Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelverse (video game)

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelverse is a 3D fighting video game developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Konami featuring various characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. The game is released in December 21, 2022 for the Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
The game is rated T (Teen) for ages 13 and older, and contains blood, mild language and lyrics, partial nudity, suggestive themes, comic mischief and violence (this leads to it being considered the anti-4Kids).
==Rating summary==
This is an arcade-style fighting game in which players control duelists from the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe. Players use their duel monsters' skills (e.g., fireballs, energy bursts, lightning strikes) to drain opponents' life meters in arena-based one-on-one combat. Graphics are somewhat stylized (e.g. anime style), and battles are highlighted by colorful light effects, frequent yells/cries of pain, impact sounds and large explosions. Blood appears in still-image cutscenes, on characters' faces and bodies, and on walls. Some cards show characters getting bitten, slashed with blades or struck by arrows. The game contains suggestive material/nudity: a human-like character with her breast exposed (no discernible detail); creatures with exposed buttocks; characters wearing low-cut tops that expose moderate amounts of cleavage; portions of female characters' clothing ripping off during matches; one sequence involving a monster-human hybrid duelist kissing/caressing the queen of the blue dorm, as observed through a mall window—heavy breathing and moaning sounds can be heard, though the view is partially obscured. One sequence depicts a monster-human hybrid duelist doing provocative dance acts like belly rolls; another sequence depicts him showing his midriff up close as he says "It's just one of those weird coincidences--like how my belly button looks like a hole". The words "damn", "hell" and "bastard" appear in the dialogue. Some song lyrics contain suggestive references (e.g. "Let the passion come about", "Wake up your heart"); lyrics may also contain references to violence (e.g. "They then start to cut my hands en masse/...for my heartache, all the pain you took", "Feel it cutting into me, the doubting painful knife/…but it grew into a weapon only hurting me, this I know"). The game includes mild instances of abridged humor (e.g. "It's a super special awesome [thing]"; "Screw the rules, I have money"; "Card games on motorcycles"; "My name's Jaden Yuki, and I'm absolutely flawless").
==Gameplay==
Following the gameplay of the Dragon Ball Xenoverse sub-series, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelverse is a fighting game in which various duelists from a selection of the traditional Yu-Gi-Oh! series and various of its anime spin-offs (such as GX and 5D's) fight against each other, using their duel monsters' skills. The aim of the game is to use attacks and special moves to knock out the opponent, or possess more life than him/her at the end of the round. Combat functions are similar to the previous Jump fighting games, with players moving around a 3D space and utilizing various combos and special moves to attack their opponents. The match ends when one character depletes the other's health bar.
The game features spoken dialogue from a majority of characters while in battle, and characters show facial expressions when they strike an opponent or take damage.
