is a video game based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! series, developed by Konami and released on PlayStation 2 format on September 6, 2001, in Japan. It is the first game from the series to be released on PlayStation 2 format.
Upon its release, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of Roses received mixed reviews from most game critics, with many critics praising the game for its graphic design and appeal, but criticizing its tedious gameplay and lack of fair challenge. It was a commercial success, among the best-selling PlayStation 2 games with over copies sold worldwide. In mid-2006, The Duelists of the Roses was named a PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits title.
Game Mechanics
Each duel in the game takes place on a 7×7 table, with each player commanding a "Deck Leader" that acts as the representation of their life points as well as the means through which cards are played from the hand—one card each turn can be placed on the board in a space adjacent to the deck leader. Each card on the field as well as the deck leader itself can be moved one horizontal or vertical space each turn. When two monster cards on the field collide with each other, they are flipped face-up, and a battle takes place in the same manner as the trading card game, with life points being subtracted appropriately. The duel ends when one player's life points are reduced to zero or when a player ends a turn with their deck leader completely surrounded by enemy monsters in their summoning areas. A duel also ends after 100 turns have elapsed, at which point the player with the most remaining life points is declared the winner.
Monsters can be "promoted" with use in duels. When monsters survive face-up on the field, destroy enemy monsters, or inflict life point damage to the opponent, they gain experience (monster experience is hidden). When a monster accumulates enough experience, it will be promoted to the next rank. A monster must be promoted at least once in order to act as a deck leader. Some deck leaders have special abilities based on their type and rank, which include raising the strength of nearby monsters, increasing life points by a small number each turn, or being able to move two spaces each turn instead of just one.
A deck of exactly 40 cards is required to duel. Each card in the game has a "deck cost", which is a value given to a card based on its strength. The game adds difficulty by forcing the player to have a lower overall deck cost than their opponent in order to duel that opponent, essentially forcing the player to have a weaker deck. Cards are obtained mainly through the "graveyard slots", which is a slot machine that appears after each win allowing the player to obtain cards from an opponent's deck that were sent to the graveyard during the duel. Cards can also be obtained using codes in the deck builder menu or through "reincarnation", which is where owned cards can be sacrificed to give three different cards of a slightly lower deck cost. Reincarnation becomes available once after every 5 completed duels, win or loss.
Each space on the 7x7 duel board has a certain terrain. Each type of monster has at least one favored terrain that gives that monster an extra 500 ATK and DEF bonus when engaged in battle on that terrain. Each type of monster also has at least one disfavored terrain that reduces the ATK and DEF of that monster by 500 points. There are also three special terrains: Labyrinth, which no cards are able to move onto except for a few monsters with special effects; crush, which instantly destroys any monster with 1500 or more ATK; and toon, which weakens every monster in the game except for toon monsters. Terrains include normal, forest, meadow, dark, sea, wasteland, mountain, toon, crush, and labyrinth.
Plot
The game is very loosely based on the real-world Wars of the Roses, a series of wars fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York over control of England in the 15th century. Yami Yugi (Yugi Mutou in the English anime and the original Japanese adaptations) assumes the identity of the head of the Tudor dynasty, Henry Tudor, while Seto Kaiba represents the head of the Yorkist clan force as Christian Rosenkreuz. Other characters from the anime similarly assume the roles and names of others who featured in the conflict.