Final 12 months Yu-Gi-Oh! celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary, prompting gamers and old-school followers in all places to age straight away. Konami introduced a continued celebration with this ‘Quarter Century’ of the well-known card sport. 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 sport collection with entries from each the Recreation Boy, Recreation Boy Coloration and Recreation Boy Advance. As a, nonetheless, avid participant of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card sport I used to be morbidly interested by 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 quite than those that performed the cardboard sport. Seems that hunch was appropriate, however the shock wasn’t as dangerous 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’s positively some allure to this bundle. You will have to dig deep to search out it nonetheless.
So let’s get the large factor out of the way in which. Sure, this assortment comprises 14 full Yu-Gi-Oh! video games that had been launched between 1998 and 2005. From the very first Yu-Gi-Oh! video games on the DMG Recreation Boy, solely launched in Japan, based mostly on the manga and now for the primary time absolutely localized in English, to the Recreation Boy Advance world championship collection that proposed to be an correct battle simulator and even some wild experiments in between. From the outset that looks as if an enormous quantity of video games, however there are some caveats. For starters, the early Recreation Boy video games are very a lot incremental updates to the cardboard sport and the foundations that had been nonetheless creating at the moment. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Darkish duel Tales for instance, solely provides in new guidelines and playing cards to stability 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 it is a enjoyable historic look again at how shortly the sport developed based mostly on each the boundaries of the {hardware} and the expansion of the cardboard sport (in Japan), taking part in 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 parts, is fascinating to me, however in reality after taking part in the sport for a single match I shortly 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 during which Yugi’s mates have been remodeled into monsters and are caught in a tabletop roleplaying sport, with the antagonists serving as the sport’s Dungeon Masters. Because of this 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 Fireplace Emblem. Each monster has its personal assault sample and will get a buff based mostly on the sector it’s standing on and whether it is in vary of friendlies. Because of this each battle on this sport turns right into a miniature puzzle. With a view to decide whether or not your assaults hit, two D10’s are rolled and the end result determines for those who miss or strike efficiently. It’s a neat little system and the cube roll is even used to find out the encounter price of random enemies in the course of 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 stated for Dungeon Cube Monsters and Future Board Traveler. These two spin-offs concentrate on a extra boardgame-like strategy to Yu-Gi-Oh!. Dungeon Cube Monster is an try to digitize the oft forgotten spin-off sport of the identical title. Two gamers face off on an isometric grid on which they place cubes that may unfold in sure instructions. The objective is to construct a highway to the opposite aspect of the sector to assault your opponent’s cube grasp. In principle this sounds fairly nice, however the sport 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 tug up each time till you get the hold of the sport. That is the place I began to run into fairly just a few issues with this specific assortment. The standard of life options of this assortment aren’t dangerous per se, however there are some notable omissions. For starters, when you can open each sport’s guide, every time you reopen the menu, the guide resets to the primary web page making it particularly onerous for the video games the place the foundations are fairly onerous to understand (taking a look at you, Dungeon Cube Monsters). This goes double for the particular sort chart that’s deployed within the early video games and the RPG titles, the place monsters may be immediately defeated if they’re dealing with an opposing monster sort. This chart isn’t as easy as different methods, specifically because it comprises varieties that don’t exist within the precise card sport, just like the ‘goals’ and ‘shadow’ sort. When you can rewind as much as one minute at any time in the course of the sport, there is no such thing as a fast-forward. This is able to be notably useful within the duel simulator titles on the GBA, the place the CPU wants fairly a little bit of time to suppose by strikes.
Lastly, there’s the web assist, or quite the shortage thereof. There is just one sport 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 among the titles that was solely out there in Japan. Even stranger is that each one these video games have cheat menus that assist you to to unlock each playing cards and keep away from duelist level limits. Now this wouldn’t be a problem 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 much more attention-grabbing if the web assist existed for video games like Stairway to the Destined Duel and even World Event 2004, as this format remains to be fairly beloved by old-fashioned Yu-Gi-Oh! Gamers. It is perhaps added at a later time, however for now the web appears like a restricted afterthought that basically doesn’t change the expertise or make it a very compelling provide 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: Skilled 2. Now in line with the advertising and marketing, this GBA title was one of the standard video games within the collection on the top of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s reputation in Japan. So it will make sense to incorporate it. However whereas each different sport on this assortment is translated, Duel Monsters 6: Skilled 2 is right here and it’s in full Japanese. Now an argument may be made that this sport 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 sport. Nevertheless it being right here simply appears like a bizarre inclusion as a separate sport. Whereas different Japanese variations are included with the opposite video games, with 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 sport, with all fashionable video games following both the numerous animated collection, 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 spotlight to element put into the gathering as there may very well be. It appears like a half baked anniversary assortment at instances. With high quality of life options simply not going far sufficient of their helpfulness, sure video games being very onerous to understand with out constantly 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 might’ve actually added some worth to this bundle 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 appears like incremental enhancements to the collection or fully throwing out any similarities to the precise card sport 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? Effectively these trying to relive the glory days of Yu-Gi-Oh! will most likely discover some enjoyment right here. The quantity of video games appears spectacular on paper, however in apply it’s onerous to say that these titles will hold 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 identical card video games wasn’t actually retaining my consideration by the point I arrived on the later GBA titles. It might’ve been enjoyable to discover this with a pal, however as just one sport would assist on-line play I’d discover it onerous to suggest to even essentially the most devoted of Yu-Gi-Oh! gamers. However reducing your expectations and entering into blind, particularly for a few of the extra uncommon titles within the assortment, might nonetheless be enjoyable. Simply know that there’s a excessive probability that by the tip you’ll be completely happy that you simply’ve moved previous these early days.