Final yr Yu-Gi-Oh! celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary, prompting gamers and old-school followers in all places to age instantly. Konami introduced a continued celebration with this ‘Quarter Century’ of the well-known card recreation. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Assortment is the only videogame that marks this particular event. A group with 14-ish video games from the early historical past of the cardboard recreation sequence with entries from each the Sport Boy, Sport Boy Shade and Sport Boy Advance. As a, nonetheless, avid participant of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card recreation I used to be morbidly inquisitive about this assortment. Whereas I hadn’t performed all of them earlier than this evaluation, my hazy reminiscence recalled them being stiff and extra into engaging those that’d seen the anime slightly than those that performed the cardboard recreation. Seems that hunch was right, however the shock wasn’t as unhealthy as I anticipated. This revisit to the world of basic Yu-Gi-Oh! will for many be a morbid curiosity, however for the true aficionados of the franchise there may be positively some allure to this package deal. You have to to dig deep to search out it nonetheless.
So let’s get the large factor out of the best way. Sure, this assortment comprises 14 full Yu-Gi-Oh! video games that have been launched between 1998 and 2005. From the very first Yu-Gi-Oh! video games on the DMG Sport Boy, solely launched in Japan, primarily based on the manga and now for the primary time absolutely localized in English, to the Sport Boy Advance world championship sequence that proposed to be an correct battle simulator and even some wild experiments in between. From the outset that looks like an enormous quantity of video games, however there are some caveats. For starters, the early Sport Boy video games are very a lot incremental updates to the cardboard recreation and the principles that have been nonetheless growing at the moment. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Darkish duel Tales for instance, solely provides in new guidelines and playing cards to steadiness out decks. And, the western, Darkish Duel Tales (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4 in Japan) solely added in a single zone for entice playing cards. Whereas this can be a enjoyable historic look again at how rapidly the sport advanced primarily based on each the bounds of the {hardware} and the expansion of the cardboard recreation (in Japan), enjoying them again to again will probably be interchangeable to most gamers. The development in seeing how the sport design evolves over time, particularly within the UI and UX components, is fascinating to me, however in reality after enjoying the sport for a single match I rapidly bounced to search out the extra accessible video games within the assortment.
The actual shock to me was Duel Monsters 3. This title, beforehand solely out there in Japan, follows the Monster World arc through which Yugi’s buddies have been remodeled into monsters and are caught in a tabletop roleplaying recreation, with the antagonists serving as the sport’s Dungeon Masters. Which means that the sport comprises no buying and selling playing cards in any way. You place monsters on a grid that resembles a really simplified model of a turn-based technique title like Hearth Emblem. Each monster has its personal assault sample and will get a buff primarily based on the sector it’s standing on and whether it is in vary of friendlies. Which means that each battle on this recreation turns right into a miniature puzzle. With a purpose to decide whether or not your assaults hit, two D10’s are rolled and the end result determines should you miss or strike efficiently. It’s a neat little system and the cube roll is even used to find out the encounter charge of random enemies through the boss segments. It’s so not like the opposite video games within the assortment that it instantly stands out.
The identical can’t be mentioned for Dungeon Cube Monsters and Future Board Traveler. These two spin-offs give attention to a extra boardgame-like strategy to Yu-Gi-Oh!. Dungeon Cube Monster is an try and digitize the oft forgotten spin-off recreation of the identical identify. Two gamers face off on an isometric grid on which they place cubes that may unfold in sure instructions. The aim is to construct a street to the opposite facet of the sector to assault your opponent’s cube grasp. In concept this sounds fairly nice, however the recreation has no tutorials for the participant in any way. All you’re left with is a really unappealing and overly sophisticated guide that you will want to drag up each time till you get the hold of the sport. That is the place I began to run into fairly a couple of problems with this explicit assortment. The standard of life options of this assortment aren’t unhealthy per se, however there are some notable omissions. For starters, whilst you can open each recreation’s guide, every time you reopen the menu, the guide resets to the primary web page making it particularly exhausting for the video games the place the principles are fairly exhausting to understand (taking a look at you, Dungeon Cube Monsters). This goes double for the precise kind chart that’s deployed within the early video games and the RPG titles, the place monsters could be immediately defeated if they’re going through an opposing monster kind. This chart isn’t as easy as different methods, particularly because it comprises varieties that don’t exist within the precise card recreation, just like the ‘goals’ and ‘shadow’ kind. Whilst you can rewind as much as one minute at any time through the recreation, there isn’t a fast-forward. This is able to be significantly useful within the duel simulator titles on the GBA, the place the CPU wants fairly a little bit of time to suppose by means of strikes.
