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

Last year marked a significant milestone for Yu-Gi-Oh! as it celebrated its 25th anniversary, reminding its players and loyal fans just how swiftly time has flown. Konami, seizing the opportunity, announced an ongoing celebration of this ‘Quarter Century’ for the legendary card game. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection emerged as the only video game commemorating this special event. Featuring around 14 games that shaped the early history of the franchise, this collection includes titles from the original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. As a dedicated Yu-Gi-Oh! enthusiast, my interest was piqued by this compilation. Although I hadn’t played every game in the collection before this review, my vague memories suggested these games catered more to anime fans than card game purists. Surprisingly, my intuition turned out to be accurate, but the experience wasn’t as jarring as anticipated. For most, revisiting the classic Yu-Gi-Oh! world may be a peculiar curiosity, yet die-hard fans of the series will likely uncover some hidden charm. You’ll just need to dig deep to find it.

Let’s address the main topic right away. This collection indeed includes 14 complete Yu-Gi-Oh! games released between 1998 and 2005. It spans from the very first Yu-Gi-Oh! titles on the original DMG Game Boy, initially available only in Japan and now fully localized in English, to the Game Boy Advance World Championship series aimed at being an accurate battle simulator, with some experimental offerings in between. While this may seem like a substantial lineup, there are a few caveats. To begin with, the early Game Boy releases served more as incremental updates to the burgeoning card game and its evolving rules. Take Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories, for instance, which only introduced new rules and cards to even out the decks. Meanwhile, the Western release known as Dark Duel Stories (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4 in Japan) merely added a solitary zone for trap cards. While this collection offers a historical lens into how swiftly the game evolved both due to hardware limitations and its growth in Japan, for most players, running through these titles back-to-back will feel quite repetitive. Observing the progression of game design over time, especially in terms of UI and UX, intrigued me, but after a single match, I often found myself gravitating towards the more accessible games in the collection.

Duel Monsters 3 was the real eye-opener here. Previously only available in Japan, this game follows the Monster World arc where Yugi’s friends find themselves transformed into monsters within a tabletop roleplaying game, with the villains acting as Dungeon Masters. Uniquely, the game completely ditches the usual trading cards. Instead, you strategically place monsters on a grid resembling a simplified turn-based strategy game like Fire Emblem. Each monster boasts a distinct attack pattern and receives buffs depending on the field and proximity to allies, turning battles into intricate puzzles. To determine if attacks hit, players roll two D10 dice, and the results indicate success or failure. This intriguing system uses dice rolls to set the random enemy encounter rate during boss fights—a feature that makes this game stand out in the collection. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler. These spin-offs pivot to a board game-style interpretation of Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters attempts to adapt the often-overlooked spin-off game into digital form, but it falls short with zero player tutorials. The game leaves you navigating a cumbersome manual each time you play until you get the hang of it, leading to many of my frustrations with this collection. While the quality of life improvements in this collection aren’t inherently bad, they’ve left some gaps. Opening a game’s manual always resets to the first page, making it tough for games with complex rules (yes, looking at you, Dungeon Dice Monsters). The same goes for the type chart in the early games and RPG titles, where monsters can be instantly defeated if facing an opposing type. This chart is less straightforward than other systems since it includes types not present in the actual card game, such as ‘dreams’ and ‘shadow’. The ability to rewind up to one minute at any time is great, but the lack of fast-forward is sorely missed in GBA duel simulators where the CPU takes a long time to decide on moves.

Let’s talk about the online support—or lack of it, rather. Only Duel Monsters 4 allows for online dueling and card trading with opponents. It’s a curious choice, given that this title was another Japan-exclusive. Even more baffling is the inclusion of cheat menus across the games, letting players unlock cards and bypass duelist point limits without hassle. This isn’t an issue, except that Duel Monsters 4 is split into three separate versions (designed for Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey’s decks), so while cross-version dueling is possible, there’s little incentive. Online support for games like Stairway to the Destined Duel or World Tournament 2004 would’ve been far more appealing to seasoned Yu-Gi-Oh! players, as these titles still enjoy popularity. It may be added eventually, but as of now, the online component feels like a limited afterthought, offering little to encourage picking up this collection.

The strange handling of Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days is exemplified by the unusual addition of Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2. According to marketing, this GBA game was among the most popular during Yu-Gi-Oh!’s golden era in Japan, thus its inclusion makes sense. However, unlike the rest of the collection, which boasts translations, Duel Monsters 6 remains entirely in Japanese. While one could argue that it was later adapted into the Western release of Stairway to the Destined Duel with a modified rule set, its separation as a standalone entry just feels odd. And while other games have both Japanese and English versions, available at the main menu, this one stands alone. The exclusion of a translation feels particularly perplexing given that all other Japanese exclusives have been localized.

In short, Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is a double-edged sword. Diving back into the intriguing history of Yu-Gi-Oh! before it became a treasured card game and its modern counterparts either follow the animated series or act as pure duel simulators is undeniably cool. But despite the impressive quantity of games, the collection lacks the meticulous care and attention to detail it deserves. At times, it comes across as an underwhelming anniversary package. While quality of life additions fall somewhat short, certain games pose a challenge without constant reference to the manual, and still one remains stubbornly in Japanese despite the efforts to translate the rest. Plus, online play is limited to just one set of games. There’s not a single bonus artwork, concept, or design document that could’ve substantially enriched this package for dedicated Yu-Gi-Oh! enthusiasts. Although there are gems like The Sacred Cards, Duel Monsters 3, The Eternal Duelist Soul, and 7 Trials to Glory, many titles merely represent slight series improvements or veer off into a land far removed from the card game itself. It stands as a historical record but one that shows surprisingly little love for the legacy it aims to celebrate.

So, who is the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection really for? Well, those yearning to revisit the franchise’s golden age might find some satisfaction here. The list of games may seem impressive on paper, but in practice, it’s hard to claim these titles will captivate you for long. I did find myself coming back to a few for simple pick-up-and-play sessions. Yet, rebuilding decks and concocting strategies for slightly altered but essentially consistent card games didn’t hold my interest by the time I reached the later GBA titles. While it might have been exciting to explore the collection with a friend, given only a single game offers online play, it’s tough to recommend this to even the most devoted Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. However, if you lower your expectations and approach the unusual titles with an open mind, there’s still potential for enjoyment. Just be aware that by the end, you might feel relieved to leave those early days behind.