The series' main characters, Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba, play opposing teams known as the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.

Each team is playable, battling various characters throughout the plot to prevent a ritual summoning by using sorcerous rose cards.

Using designs by creator Kazuki Takahashi, the game's battle system is based on a chessboard-style battlefield, with over 800 cards from the franchise.

In addition, each monster card features updated 3D computer graphics modelling, which first appeared in Forbidden Memories.

Due to content censorship, dialogue and visuals were changed to allow distribution in North America and Europe.

Some publications praised its story and visuals, while the majority of criticism focused on the gameplay, lack of innovation, and high difficulty.

Each choice later determines which characters to face in future duels, which are displayed on a world map within the game.

[3] The player controls the "Rose Duelist," who is summoned from an unknown time period to 1485 by a Lancastrian druid to help them defeat the Yorkists and reclaim the throne.

The Rose Duelist also requires all 16 cards to conjure enough power to return to their appropriate time period, forcing the player to choose a side.

Seto then summons Manawyddan fab Llyr, a powerful mythological figure known as the card guardian, whom he intends to use to establish his rule over England.

The Rose Duelist defeats Manawyddan fab Llyr and banishes him from the time period, ensuring Lancastrian victory.

According to the epilogue, Yugi was crowned King of England, but it is unknown whether the Rose Duelist were ever returned to the time period from which they were summoned.

After the duel, Seto informs the Rose Duelist that he has been looking for a true card guardian for a long time because an ancestor of his made a pact with one (again, referencing Forbidden Memories).

True Duel Monsters II: Inherited Memories in Japan, and early releases included the Japanese versions of three out of five cards: "Fairy King Truesdale", "Cypher Solder", "Slate Warrior", "Electromagnetic Bagworm", and "Rigours Reaver".

Several elements related to Christianity and other religious symbolism, which were used throughout the historical accuracy of the game's plot, were removed.

"[14] Absolutely Playstation also gave it a positive review, echoing similar sentiments about the game's faithfulness to the original franchise.

[12] Michael J. Nam of GameSpy praised the "interesting" story for "diverging from the typical rehashing of a franchise universe seen in many similar tie-ins.

"[19][12] GamePro had a mixed reaction to the gameplay, but ultimately said that it was "best appreciated by newcomers to the Yu-Gi-Oh game who want to learn how to play.

PSX Nation stated that the game was "strictly for fanboys, PS2 library completists, or masochists in search of a higher-than-normal threshold of pain in their interactive diet.

"[12] Official PlayStation Magazine added that the game's difficulty was "ratcheted up so high" and "designed to make you feel like a total loser.

gave it a negative review, writing that "When these sorts of loaded odds are all you get in lieu of a competitive computer player, the whole thing feels like you're being cheated rather than challenged.