Not being a real fan of the Yu-gi-oh series I was actually quite pleased with the gameplay.
I have, probably only spent more time after purchasing a game in the first few days only on one occasion before. Going off of what I can say thus far, as I have yet to finish this title, I can deduct that these ratings are roughly accurate for the game as a whole.
Gameplay:
Given the fresh experience of the ability to move around seemingly at will, along with dueling as much as I want to in a single section of the island, the fun factor of this game goes up significantly. Tag Duels can be frustrating if your partner is an idiot, but they are always enjoyable to sit back and play out. You can always save beforehand with relative ease, which definitely reduces the potential frustration while playing.
The lack of the strict plot during the majority of the game's timeline allows you to enjoy a lot more ability to do for the most part what your character pleases. Only making the game as free to move around in as Naruto Path of a Ninja would make this game better in the gameplay aspects for me. The tutorial allows you to learn the card game in a relatively easy manner with instruction in the classrooms themselves. This is a huge plus for those of us who have little to no experience in the card game, or are used to Magic the gathering instead.
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics:
Graphically we have to give Konami a break, this is still PS2, and there wasn't anywhere near as close to the funding put in Final Fantasy titles here. Also, this is an anime based game so you can't be rational asking it to look like real life, it is an academy for a card game... Although, personally, I feel the graphics could have made the main character be able to have cut scenes slapping cards on the arm-sling too. I also feel that the moving around in the game could have been more three dimensional than if it were drawn in a similar fashion to Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2. Given the possibility of it having been copied off a PSP title would be the only excuse for this, and it isn't good given that it was a supposed 6 month gap between them, enough time to account for that. I wouldn't doubt yu-gi-oh fans would have minded waiting a few more months to be able to have a similar product to a year older Naruto one on the same console.
Graphics: 7.5/10
Sound:
To be honest, there should have been the voice actors for those primary characters in the anime saying simple phrases as "I set a card face-down" or "Aaaaugh!" when they get smacked for huge damage. The very least that could have been done was grab the lines straight out of the anime and put into the game in mp3 format, compared to what some games have, attaching a sound clip to whenever a subtitle is said isn't that hard... However the sound for background music saved the game in this regard, where I have yet to get annoyed and turn it off after a while, and I am one to be picky with music playing...(EA NHL title's song choices have annoyed me enough to buy NHL 2K8 instead of playing my hometown AHL franchise in NHL08...) Overall, the sound apart from the voice's of primary characters being omitted was well done. Background music effects how much people replay games with high replay value...
Sound: 6/10
If you are a Yu-gi-oh fan and don't have a PSP I strongly suggest you to get this game especially given you are getting a PS2 title for $30, unless your local stores are ripping you off. Get it at Wal-Mart! Always low prices lol XD