Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution is a robust Yu-Gi-Oh game that’s filled to the brim with multiple different ways to play the titular card game. There are a couple minor gripes, but almost every card currently in the TCG is in the game, there’s plenty of single and multiplayer content, and the tutorials are fantastic, making Link Evolution the perfect game for lapsed duelists to use as a re-entry point to the game.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution
Developer: Konami
Price: $40
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a Switch code for review.
Yu-Gi-Oh! released when I was in the exact age demographic that Shonen Jump and 4Kids Entertainment were trying to reach. As such, I got on the ground floor with the series, and became obsessed with it (I still own a Duel Disk, for what it’s worth). Though I stopped playing the card game midway through the Zexal era, I’ve always retained a deep love for the game and the franchise, and I’ve always wanted to get back into playing. Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution was the perfect way for me to do just that, as it’s probably the most accurate dueling simulator that could possibly be made at this point in time.
For those unfamiliar with the manga/anime that the card game spawned from, Link Evolution features a Campaign mode that covers the events of every single Yu-Gi-Oh series, from Duel Monsters to an early section of the most recent series, Vrains. The stories are all presented with text and illustrated avatars for characters, like in most visual novels, which lead to duels that let you use your own custom deck or the deck that the character you’re playing as used at that time in the series. You can even play “reverse” duels afterward, where you play as the villain/antagonist rather than the protagonist. It’s a completely competent mode overall, though there are some odd duels that get skipped over for seemingly no reason (i.e. Joey/Jonouchi vs Espa Roba, Yugi vs Weevil in Waking the Dragons, etc.).
These duels all provide you with cards from the battle, deck recipes, and currency that can be used to buy character-themed booster packs from the Card Shop. Matches are pretty generous with how many duel points you get, and packs give you eight cards each. If you finish the Campaign but want to grind for specific character cards and duel points, you can duel against any character you’ve unlocked at any time in Duelist Challenge mode. Overall, it’s both easy and fun to unlock cards for your own deck. Building a deck is more accessible than ever, as you can easily navigate your enormous trunk of cards to build tons of decks to experiment with.
“[…] Link Evolution is a fantastic resource for learning these mechanics in a fast and fun way.“
Another fun way to get cards comes from Draft and Sealed Play. In these modes, you purchase a box of randomized cards and duel five times using a deck made of only those cards. In Sealed play, you use the obtained cards as-is, while in Draft play, you pick and draft cards to make a more personalized and cohesive deck. After these matches, you get to keep the cards you used, which makes them worth the duel points. It’s fun to test yourself with cards you aren’t used to playing with, so I’m quite happy with the inclusion of both these modes.
There are a lot of ways to play Link Evolution with others, both locally with two Switches and online. If you aspire to be the next King of Games, you can climb the leaderboards in Ranked Duels, while more casual players can partake in stakes-free Player Matches. It’s a lot of tense and exciting fun to put your best deck up against others from around the world, but playing against other people is even better when a game takes care of rules and effects, rather than a person.
“Link Evolution could really stand to feature more customization, if only to make each duel feel more personal for players.“
If you’ve missed out on some of Yu-Gi-Oh’s more recent summoning methods, from the newer Link summoning to the now ten-year-old Synchro summoning, Link Evolution is a fantastic resource for learning these mechanics in a fast and fun way. Even just the basic rules from Duel Monsters are covered extensively through optional tutorials, making this the absolute best way to get into Yu-Gi-Oh, regardless of your experience with the game and franchise overall.
I do wish there were more ways to customize your dueling experience. Card sleeves and game mats are nowhere to be found, and there are no alternate illustrations for cards. Seeing Arkana use the same Dark Magician as Yugi is weird, but it’s primarily disappointing because of how simple such a small but major feature would be. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I would have loved to use a Dark Magician or Blue-Eyes White Dragon that featured the art that the cards had in the first TCG starter decks, or from various booster packs. Being able to use the redesigns that Kazuki Takahashi (the writer/artist for the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series) has made for various cards over the years would be amazing as well. Link Evolution could really stand to feature more customization, if only to make each duel feel more personal for players.
Another minor gripe comes from the limited (and frankly, weird) selection of monster animations. Only a few big cards play a 3D-animated mini-cutscene when summoned, which is disappointing. Iconic cards like Exodia, the Egyptian Gods, and Elemental Hero Flame Wingman don’t have animations, while lesser-known cards like Elemental Hero Thunder Giant and Relinquished, have their own cutscenes. The scenes themselves aren’t very expressive, with only a couple standing out positively. The animations from Duel Links, the Yu-Gi-Oh mobile game, are more dynamic, which is a shame.
The Final Word
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution is a fantastic dueling simulator that’s filled with all sorts of content that will satisfy new, old, and returning duelists alike. I do wish there were more customization options and monster animations, but the excellent tutorials, thrilling multiplayer, and ridiculous breadth of single-player content make this the best way to play the TCG on a console.
MonsterVine Review Score: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
