Last year marked a milestone for Yu-Gi-Oh! as it celebrated its 25th anniversary, giving fans and players a nostalgic jolt of reality. Konami decided to extend the festivities by launching ‘Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection,’ a unique package aimed at commemorating this ‘Quarter Century’ of the iconic card game. This collection is the only video game release tied to the occasion, featuring around 14 games from the early history of the series. It includes selections from the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance eras. Being an enthusiastic player of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, I was curious about what this collection had to offer. My memories of these early titles were vague, recalling them as a bit cumbersome and more appealing to those familiar with the anime rather than the card game aficionados. To my surprise, that initial impression wasn’t entirely off, though diving back into these classics was less jarring than anticipated. Most people may approach this collection with curiosity, but true Yu-Gi-Oh! fans will likely find some nostalgic charm—though they’ll need to search for it.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: this collection indeed contains 14 complete Yu-Gi-Oh! games released from 1998 to 2005. It starts with the earliest titles from the DMG Game Boy, which were initially exclusive to Japan and based on the manga, and are now fully localized in English for the first time. It goes all the way up to the Game Boy Advance world championship series, which aimed to replicate the card game experience, plus some experimental spins in between. At first glance, this seems like an extensive offering, but there are a few catches. Primarily, the early Game Boy titles were more like incremental updates to the evolving card game rules of the time. For example, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories expanded the gameplay with new rules and cards. The Western relaunch, Dark Duel Stories (known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4 in Japan), incorporated a single zone for trap cards. Revisiting these games offers a historical glimpse into how the game evolved, constrained by hardware limitations and the card game’s growth in Japan. However, playing them consecutively, most players might find them somewhat interchangeable. While it’s fascinating to observe the game design development, particularly in the UI and UX fields, I often switched to more accessible titles after just one match.
The standout surprise in the collection might be Duel Monsters 3, a title previously only available in Japan. It explores the Monster World arc, where Yugi’s friends are transformed into monsters trapped in a tabletop RPG, and the antagonists are Dungeon Masters. Intriguingly, this game doesn’t use trading cards. Instead, players place monsters on a grid reminiscent of a simplified, turn-based strategy game like Fire Emblem. Each monster has a unique attack pattern and gains bonuses based on their grid position and proximity to allies, adding a puzzle-like aspect to each battle. Success is determined by rolling two D10s, affecting whether attacks hit or miss. This innovative mechanic makes the game distinct from others in the collection.
On the flip side, Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler don’t quite hit the mark. These spin-offs adopt a board game style, with Dungeon Dice Monsters trying to digitize a little-known spin-off of the same name. Players face off on an isometric grid, building pathways to attack their opponent’s dice master. While this concept is intriguing, the lack of tutorials leaves players grappling with its complexities, resorting to an unwieldy and overly intricate manual for guidance. This is where the collection shows its age; while the quality of life improvements aren’t entirely lacking, there are significant omissions. For instance, every game manual resets to the first page upon reopening the menu, frustrating when navigating the complicated rules in games like Dungeon Dice Monsters. Additionally, the type chart in the early and RPG-style games, featuring types not in the official card game like “dreams” and “shadow,” can feel overly complex. Though you can rewind up to a minute during play, a useful fast-forward option is absent, which would help in GBA duel simulators where CPU moves can take a while.
Online features are another area that doesn’t quite meet expectations. Only one game, Duel Monsters 4, allows for online dueling and card trading—a rather odd choice given its initial exclusivity to Japan. Even stranger is the inclusion of cheat menus that allow players to bypass duelist point limits and unlock cards. While duel options exist between different versions of Duel Monsters 4 (each featuring decks for Yugi, Kaiba, or Joey), there’s little motivation to engage. It would have been far more captivating if online play supported more popular titles like Stairway to the Destined Duel or World Tournament 2004, as these formats hold nostalgic value for veteran players. While online enhancements might come later, for now, the limited support feels like an afterthought, hardly enhancing the collection’s appeal.
A peculiar addition is Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2. According to Konami, this GBA title was highly popular in Japan when Yu-Gi-Oh! was at its zenith. It makes sense for it to be included, but here’s the rub: it’s entirely in Japanese. While one could argue that this game was the basis for Stairway to the Destined Duel, adapted with rule modifications for the Western market, its inclusion as a standalone title feels out of place. Other exclusive Japanese versions are selectable within the main menu, so having this game in Japanese is just confusing.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection seems to be caught between two worlds. On one hand, it’s a nostalgic trip into Yu-Gi-Oh!’s quirky history before it solidified as a mainstay card game, either tied to various animated series or serving as direct duel simulators. Despite the impressive array of games, there’s a lack of the meticulous attention to detail one might expect in such an anniversary collection. The enhancements don’t quite extend far enough to be truly useful; some titles are tricky to navigate without repeatedly referencing the manual, and only one title remains stuck in Japanese. Online play is limited to a small subset of games, and there are no bonus artworks, concepts, or design documents, which would have added invaluable content for die-hard fans. Within this collection, a few standouts—like The Sacred Cards, Duel Monsters 3, The Eternal Duelist Soul, and 7 Trials to Glory—emerge. But much of the collection consists of either minor series improvements or complete deviations from the original card game concept. It’s a historical artifact, but one that could have been treated with more care and enthusiasm.
So, who would appreciate Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection? For those eager to relive Yu-Gi-Oh!’s heyday, there might be some enjoyment to be found. On paper, the sheer number of games is impressive; in practice, they may not wholly capture your interest. I found myself returning to a few titles as short distractions, but rebuilding decks and experimenting with strategies started to lose its appeal with the later GBA entries. Had there been stronger multiplayer support, especially for online play, it could have been more engaging, even for the most committed fans. However, approaching it with open expectations and a readiness to explore some of its more unusual titles might still offer some nostalgic charm. Just be prepared to feel relieved as you wave goodbye to those early chapters.
