Trailer: https://youtu.be/MQ7JSv5j0ks
Gameplay: https://youtu.be/l1mFXcjkSRU
Official Site (JP): http://www.konami.jp/yugioh/duel_links/
Anime News Network:
The official website for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links game for iOS and Android devices began streaming a promotional video on Friday. The video previews the Duel World single-player mode, Online Matching mode, and characters.
In Duel World mode, players can choose their favorite characters and duel against standard and legendary duelists. Players raise their characters' levels, obtain cards, and complete missions in this mode. As players advance through stages, new legendary duelists and new functions are unlocked.
People can battle against friends and duelists from around the world and compete in real-time duels in Online Matching mode. Players can also practice with the decks of duelists they competed against in the past and watch replays of previous duels.
The game will feature well-known characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise such as Yami Yugi, Seto Kaiba, Katsuya Jounouchi (known as Joey Wheeler in English), and Mai Kujaku (Mai Valentine). As players clear missions, they become able to use more characters. As the characters' levels increase, players obtain cards and the characters gain new skills.
The game will launch for iOS and Android devices in Japan in late April. Basic gameplay will be free, but items will be available at a cost. Advance registration for the game launched on Friday. As of press time, more than 50,000 people had registered for the game.
Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. confirmed in January that it is planning a global release for the three games that its parent company announced in December. Yu-Gi-Oh! for Nintendo 3DS (working title) is slated for this summer, and the Yu-Gi-Oh! Online Game (working title) for consoles and PC will follow in winter 2016. Also that winter, the console game Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist and mobile game Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Generation will both receive major updates.
Explanation of this game's duel setup:
A new kind of Duel format. provided by Konami. (Seems to be based on the Duel Terminals and the upcoming Duel Links game). Theres no official use of it (as of yet), so its mostly another casual alternative Duel format.
Set Up Your Deck:
Include 20 cards (combining Monsters, Spells and Traps)
Extra Deck:
Contains 0 to 5 Cards (consisting of Fusion, Xyz, and/or Synchro)
You can only have 3 copies of a card, as per normal.
You start the Duel with 4000 LP and 4 cards in hand.
The field only has three Spell & Trap Card Zones and three Monster Zones, but is otherwise treated as normal.
Turn Order follows the same rules as usual (Draw Phase, Standby Phase, Main Phase 1, Battle Phase, Main Phase 2, End Phase, then proceed to opponents turn)
There's some decent presentation here. The marquee monster animations look better than Legacy of the Duelist's (which is sad). Making the card art pop out is a smart way to not model thousands of cards, though it's clear Konami either lacks the original files or they created art specifically to the borders of the IRL TCG. However the multiple currencies, seemingly restricted card set, no tag dueling and simplified rules makes this another "No thank you" release to me. Konami's probably going to rip out all the voice acting for the localization too.