==Characters==
===Original===
# Yugi Muto
# Seto Kaiba
# Joey Wheeler
# Tristan Taylor
# Téa Gardner
# Mai Valentine
# Melody
# Maximillion Pegasus
# Keith Howard
# Ryo Bakura
# Marik Ishtar
# Dartz
===GX===
# Jaden Yuki w/ Yubel
# Syrus Truesdale
# Zane Truesdale
# Bastion Misawa
# Alexis Rhodes
# Atticus Rhodes
# Chazz Princeton
# Aster Phoenix
# Jesse Anderson
# Vellian Crowler
# Sartorius Kumar
# Nightshroud
===5D's===
# Yusei Fudo
# Jack Atlas
# Crow Hogan
# Akiza Izinski
# Luna
# Leo
# Bruno
# Sherry LeBlanc
# Kalin Kessler
# Rex Goodwin
# Aporia
# Paradox
===Zexal===
# Yuma Tsukumo w/ Astral
# Reginald Kastle
# Rio Kastle
# Tori Meadows
# Bronk Stone
# Kite Tenjo
# Dr. Faker
# Quattro
# Dumon
# Vector
# Mizar
# Don Thousand
===Arc-V===
# Yuya Sakaki / Yuto / Yugo / Yuri
# Zuzu Boyle / Lulu Obsidian / Lin / Celina
# Gong Strong
# Sylvio Sawatari
# Shay Obsidian
# Sora Perse
# Moon Shadow
# Dennis MacField
# Declan Akaba
# Riley Akaba
# Leo Akaba
# Z-Arc
===VRAINS===
# Yusaku Fujiki
# Cal Kolter
# Ai
# Skye Zaizen
# Akira Zaizen
# George Gore
# Theodore Hamilton
# Emma Bessho
# Ryoken Kogami
# Naoki Shima
# Bohman
# Clarissa Turner
===NPC===
* Mokuba Kaiba
* Orlando
* Solomon Muto
* Lyman Banner
* Sartyr
* Fonda Fontaine
* Sheppard
* Mina Simington
* Tetsu Trudge
* Lazar
* Rally Dawson
* Caswell Francis
* Mr. Heartland
* Skip Boyle
==Production and release==
The game is first announced on September 13, 2022 during Nintendo Direct, and the official release date is December 21, 2022. The original release date was April 7, 2023, but it was moved forward when Universal Pictures and Illumination handed the 2023 release date over to the Super Mario movie as a means of, as Deadline puts it, "optimizing the family audience".
The idea of a Yu-Gi-Oh! fighting game is a really cool idea since most duelists like Joey Wheeler, Ryo Bakura and Jaden Yuki never got coverage so far, marketing the first fighting game to have many duelists (aside from Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba) on-screen.
==Trivia==
*All playable characters that are in the roster fight with monster cards.
**Yugi, Bakura and Marik fight in their Yami forms respectively.
**Jaden appears in his Season 4 self while Yubel assists him.
**While Astral assists Yuma, they can only fuse each other to become Zexal when it's in ultimate attack.
**Yuya can be switched between him and the other dragon boys (Yuto, Yugo and Yuri) by player's choice. The same goes for Zuzu, but with the other bracelet girls (Lulu, Lin and Celina).
** Ai and Bohman appear in their human forms respectively.
* There are some references from the abridged series. An example is where Yusei gives Jack a message that says "card games on motorcycles". Another example is where Jaden says that he's "absolutely flawless" when he acts like a handsome model.
* When a game is paused, all action on the screen stops, giving players the opportunity to take a break in the middle of a match. This brings up a menu listed with the options to resume the match and gives the player access to camera controls, as well as a Move List, the option to connect controllers, and the ability to quit the match. It also features live frame-advancing, though returning to gameplay resumes the game from the point at which it was paused.
* The game has great and decent voice acting in both Japanese and English versions, especially from Dan Green, Matt Labyorteaux, Cassandra Lee Morris, Vic Mignogna, etc!
* The game soundtrack is very decent, mainly because it has various songs specific in content and tone to a character from the franchise, often sung by the characters' voice performers, such as Shunsuke Kazama, KENN, Yuya Miyashita, etc!
* Unlike the other Western versions of Yu-Gi-Oh! video games, this one has no bad censorship nor changes, making it more loyal to the original Japanese version.
** Despite the lack of 4Kids-like edits, the Western versions of the game retain only one regional change made to the TV show, which is the use of different character names (for instance, the character known in Japan as "Judai Yuki" is named "Jaden Yuki" overseas). The version of the game released in Japan uses the characters' original names.
* The game supports 11 languages regardless of region: Japanese, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Korean, Chinese and of course, Portuguese.
** Spanish and Portuguese each have two different variants: an American variant (Latin Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese) and an European variant (Castilian Spanish and European Portuguese). The difference is affected by the system's region and language.
** Many spoken dialogues and songs, which are originally in Japanese, are dubbed into around 13 languages each to accomodate local variation.
Category:Yu-Gi-Oh!
Category:Fighting Games