company run by the original Yu-Gi-Oh series character, Seto Kaiba. Of course, you and Jaden both pass the entrance exam. After naming and customizing your character, you are thrust into the world of Duel Academy, the top school for aspiring duelists in the world.
You start out with a very lousy starter deck and the object of the game is to hold duels with the other characters on the island and progress through the storyline, which follows the first season of the TV series almost exactly. Some players have trouble finding out how to progress but, when it comes down to it, the entire point of the game, as well as the way you progress, is to duel. The more people you duel, the more the story will progress. In order to find a dueling rival, you must use the game's radar system, which is almost exactly like that of Nightmare Troubadour (NT). The radar system is a little better, however. The radar has a small arrow on it that points you more in the right direction than the NT radar did. There are five separate map areas versus the two in NT but the maps are a lot easier to navigate. Certain duelists are often found only on certain areas of the map but it's not too hard to figure out. If you're looking for a Ra Yellow student to duel, they are most likely near the Ra Yellow dorm and if you're looking for a Slifer Red student to duel, it is likewise with the Slifer Red dorm. Duels are conducted in the same manner as almost every Yu-Gi-Oh game to date. Two players face off each with a deck ranging from 40 to 90 cards and try to either get the other's Life Points (LP) to Zero, cause the opponent to run out of cards, or win using a special win situation such as Exodia or Destiny Board. Play can be controlled with the directional pad and A/B buttons, or entirely with the DS stylus. Upon winning a duel, you will gain Experience (EXP) points that will be used to level up your character and gaining Duel Points (DP), which have been the primary form of currency in most Yu-Gi-Oh games for years. If you gain enough EXP, your "School Level" will go up, allowing you to unlock new booster packs in the shop and progress the storyline further.
For beginner duelists, the in-depth tutorial system provides everything you will ever need to know about playing the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game (TCG). In many past games, the lack of a tutorial system left out the chance of picking up new fans of the games. However, since the tutorial system of NT, it has become a must-have for the games. With the release of both Yu-Gi-Oh GX Duel Academy and Ultimate Masters World Championship 2006, both after NT, fans often complained about the lack of tutorial in those games. On top of the amazing tutorial system, Spirit Caller has followed through with the trend of Duel Puzzles. Duel Puzzles were introduced several games ago and consist of a series of challenges that require you to win a duel, with certain cards already on the field, in one turn. The puzzles are great for both new and advanced players as they help to develop and keep dueling skills up to par. As you progress through the game, more puzzles with higher difficulties are unlocked.
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The most looked forward to feature of this game was the option of Wi-Fi dueling. The game allows players to duel other players with the use of friend codes, but also randomly in either the US or worldwide. The Wi-Fi compatibility is a feature that many players believe should have been incorporated into the last DS Yu-Gi-Oh game. It has finally shown its face and is stacking up to be a very big plus. With each Wi-Fi duel you will gain EXP that help to increase your Wi-Fi level, which puts you in different ranks depending on how much Wi-Fi EXP you’ve obtained. The only cons to Wi-Fi are the slight lag during play which lengthens the amount of time it takes for actions to take place in a duel, and the constant disconnecting of players who cannot accept defeat. Overlooking that, the Wi-Fi play of Spirit Caller has definitely set a very high level of expectation for all future Yu-Gi-Oh games. .
The game play, overall, is everything that should be expected of a Yu-Gi-Oh video game. The graphics are very colorful and, instead of the strange swirling backgrounds of NT (during a duel), there is an actual setting (If you are near the river on the map, the dueling field will be near a river, etc). Outside of duels, the characters, backgrounds, and map are all very colorful. Characters you come across are shown on the top screen along with lines of text. As the text is shown, the characters open and close their mouths and blink their eyes. There is a con to the graphics in a duel, however. The 3D monster representations in the top screen are nice, but have not been redone at all since NT. There have been additions of new cards, thus new 3D monsters, but the level of imagery is no better than the older monsters. In fact the older monsters, Gemini Elf for example, have the exact same 3D rendition as before. While this does not take much away from the game play, it is a bit disappointing. One addition to the graphics has been widely praised and is the addition of different attack animations. In NT, there was only one attack animation and it was a slash mark. In Spirit Caller, the attack animation differs with different types of monsters. For example, the Dark Magician's attack is a large ball of darkness while Elemental Hero Avian releases a swirl of wind. The sound/music of Spirit Caller is a bit more advanced than that of past Yu-Gi-Oh games, but the picky player will still complain. During duels the music changes (to a more dramatic tune) when either players LP get too low. Also, the sound effects during a duel change with the usage of field spell cards. For example, the forest field card plays nature sounds like birds singing and the mountain field spell plays wind rushing through the mountain tops. The game is well worth its value at $29.99 and even come with three promo cards. NT retailed for $34.99 and, to be honest, while it was a good game, $34.99 was too much.
*A few rumors that have popped up have been discredited multiple times. They consist of the following: (*)It is not possible to change dorms in the game. You will always be in Slifer red. However, you may obtain the uniforms of the other two dorms by dueling the appropriate characters. (*)There is NO VOICE CHAT during duels. I don't know where this farfetched idea came from but if it did exist, it would have been listed as a feature of the game. I see no reason for there to be voice chat and don't think the DS is currently capable of doing that. It may be, but the lag of Wi-Fi might cause a little difficulty. (*)It is not possible to trade cards over Wi-Fi. While it would be a great option, it is not available in this game. Sorry. To sum it all up, this game is a great addition to any Yu-Gi-Oh fan or prospective Yu-Gi-Oh fan's collection. If you are having trouble deciding whether or not to buy it, this review should help you make that decision. If not....well, just take my word for it.