When Yu-Gi-Oh! hit its 25th anniversary last year, fans got an instant reminder of how time flies. Konami decided to keep the party going, celebrating the card game’s “Quarter Century” milestone. Enter Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection—the lone video game tribute to this anniversary. This collection packs in about 14 games from the heyday of the series, featuring classics from the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance eras. As someone who’s played the card game for eons, I couldn’t resist diving into this collection. Some entries were new to me, but I vaguely remembered the gameplay being rather rigid, more about capturing the hearts of anime fans than those invested in the card battles. Turns out, I was spot on, though it wasn’t quite the disaster I feared. For many, this is a nostalgic dive into the enigmatic world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, though the die-hard fans will discover a hidden charm within—if they’re willing to look hard enough.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. The collection boasts 14 complete Yu-Gi-Oh! titles released between 1998 and 2005. Starting from the initial games on the DMG Game Boy, which were Japan-only releases rooted in the manga, they’ve been fully localized in English for the first time. It ranges to the Game Boy Advance titles that vied to be faithful battle simulators, with some experimental versions along the way. At first glance, that’s an impressive roster, but there are some caveats. The early Game Boy titles are essentially incremental updates to the evolving card game rules. Take Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories, for example; it merely updates rules and cards for balancing purposes. The Western release, Dark Duel Stories (known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4 in Japan), simply added a single trap card zone. While it’s an intriguing historical jaunt showcasing quick evolution—both technologically and in gameplay—playing them consecutively may feel repetitive. Observing how the game designs evolved, particularly in UI and UX, is something I found fascinating, albeit briefly; after a single match, I quickly moved on to explore more player-friendly entries in the collection.
Duel Monsters 3 was a surprising highlight for me. Previously exclusive to Japan, it explores the Monster World arc, featuring Yugi’s friends as monsters within a tabletop RPG. Without trading cards, you position monsters on a grid reminiscent of a simplified strategy game, such as Fire Emblem. Each monster boasts distinct attack patterns and gets enhancements based on its field placement and allies. Consequently, each battle feels like a mini-puzzle. The attack rolls of two D10s determine hits or misses, adding a playful complexity. Oddly enough, these dice rolls also dictate random encounter rates during boss fights, which adds an engaging twist and sets this game apart from the rest.
However, the same can’t be said for Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler, which lean more towards board-game mechanics. Dungeon Dice Monsters attempts to digitize its lesser-known spin-off. The game pits two players against each other on an isometric grid, where they deploy cubes unfolding in specific directions to reach their opponent’s master dice. Despite intriguing mechanics, it suffers from a complete lack of tutorial guidance, leaving players to rely heavily on a convoluted manual. That’s where I hit some snags. The collection’s quality of life features aren’t inherently bad, but there are significant gaps. Even though each game’s manual is accessible, every time you reopen one, it frustratingly resets to the first page. This becomes cumbersome for games with complex rule sets, like Dungeon Dice Monsters. This issue extends to the type charts in early games and RPG titles, where mismatched monsters are instantly defeated—a perplexing system when those types don’t exist in the card game. Bizarrely, while you can rewind gameplay by up to a minute, there’s no option to fast-forward. This missing feature is particularly missed in the GBA duel simulators, where AI deliberation slows down the flow considerably.
Then there’s the glaring absence of comprehensive online support. Aside from Duel Monsters 4, which allows for dueling and trading, the online aspect is practically non-existent. Puzzlingly, this title was initially exclusive to Japan. More bewildering is the presence of cheat menus across all games, facilitating card unlocks and bypassing duelist point caps. This wouldn’t be a hiccup if Duel Monsters 4 wasn’t spread across three different decks—Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey. Despite cross-version dueling capabilities, there’s no real motivation to do so. Offering online support for beloved formats like Stairway to the Destined Duel or World Tournament 2004 would have been a more enticing and strategically astute move. Maybe this will change, but, for now, the online feature appears more an afterthought than a selling point.
Further perplexities arise with the inclusion of Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2. Marketed as a top-tier GBA title, its Japanese-only language support stands in stark contrast to the other translations in the collection. While it’s essentially an early form of Stairway to the Destined Duel tailored to Western card game rules, its standalone presence amidst otherwise translated games is baffling.
This introduces the dichotomy within Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection. Diving into the early, pre-establishment history of Yu-Gi-Oh! is a rare treat. Most modern titles mirror the animated series or double down on being pure duel simulators. However, the sheer volume feels undercut by a lack of meticulous care. It’s like a semi-baked anniversary offering. Despite having potentially beneficial quality-of-life improvements, some areas still fall short. The manual-dependent understanding of certain games, the untranslated Japanese title, and the restricted online play point to missed opportunities. Even additional artwork or design insights could have enhanced the package for the fans. Among the games, The Sacred Cards, Duel Monsters 3, The Eternal Duelist Soul, and 7 Trials to Glory stand out, but most others feel like marginal advancements or unrecognizable from core Yu-Gi-Oh! principles. This collection fails to fully embrace the rich history it showcases.
So, who should pick up Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days? Nostalgic fans of the series might find some joy in revisiting these games. The collection’s impressive list of titles looks better on paper than in practice, though I did enjoy brief engagements as I dipped in and out. Rebuilding decks and devising strategies for these slightly altered card games wore thin by the later GBA entries. Playing online could have spiced things up, but with only one game enabled for this, I struggle to recommend it even to fervent Yu-Gi-Oh! enthusiasts. Yet, entering with low expectations and exploring its quirkier titles could still offer an entertaining experience. Just be ready to appreciate how far the game has come when you eventually put those early days behind you.
