Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories - PlayStation

Imagine the role-playing style of Pokemon, make it 3D, add a few beasts with super abilities and you've got yourself a game of Forbidden Battles from Konami.

Based entirely on Yu-Gi-Oh, a derivative of the popular comic book by Kazuki Takahasi, Forbidden Memories pits the player as an up and coming duellist in a 3D adventure where players must battle with cards to earn the respect of one another.

Legend tells that 5,000 years ago Egyptian Pharaohs played an ancient version of Duel Monsters. Using magical ceremonies to view the future, the game was played with real monsters, using real magic. Unfortunately, things got out of hand and the monsters sought to destroy the world. Yugi and co find themselves dragged into this world of real-life beasts and battles as the mysterious creator of Duel Monsters seeks to summon real beasts to wreak havoc. Thus, using all the magic and creatures at their disposal, the quartet must use creatures from the past to safeguard the future.

Gameplay bears a few similarities to Final Fantasy games in the respect that you have a fighting arena, some 600 fully animated monsters and a ton of side quests for the occasional welcome distraction. Combat is also very much a case of strategy and planning, and rarely does luck play a significant part in battle. If you beat your rivals, you earn new cards as well new respect. Sure it's another RPG, but Yu-Gi-Oh is becoming something of a legend on TV, and with a good video game to boot, its success is likely to spread. more