Lastly, there may be the web assist, or slightly the shortage thereof. There is just one recreation that helps dueling in opposition to opponents and buying and selling playing cards, and that’s Duel Monsters 4. An attention-grabbing option to say the least, as this is without doubt one of the titles that was solely out there in Japan. Even stranger is that each one these video games have cheat menus that provide help to to unlock each playing cards and keep away from duelist level limits. Now this wouldn’t be a difficulty if Duel Monsters 4 wasn’t cut up up into three variations (one for Yugi, Kaiba and Joey’s decks). That means that whereas dueling between variations is feasible, there actually is not any incentive to take action. It could’ve been way more attention-grabbing if the web assist existed for video games like Stairway to the Destined Duel and even World Match 2004, as this format remains to be fairly beloved by old style Yu-Gi-Oh! Gamers. It is likely to be added at a later time, however for now the web seems like a restricted afterthought that actually doesn’t change the expertise or make it a very compelling supply for these wanting to select up the gathering.
These half measures to Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days can also be felt by the unusual inclusion of Duel Monsters 6: Professional 2. Now in accordance with the advertising, this GBA title was some of the fashionable video games within the sequence on the top of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s reputation in Japan. So it could make sense to incorporate it. However whereas each different recreation on this assortment is translated, Duel Monsters 6: Professional 2 is right here and it’s in full Japanese. Now an argument could be made that this recreation was later tailored into the western launch in Stairway to the Destined Duel with a modified ruleset to adapt to the English model of the buying and selling card recreation. However it being right here simply seems like a bizarre inclusion as a separate recreation. Whereas different Japanese variations are included with the opposite video games, having the ability to choose any language model in the primary menu of the gathering, this one has a class all its personal. All the opposite beforehand Japanese unique video games have been translated, so leaving this one right here simply feels actually complicated.
And I feel that reveals the 2 halves of Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Assortment. On the one hand, it’s actually cool to dive again into the unusual historical past of Yu-Gi-Oh! Earlier than it grew to become a longtime card recreation, with all fashionable video games following both the numerous animated sequence, or being a straight up duel simulator. However whereas the quantity of video games is spectacular, there isn’t that a lot care and a focus to element put into the gathering as there could possibly be. It seems like a half baked anniversary assortment at occasions. With high quality of life options simply not going far sufficient of their helpfulness, sure video games being very exhausting to understand with out persistently grabbing the guide, one title being left in Japanese and solely on-line play for a single set of video games. There aren’t even extra artworks, ideas or design paperwork, which may’ve actually added some worth to this package deal for the true Yu-Gi-Oh! followers. Among the many video games, there are standouts, like The Sacred Playing cards, Duel Monsters 3, The Everlasting Duelist Soul and seven Trials to Glory. However the majority seems like incremental enhancements to the sequence or utterly throwing out any similarities to the precise card recreation out the window. It’s a historic doc, however with surprisingly little care and love for the historical past on show right here.
Who’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days for? Properly these seeking to relive the glory days of Yu-Gi-Oh! will in all probability discover some enjoyment right here. The quantity of video games seems to be spectacular on paper, however in observe it’s exhausting to say that these titles will preserve your consideration. I did discover myself returning to a couple as decide up and play experiences. Rebuilding decks and reinventing methods for the tweaked, however finally similar card video games wasn’t actually conserving my consideration by the point I arrived on the later GBA titles. It may’ve been enjoyable to discover this with a buddy, however as just one recreation would assist on-line play I’d discover it exhausting to advocate to even probably the most devoted of Yu-Gi-Oh! gamers. However reducing your expectations and moving into blind, particularly for a number of the extra uncommon titles within the assortment, may nonetheless be enjoyable. Simply know that there’s a excessive probability that by the top you’ll be completely happy that you just’ve moved previous these early days.
