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

Last year, Yu-Gi-Oh! hit a major milestone, celebrating its 25th anniversary and making longtime fans everywhere suddenly feel a bit older. Konami decided to keep the festivities going with what they’re calling the ‘Quarter Century’ celebration of the iconic card game. This includes Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection, a video game anthology that gathers around 14 games from the franchise’s early days, spanning the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance platforms. As someone who regularly engages with the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, I was both intrigued and a bit apprehensive about revisiting these classics. I remembered some of these games as being a tad clunky, more geared toward capturing fans of the anime than players of the actual card game. And while my hunch held true, the experience was not as underwhelming as I feared. For those dipping back into the nostalgia pool or devoted fans, there’s charm buried in this collection, but it takes some effort to uncover it.

Let’s kick things off with what everyone’s curious about. Yes, this collection actually includes 14 full Yu-Gi-Oh! games released from 1998 to 2005. It starts from the very first titles on the DMG Game Boy, which were exclusively available in Japan and based on the original manga, now translated into English for the first time. It also includes the Game Boy Advance world championship series, which aimed to mirror the card battles more accurately, and a few quirky experimental games. While this might seem like a treasure trove of games initially, there are a couple of catches. The early Game Boy titles, for instance, often just reflected small updates in the card game and evolving rules. Take Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories, for example—it introduced new rules and cards to tweak decks. There was also the Western release, Dark Duel Stories (known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4 in Japan), which added only one new zone for trap cards. It’s an intriguing glimpse into how quickly the game evolved with the technological constraints and the burgeoning popularity in Japan, albeit playing them one after the other could feel repetitive for many. I found the gradual evolution of game design, particularly in terms of UI and UX, fascinating, but I quickly moved on after playing a single match to check out the more accessible games in the collection.

A surprising standout for me was Duel Monsters 3. Previously just available in Japan, it follows the Monster World arc where Yugi’s pals are morphed into creatures and stuck in a tabletop RPG with villains acting as Dungeon Masters. Curiously, there are no trading cards involved here. Instead, you position monsters on a grid that feels like a simplified turn-based strategy game akin to Fire Emblem. Each monster has unique attack patterns that are influenced by their position on the grid and proximity to allies. This turns every battle into a miniature puzzle. To decide if your attacks hit, you roll two D10 dice, and the outcome dictates whether you miss or land a blow. It’s a clever little system, and the dice roll also determines the frequency of random enemy encounters during boss fights. It’s distinctively different from the rest and immediately captures your attention. The same can’t be said for Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler. These spin-offs approach the game with a board game twist. Dungeon Dice Monsters attempts to digitize a rather forgotten spin-off of the same name. Players compete on an isometric grid, placing cubes that unfold in certain directions, with the aim of creating a path to attack the opponent’s dice master. While the concept sounds intriguing, the game lacks any form of tutorial. Players are left to grapple with a dense and convoluted manual repeatedly until they grasp the gameplay mechanics, which presented some challenges for me in this part of the collection.

While the collection includes some quality of life features, they could have gone further. For example, every time you open the game manual, it resets to the first page, which is frustrating in games where understanding the rules is crucial (I’m looking at you, Dungeon Dice Monsters). This is especially problematic for the monster type chart used in the early games and RPG titles, where a monster can be instantly defeated if facing an opposing type. This chart is more complicated than other systems, mainly because it includes types not found in the card game, like ‘dreams’ and ‘shadow’ types. While you can rewind a minute during the game at any point, the absence of a fast-forward option is notably missed. This would be particularly useful in duel simulator titles on the GBA, where the CPU takes its time to strategize.

Let’s talk about the online component, or more accurately, the lack thereof. Only one game offers online dueling and card trading: Duel Monsters 4. This is, puzzlingly, one of the titles that was only released in Japan. Even more perplexing is that every game has a cheat menu to unlock cards and bypass duelist point limits. This wouldn’t be much of an issue if Duel Monsters 4 wasn’t split into three distinct versions (one each for Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey’s decks). So, while cross-version dueling is feasible, there’s no real motivation to engage. Setting up online play for titles like Stairway to the Destined Duel or World Tournament 2004 would have been far more intriguing because these formats still hold a special place for veteran players. While online features might come later, the current offering feels like an afterthought, doing little to enhance the appeal for prospective buyers.

The sense of being only half-immersed in Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days is palpable, further emphasized by the odd inclusion of Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2. According to Konami’s marketing, this GBA entry was among the most popular during Yu-Gi-Oh!’s peak in Japan. You’d think including it makes sense, except it’s only available in Japanese while every other game has translations. It’s argued this game later evolved into the Western release Stairway to the Destined Duel with some rule modifications for the English card game. But its presence here as a standalone title remains confusing. Unlike other Japanese titles that offer a language choice in the main menu, this one sits in its own category. The fact so many other previously Japanese-exclusive games were translated but not this one just adds to the bafflement.

This split personality is at the heart of Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection. On the one hand, it’s fascinating to revisit an era before Yu-Gi-Oh! became a giant, standardized card game realm, perfectly echoing the many animated series or acting as straight duel simulators. The volume of games offered is tempting, yet the care in curation is spotty. It feels like a rushed anniversary package at times. Quality of life improvements are often lackluster, some games are hard to navigate without constantly referring to manuals, one title is left untranslated, and only a single game has online play support. Disappointingly, there’s not even any extra artwork, concept art, or design documents, which could have significantly enriched this offering for hardcore fans. Though there are bright spots, like The Sacred Cards, Duel Monsters 3, The Eternal Duelist Soul, and 7 Trials to Glory, many of the games simply show incremental improvements or forsake the core card game mechanics altogether. It’s an artifact of gaming history, though sadly lacking the love or reverence it deserves.

So who exactly is Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days for? Nostalgic players hoping to recapture some of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s glory days might appreciate it. While the sheer number of games seems impressive, their ability to hold your attention varies. I found myself returning to a handful for quick, casual sessions. Constructing decks and tweaking strategies across similar yet distinct card games didn’t hold my interest in the later GBA titles. Collaborating with a friend could have added to the experience, but since only one game has online play, it’s challenging to recommend it to even the most diehard Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. However, going in with tempered expectations and a willingness to explore the less conventional titles in the collection can be enjoyable. Just be prepared for a strong chance that by the end, you’ll be glad these early days are referred to in the past tense.