What’s left to say about Yu-Gi-Oh! after all these years? The incredibly popular card franchise has been around since the mid-90’s and hasn’t lost any steam since its debut as a manga in the Shonen Jump magazine. Within the video game medium, the license has often been used as your standard card-battling affair, so there hasn’t been any room for innovation or surprises for the series. But now, to break the mold of card battling video games, Konami has released a kart racing game around their important license.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Wheelie Breakers wasn’t a pleasant surprise. While it surely doesn’t overwhelm at any point, the gameplay is solid enough to hold the attention of its fans. The general basis of the title is to mix the typical card battling genre with the racing genre as the cards being used as power-ups and the like. The card elements aren’t in your face as they have been in the past, so if you’ve always been turned off from collecting cards and battling them, Wheelie Breakers is a nice break from the series’ regular formula.

It needs to be said that this isn’t your typical Mario Kart racer. Instead, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Wheelie Breakers requires players to have a much better tactical sense when it comes to using their power-ups (summoning monsters and spells) against their opponents. This necessarily doesn’t mean that the title is difficult to pick up and play. It’s exactly on the flipside since anyone can adjust to the strategies that are needed to gain victory. If you play your cards right, you’ll be flying by your opposition in no time since you can play off your opponent’s cards with the correct cards in your own hand.

That isn’t to say the game isn’t without its difficulties. For players who have never followed the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe or played a Yu-Gi-Oh! game created by Konami, you might end up scratching your head with figuring what each monster is good for. On top of that, there’s isn’t a tutorial to break you into the game, so newcomers may find dissatisfaction on their first attempt with the title.

The look of the title is presented in a cel-shaded fashion. Looking similar to the anime, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Wheelie Breakers holds up quite well with solid framerates, interesting locales to drive through, colorful effects, and great looking character models. When the action gets going, it really takes off with tons of dueling monsters and spells being cast. As a Nintendo Wii title, there are not many complaints to be said for Wheelie Breakers.

Unlike the graphical aspects, the audio work isn’t up to snuff. The voice-acting is atrocious as expected for any US-based anime title. So unless you’ve come to appreciate the campy voice-work, then it is best to play Wheelie Breakers on mute. Other than that, the audio work is fairly typical with exaggerated sound effects and monotonous music.

Even though it’s not the greatest asset of the game, there are three Yu-Gi-Oh! cards included in every copy of Wheelie Breakers for every fan to collect. Overall, the game screams for fans to pick up a copy and see what Konami has done to invigorate the franchise.

Gameplay: 7.2
Mixing up how you play your cards, the racing is, at times, exciting. There’s a straightforward storyline to follow that will never put you on the edge of your seat. 

Graphics: 7.9
Similar to the anime, the cel-shading should please fans of the series.

Sound: 4.9
Avoid the ghastly voice-work by muting your television as soon as possible.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 7.0
Breaking away from the normal card-battling titles, Konami has delivered an entertaining racer.

Multiplayer: 6.5
Up to four players can compete, and with a lot of havoc going on, the races could end up being nail-biters.

Overall: 7.2
It’s a recommended must buy for Yu-Gi-Oh! fans since it’s a refreshing take in the video-game medium that breaks away from the droning card-battling games of the past.