Last year marked a major milestone for Yu-Gi-Oh!, as the beloved card game turned 25. This milestone likely made many players and longtime fans feel a bit older all of a sudden. However, Konami had exciting news for everyone: the celebration isn’t over yet. They announced the continuation of the festivities with what’s called the ‘Quarter Century’ celebration of Yu-Gi-Oh!. As part of this, they’ve released “Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection”, a unique video game that lets fans revisit the series’ roots. This collection features around 14 classic games hailing from the early days on the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. As someone who still plays Yu-Gi-Oh! with enthusiasm, I was initially hesitant yet intrigued by the prospect of diving back into these games. I remembered some as being somewhat sluggish, appealing more to fans of the anime rather than the card game diehards. My suspicion wasn’t far off, but to my surprise, this revisit wasn’t as jarring as anticipated. While this nostalgic trip might be more about curiosity for most, true fanatics of the franchise might find a charming allure in this nostalgia-packed bundle. It’s worth noting, though, that finding that charm requires a bit of patience.
Let’s tackle the main event first. This collection includes a whopping 14 Yu-Gi-Oh! games, originally released from 1998 to 2005. From the first Yu-Gi-Oh! titles on the DMG Game Boy, initially exclusive to Japan, now fully translated to English, to the Game Boy Advance world championship series aiming for realistic card battles, this collection has it all. Although the number of games at first glance seems impressive, there’s a hitch. Early Game Boy games offer incremental updates, evolving alongside the card game itself. Take Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories, for instance—it merely adds new rules and cards for balance. In the West, Dark Duel Stories (known in Japan as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4) introduced a single trap card zone. Observing the game’s rapid evolution, driven by hardware limitations and the card game’s growth in Japan, provides an interesting retrospective. Although, playing these titles consecutively might seem repetitive to many. The gradual evolution of game design, especially around UI and UX, kept me enthralled. Still, after a single match, I often found myself gravitating towards the more accessible choices within the collection.
Duel Monsters 3 offered an unexpected surprise. Previously available only in Japan, this game aligns with the Monster World arc, where Yugi’s circle of friends turn into monsters, trapped in a tabletop RPG guided by antagonists posing as Dungeon Masters. Rather than focus on trading cards, players maneuver monsters on a grid, reminiscent of simplified turn-based strategies like Fire Emblem. Each monster, with unique attack patterns, receives boosts from the specific tiles they’re on and if they’re near allies. Consequently, every battle turns into a mini puzzle. Attack accuracy depends on rolling two D10 dice, which also dictate random enemy encounters during boss fights. This quirky system immediately distinguishes it within the collection’s lineup. The same excitement doesn’t carry over to Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler. These spinoffs attempt a board game-inspired take on Yu-Gi-Oh!. Dungeon Dice Monster aims to digitalize its lesser-known spin-off game, where two players compete on an isometric grid, using cubes to create pathways to reach the opponent’s dice master. While the concept sounds intriguing, the game lacks any tutorial, leaving newcomers grappling with a complex manual. This is where the collection’s shortcomings become evident. Although its quality-of-life features aren’t terrible, notable gaps exist. Accessing the game’s manual every time you reopen the menu and starting from page one is frustrating, especially for those with intricate rules like Dungeon Dice Monsters. The early games and RPG titles, with their peculiar type chart mechanics, further amplify this challenge, introducing ‘dreams’ and ‘shadow’ types absent from the core card game. Fast-forward options could’ve been particularly beneficial during the GBA duel simulators, where the CPU’s deliberations are painfully slow.
As for online support—or lack thereof—there’s some head-scratching juxtapositions. Only one game, Duel Monsters 4, supports online dueling and card trading. Given that this title was Japan-exclusive, its choice seems odd. Moreover, cheat menus in these games allow players to bypass duelist point restrictions and unlock cards, which diminishes the drive to play Duel Monsters 4 across its split versions (Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey’s decks). Online support would’ve made more sense for beloved titles like Stairway to the Destined Duel or World Tournament 2004 enjoyed by many longtime players. While future updates might address this, for now, the limited online functionality doesn’t enhance the collection’s overall appeal.
Another oddity is the inclusion of Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2 in its original Japanese. Despite being promoted as one of the series’ favorites during the peak of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s popularity in Japan, its untranslated presence in the collection strikes as puzzling. Unlike the other ex-Japanese exclusives, fully translated, this game stands alone as an untranslated oddity, despite having a Western counterpart in Stairway to the Destined Duel adapted to English TCG rules. Its solo category in the collection feels entirely unnecessary.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection is a dual experience. On one hand, it’s intriguing to revisit Yu-Gi-Oh!’s quirky beginnings before evolving into the card game phenomenon it is today. On the flip side, despite the impressive lineup, the attention to detail in the collection feels lacking. Annoys like challenging manuals, untranslated titles, and limited online capabilities highlight its shortcomings. Additional valuables, like artwork, concepts, or design documents, would have enriched the collection significantly for hardcore fans. Gems like The Sacred Cards, Duel Monsters 3, The Eternal Duelist Soul, and 7 Trials to Glory stand out, while others feel like minor upgrades or completely veer off from the card game’s essence. It stands as a historical document with a surprising dearth of care for the period it represents.
So who exactly is Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days for? For those nostalgic for the franchise’s glory days, there’s a degree of enjoyment to be found. The number of included games appears grand on paper, yet maintaining player interest can be challenging. Some games within the collection serve nicely as quick, fun diversions rather than mainstays. Rebuilding decks and devising fresh strategies felt tedious as I progressed towards the later GBA games. Exploring these classics with a friend could have been enjoyable, but the limitation to a single game supporting online play makes it hard to fully endorse, even to ardent Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. Still, approaching the collection with tempered expectations and embracing its quirks might lead to unexpected amusement, though most will likely be relieved to have moved beyond those early formulations.
