When you consider this game is basically the same as every other
Yu-Gi-Oh! game, it shouldn't come as surprise that the game uses the same easy to use control mechanism as previous games. Though a generally good thing, I was a bit disappointed to see that the menus, especially when it came to deck creation, were still a hassle to manage. In my mind, this is one of the areas that computer-based card games will always suffer. Coming from an extensive
Magic: The Gathering deck building background, I'm used to scattering cards all over my floor and grouping them, slowly constructing a deck as I weed out cards. Though reasonably easy to use, the deck creation system in
Stairway allows players to simply place cards into either their deck or trunk. I found that this limited the number of strategies that go towards building a deck since you're basically just reading down a list instead of looking at your cards.
Navigating Battle City can be both mindlessly easy, and ridiculously hard. I had hoped for the chance to explore the city myself, but instead the game forces you to choose a district to play in. As you travel to each section, you will be given the choice to either talk to a random person (who will give you gaming tips) or challenge the player in that area. Easy huh? The hard part comes in during some of the game's tournament stipulations. For example, one tournament requires you to find two certain opponents who are hidden in the city and beat them before the tournament ends, forcing you to talk to every passerby in hopes that they turn out to be the opponent you're searching for. I've yet to win this tournament.
Fans, both hardcore and casual, will find a lot to like in Stairway. Although a majority of the game remains unchanged, the general premise is still intact. At least the minor changes help to give the game a fresh looking face, and hopefully indicate that new things are on the way for the next incarnation of the franchise (which we all know is coming).