Trade & Battle: Card Hero
Encyclopedia
is a card battle RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...

 developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems
Intelligent Systems
is a Japanese first-party video game developer and internal team of Nintendo Co., Ltd. It has its headquarters in the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture....

 and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

 for the Nintendo Game Boy Color. It was released only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 on February 21, 2000.

Plot

In this game, the player plays as Hiro, a blue-haired boy living in a town where the game Card Hero has become very popular. He wishes to become a master of the game by collecting different kinds of cards. He also wishes to duel various opponents, including his rival, Masaru Kado. His goal becomes harder to achieve when several bad guys cause trouble in town.

Basic Game Rules

The main objective of the Card Hero series is to defeat the opponent's Master card. To do so, player holds Stones that are used to play cards and four Monster card slots (two in the front row and two in the back). Player attacks the opponent's Master to drain his HP to 0 and win the game. However, it isn't as easy as it sounds; the Master has a shield of 2HP, which is usually the maximum strength of most Monster cards' attacks. Therefore, player can only damage the opponent if the strength of an attack is 3 or higher, and the damage would then be reduced by 2.

Despite the fact that most Monsters are unable to damage the Master initially, there are several ways to increase its strength so that it can. One way is to have the Monster card not move for one turn. On the next turn, it will become charged. This causes the strength of the Monster's charge attack to increase by 1. Player also can use items on the Monster, such as Power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...

. The probably most preferred way to strengthen a Monster is by increasing its level, which can be done by defeating another Monster.

There are three different rule sets in this game: Junior, Senior, and Pro, which affect the number of cards in the player's deck and the master cards. The Junior game is very basic; players use decks of 20 cards (15 in the Game Boy Color game) and normal Masters with 5HP. The Senior game is basically the same, but with the addition of Magic Master cards. The Pro rule set uses 30 cards and Magic Masters with 10HP.

Types of Cards

The player and the opponent both have one Master Card. The object of the game is to defeat the opponent's Master before he defeats the player's. All Master cards have a shield that reduces damage done to them by 2HP. There also are Magic Masters, which have special abilities. Among Magic Masters are the White Master, the Black Master, and the Wonder Master.

Monster Cards are essential to Card Hero. Monsters are used to defend the Master as well as attack the opponent's. However, most Monsters begin with an attack strength of 1 or 2, which is incapable of damaging the enemy Master.

To play a Monster Card, the player must lend it 1 Stone. It is then placed in an empty Monster card slot, face-down in Preparation mode. When the card is like this, it cannot be attacked and it cannot move. On the next turn, it is flipped over. Monsters can increase their power by leveling up from defeating another monster. In order to do this, however, the player must give it another Stone. Monsters can only level up to a certain level. For example, while Rouge can level up to L3, Manatot can level up only to L2. Some Monsters may not be able to level up at all. As a reversal rule, when a Monster card is defeated, its owner is returned all of the Stones that were lent to it.

Monster cards all have a Charge attack, and some have in addition a Magic attack. The Charge attack can damage adjacent cards. If a Monster does not move for an entire turn, it becomes charged and the power of the Charge attack increases by 1. Magic attacks can have various effects and usually cost Stones to be used. Some effects include attacking other cards from a range, having strength capable of damaging the opponent's Master, and recovering HP.

There are four Monster Card slots, two in the front row and two in the back row. The Monster Card usually tells whether the Monster is suited best for the Back Row or the Front Row. The Front Row is best for cards with high HP which can attack adjacently with powerful strength, such as Takokey. The typical Front Type Monster has about 5HP and a Charge attack dealing 2HP damage. The Back Row is best for monsters with low HP and a strong far-range Magic attack. The typical Back Type Monster has around 2~3HP and a Magic attack with strength of 2HP damage. When a Monster in the Front Row is defeated and another Monster is behind them, the Monster in the back row moves up automatically to the Front Row. Monsters can move to different slots and switch positions with other Monster cards, but they cannot attack in the same turn.

Super Monster Cards are powerful cards that are difficult to get into play, but can easily decide who wins the game. A Super Monster can be played atop the Monster from which it "evolves" when it exceeds its maximum level. An example of a Super Monster is Elgoma, the Super form of Poligoma.

Magic Cards will execute a special effect at the cost of a certain amount of Stones. The cost and effects vary from card to card. A few examples of the effects of Magic Cards include recovering HP, damaging the opponent's cards, and increasing the stats of the player's cards.

Game Flow

The player who goes first is determined by a game of Rock Paper Scissors. The participants then shuffle their decks and draw 5 cards.

At the beginning of a player's turn, 3 Stones are always drawn along with 1 card. After that is done, the player may play any cards he wishes and command his Monster cards. All of his Monster cards can be commanded in the same turn, but a Monster can only be commanded once in a turn. The other player then begins his turn.

Card Sets

  • Monster & Magic
  • Magical World
  • Strange Kind
  • Super Include
  • White Master
  • Black Master

Legacy

The card dealer, Maruo Maruhige, appeared as a Trophy in the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...

 title, Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...

.

A sequel titled Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero
Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero
is a card battle RPG developed by Nintendo SPD and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo, and was released only in Japan on December 20, 2007 for the Nintendo DS. It is the successor of the Japan-only Nintendo Game Boy Color title, Trade & Battle: Card Hero. An updated version was released...

was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

on December 20, 2007. Some monsters returned from the game's predecessor with altered looks, some returning monsters look completely different. The sequel also features new monsters, as well as new main characters: Satoru, Haruka and their rival, Kiriwo.

External links

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