Shadowverse Champion’s Battle Legendary Edition is an Engrossing RPG Card Battler

Twenty-one years ago, the anime and trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh! sparked my interest in card games. Since then, I have tried digital card games that range from Hearthstone to Magic The Gathering to Night of The Full Moon. None of them held my interest like Yu-Gi-Oh! did, but they gave me a greater appreciation of the game genre. Imagine my surprise when I decided to try the 2022 Nintendo Switch card battle RPG video game Shadowverse Champion's Battle Legendary Edition and became totally hooked.

Created by Cygames and published by X-Seed Games, Shadowverse Champion's Battle Legendary Edition is an RPG card battler and enhanced version of the original 2021 Shadowverse Champion's Battle game. Set in the world of the anime series Shadowverse, the game begins after selecting the gender of your character, where you arrive at Tensei Academy as a new student.

While running late on your first day, you meet Hiro Ryugasaki, a teenage boy who is a big fan of the popular card game Shadowverse. When you meet Hiro's colorful cast of friends and learn the ropes of Shadowverse, you all join a Shadowverse club at the school. As it turns out, you'll have to increase club membership and win the national Shadowverse championship or the club will be disbanded.

One of the first things that drew me to this game is how beginner-friendly it is. If you've played the mobile card game Hearthstone, you'll find Shadowverse a little familiar, but there are unique features to this card game such as the ability to evolve your cards. Not only do you have a basic tutorial that shows you how to play the game Shadowverse, but the school courtyard at Tensei Academy becomes a training ground for learning about Shadowverse's seven different class types.

In using basic starter decks for each class given to you by Hiro and battling NPCs in the courtyard that specialize in different classes, you get to see how the different classes work from a player's perspective as well as an opponent's. There is also a hint button you can use during card battles that suggests which cards to play. These features allow you to figure out which Shadowverse class type suits your playstyle so you can have at least 1-2 decks to use for the rest of the game. If you find deck building overwhelming, winning card battles gives you your opponent's deck recipe that you can use by obtaining all the cards. There are many ways to get new cards, including battling NPCs, finding random data blocks that yield cards and gold coins, and spending gold coins on cards and card packs at kiosks in certain areas.

One of the first things that drew me to this game is how beginner-friendly it is.

If you're like me and love deck building, this game will give you plenty of opportunities to do so. Not only can you modify the deck recipes given to you by opponents if you don't have all the cards needed, but you can also make your own decks. The deckbuilding menu is mostly straightforward, letting you pick a class to make a deck in before displaying a list of cards that you own. You can also sort cards based on card type and class, which is useful for making a balanced deck with 40 cards. One minor criticism I have is that you're stuck obtaining cards from the game's standard pack for a good while. After playing 40 hours of the game so far, I've found myself getting a little bored of pulling cards from the standard pack but there are two other card packs that I should obtain at a certain point in the storyline.

Speaking of the 40 hours I've played so far, it has been pretty entertaining due to the sheer amount of solo content available. Not only do you have the main storyline, but you also have subquests, friendship quests, and a ton of NPCs you can battle in different locations to increase your card class level and class rank. Battles get harder as you progress in the storyline, but so far it hasn't bothered me. There is also an online mode where you can battle players from around the world to increase your battle card rank and unlock exclusive legendary cards from the anime series, but I haven't bothered with it. These legendary cards are only available in the legendary edition of Shadowverse Champion's Battle. I would've preferred that the legendary cards be available with the solo content when you reach a certain point in the storyline or reach a certain class rank.

Enhancing the game's solo content is the ability to explore the game's school and town area on foot and via the "-" button that lets you fast-travel. Not since older Yu-Gi-Oh video games like the ill-fated Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards have I encountered a card game that lets you explore the world around you while participating in card battles. It's something more card games should have and gaming critics like Richard Kelly have already made the case of why world exploration should exist in Yu-Gi-Oh! games.

Other features that enhance the solo content are the ability to hear the card's voices when you summon or evolve them, special animations for certain cards, the sweeping orchestral card battle music, and the ability to hear your character and your opponent react to being attacked directly. They make the card game more lively and fun while giving me a similar thrill I had playing my first Yu-Gi-Oh! video game back in 2003.

All in all, Shadowverse Champion's Battle is an engrossing card game that's perfect for newcomers and veterans from the online mobile Shadowverse game. If you're a card game fan that needs a new digital card game to play, feel free to give this a try.