Review of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection

Yu-Gi-Oh! marked its 25th anniversary last year, a milestone that likely hit both seasoned players and long-time fans with a wave of nostalgia. In response, Konami decided to carry on the festivities with the “Quarter Century” celebration of this iconic card game. The standout event is the release of “Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection,” a video game bundle featuring around 14 classic titles from the franchise’s early days, all originally released on the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. As a devoted player who’s been engaged with Yu-Gi-Oh! since its inception, I approached this collection with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. While I hadn’t experienced every game it included before this review, my fuzzy memories recalled some being more tailored for fans of the anime than for card game purists. This hunch proved correct, yet it wasn’t as disappointing as anticipated. While, for many, this retrospective might be more about satisfying curiosity, true enthusiasts will find a certain nostalgic charm buried within this package, though it requires a bit of digging to uncover.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first: the collection boasts a total of 14 Yu-Gi-Oh! games launched between 1998 and 2005. It includes everything from the pioneering Yu-Gi-Oh! games on the DMG Game Boy, previously only available in Japan and now fully localized in English for the first time, to the Game Boy Advance World Championship series, which aimed to be a realistic duel simulator, along with some experimental titles. While 14 games sound like a massive haul, there are some caveats. The original Game Boy games focused mainly on incremental tweaks to the card game and its evolving rules. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories, for instance, simply introduced new rules and cards to balance out gameplay, while its western iteration (Duel Monsters 4 in Japan) added just one extra zone for trap cards. Playing these earlier games back-to-back may feel repetitive, showing just how quickly the game evolved amid hardware constraints and the broader growth in Japan. While I find the progression in game design, particularly in UI and UX, intriguing, I often found myself jumping to the more accessible entries after only a single match in each.

A standout surprise was Duel Monsters 3, previously exclusive to Japan, which focuses on the Monster World arc from the anime where Yugi’s friends are trapped in a tabletop RPG. Deviating from traditional card-based gameplay, you place monsters on a grid in a setup reminiscent of titles like Fire Emblem. Each monster has its unique attack pattern and gains bonuses from field positioning and proximity to allies, turning each battle into a strategic puzzle. Dice rolls dictate attack success, adding a quirky twist to encounters—it’s a standout for its divergence.

Compare this to Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler, which take a board game-like approach. Dungeon Dice Monsters attempts to bring the often overlooked game to life on a virtual grid where two players aim to build paths to attack each other’s dice master. While the concept sounds appealing, its lack of a proper tutorial leaves you with only a cumbersome manual to guide you through its complex rules. This is just one of the collection’s stumbling blocks. The quality-of-life improvements are present but limited; each game’s manual annoyingly resets to the beginning every time you open it, hampering your grasp of complex rules. Additionally, an unusual type chart for the early and RPG games introduces unique monster types not found in the traditional card game, adding further confusion without the straightforward nature of other systems.

The online features—or lack thereof—add to the collection’s drawbacks. Only Duel Monsters 4 supports online duels and card trading, despite being a title exclusively released in Japan. It is baffling why more popular tournament-style games haven’t received similar online treatment. Though the games come with cheats for card unlocking and point circumvention, the split into three versions (dedicated to Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey) reduces incentives for online play. Fans of legacy formats may be left wanting more from a nostalgic revisit.

One perplexing addition is Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2, hailed as a favorite during the card game’s peak in Japan. Despite this accolade, it’s included in the collection untranslated, entirely in Japanese, unlike the rest, which have been adapted. While the argument can be made that this game later evolved into the western release Stairway to the Destined Duel, its inclusion as an untranslated standalone seems misplaced. The collection would benefit from additional extras, such as concept art or design documents, something that would provide a richer insight for the ardent fans of Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Overall, while “Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection” is an enticing history lesson for those intrigued by the pre-established card game era, it often lacks refinement. Although the number of games is impressive, the details betray a less-than-thorough commitment to celebrating Yu-Gi-Oh!’s past. It feels like an anniversary token, skimping on helpful features or deeper insights into its history. While there are gems like The Sacred Cards and Duel Monsters 3, many titles either incrementally evolve the gameplay or completely sidestep card game conventions. It’s a historical piece that somehow overlooks the depth of its legacy.

So, who will enjoy the “Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection”? If you’re seeking to reminisce about Yu-Gi-Oh!’s golden era, there is some value here. On paper, the scope appears vast, but most games struggle to hold lasting appeal. I often found myself drifting back to a few of the more engaging offerings. The repetitive cycle of adjusting decks and strategies left me uninterested as I progressed into the later Game Boy Advance games. A friend could have added to the experience, but with online play limited to one title, it’s hard to recommend exclusively to dedicated players. Walking in with tempered expectations, an open mind, and curiosity for the unconventional entries can yield some enjoyment. But don’t be surprised if, by the end, you’re content with having moved beyond Yu-Gi-Oh!’s early era.