Shuffling up the past
By Paul Hunter
In the early 2000s, I found myself utterly captivated by Yu-Gi-Oh! on my Game Boy, losing countless hours to Dark Duel Stories and many other Yu-Gi-Oh! games that would follow. My thumbs danced across the buttons as I navigated duel after duel, not always chasing victory. Often, I was more intrigued by the thrill of cracking open new card packs, tinkering with my deck, and experimenting with strategies so absurd they bordered on reckless. Naturally, this led to plenty of crushing defeats—usually because I’d skimmed a card’s effect too quickly or misinterpreted its potential. Those missteps could sting, yet they somehow deepened the enjoyment, turning every loss into a lesson wrapped in fun. When news broke of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection, a spark of that old excitement flickered back to life, pulling me in to explore.
This compilation gathers 14 vintage Yu-Gi-Oh! titles from the Game Boy era, a mix that includes some gems never released beyond Japan’s borders. Among them are standout successes that once dominated playground chatter and quieter releases that slipped into the shadows over time. Together, they trace an intriguing arc—showing how Yu-Gi-Oh! morphed from a basic digital spin-off of the manga into a virtual mirror of the tangible trading card game that gripped so many.
Still, nostalgia has its limits, and I couldn’t help but wonder if these games could weather the years. The great news is the titles hold their own, offering bursts of genuine enjoyment that feel timeless in their way. The collection bridges the time gap with thoughtful touches like customizable options, save states, and digital manuals, which soften some of the rough edges. So, does this bundle deserve a spot in today’s gaming lineup, or is it better left as a fond memory Let’s unpack it and see where these relics land in today's modern world.
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection largely sidesteps elaborate storytelling, honing in on the raw essence of dueling. In most of its games, the rhythm is simple yet relentless: face an opponent, claim your cards, and press forward. The focus stays tight, almost minimalist, prioritizing the clash of strategies over winding narratives. Yet, nestled within this lineup, a couple of titles dare to stretch beyond the card table, weaving in layers that elevate them above the pack.
Take The Sacred Cards and Reshef of Destruction—these two weave RPG threads into the fabric of Yu-Gi-Oh!, inviting you to roam a pixelated world rather than just shuffle decks. Here, you wander through Domino City, brushing shoulders with characters plucked from the anime’s Battle City arc, their familiar faces sparking a quiet thrill. Conversations unfold, streets hum with tension, and duels erupt in a way that feels alive, breaking free from the tournament treadmill that defines the collection’s other entries. It’s a shift that pulls you deeper into the experience, though Reshef of Destruction tempers that allure with a punishing edge. Its duels lean toward the merciless, stacking the odds against you and demanding a grind that tests patience as much as skill.
Outside these RPG-flavored outliers, the collection settles back into its familiar groove—duel, triumph, repeat. For those craving a Yu-Gi-Oh! experience with a pulse of story, The Sacred Cards and Reshef of Destruction stand apart, offering the richest taste of narrative in a lineup otherwise content to let the cards do the talking.
At its heart, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection thrives on the pulse of dueling, a thread that ties together its 14 games. Spanning the evolution from the original Game Boy to the Game Boy Advance, these titles cling to a core loop: confront rivals, outwit them in battle, snag new cards, and refine your deck. Yet, across this timeline, the gameplay twists and shifts, offering a spectrum of experiences that range from primitive to polished.
The earliest entries, like Duel Monsters II, feel like distant cousins to the Yu-Gi-Oh! we recognize today. Matches hinge on obscure alignment weaknesses, where a single monster’s trait could tip the scales in an instant—a system more cryptic than strategic. Fast forward to later games like Eternal Duelist Soul and World Championship Tournament 2004, and the shift is striking. These titles mirror the real-world trading card game with a finesse that invites true deck-building artistry, shedding the guesswork of their predecessors for something sharper and more deliberate.
The collection doesn’t stop at duels, though—it ventures into odder territory. Monster Capsule dips into tactical simplicity, Dungeon Dice Monsters spins a board game hybrid, and Destiny Board Traveler tosses Yu-Gi-Oh! into a frenetic, Mario Party-esque blender. Each comes with a catch: no tutorials, just dense manuals or raw experimentation to decode their quirks. To ease the friction, the compilation sprinkles in modern comforts—unlocked deck limits, disabled restrictions, even a cheat menu—though the absence of a fast-forward option drags out some battles.
From classic duels to these curious detours, there’s a wealth to unearth here. Not every title shines under today’s lens, and some demand a reservoir of patience, but the journey through Yu-Gi-Oh!’s past is nothing if not compelling.
Given that the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection pulls together titles from the Game Boy era, stepping into it means embracing a world of chunky sprites, bare-bones animations, and card art that sits still as stone. Digital Eclipse hasn’t polished these visuals with sweeping upgrades, opting instead to keep the aesthetic locked in its original form—warts and all. They’ve tossed in a few thoughtful tweaks, though: customizable screen borders, display filters that soften the edges, and options to nudge the screen size to your liking. It’s a nod to the past, faithfully unrefined, whether that charms or chafes.
The game selection menu catches you off guard in the best way. Rather than a dry, functional list, you’re met with a rotating carousel of titles, each framed by its vintage box art. Scrolling through feels like running your fingers along a row of weathered game boxes on a store shelf, stirring a warm pang of nostalgia before you’ve even drawn a card. Another clever addition is the inclusion of each game’s original instruction manual—digitized, yes, but brimming with that old-school charm, letting you flip through rulebooks as they were meant to be read.
Not every visual holds up gracefully. Some Game Boy entries splash animated backgrounds behind their duels, a flourish that sounds appealing until it starts to grate—or worse, strain your eyes after a long stretch. Destiny Board Traveler stumbles with text that clashes against its backdrop, turning dialogue into a squinting chore. These quirks don’t ruin the experience, but they snag your attention when you’re hopping between games in a marathon session.
What’s missing stings a bit more: no widescreen support, no spruced-up assets, no hint of a modernized interface. Unlike other retro collections that reimagine their classics with fresh paint, this one delivers the early 2000s unfiltered—blocky pixels and all. That choice won’t win over everyone, but there’s something admirable in the stubborn preservation. The blend of manual scans, iconic box art, and a menu that feels like a love letter to the era wraps the package in a time-capsule glow. It’s less about dazzling your eyes and more about tugging you back to a simpler, scrappier moment in gaming history.
Final Score: 7.5/10 - Good
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Strategy, Role-Playing
Modes: Single-player, Multiplauer
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
In the early 2000s, I found myself utterly captivated by Yu-Gi-Oh! on my Game Boy, losing countless hours to Dark Duel Stories and many other Yu-Gi-Oh! games that would follow. My thumbs danced across the buttons as I navigated duel after duel, not always chasing victory. Often, I was more intrigued by the thrill of cracking open new card packs, tinkering with my deck, and experimenting with strategies so absurd they bordered on reckless. Naturally, this led to plenty of crushing defeats—usually because I’d skimmed a card’s effect too quickly or misinterpreted its potential. Those missteps could sting, yet they somehow deepened the enjoyment, turning every loss into a lesson wrapped in fun. When news broke of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection, a spark of that old excitement flickered back to life, pulling me in to explore.
This compilation gathers 14 vintage Yu-Gi-Oh! titles from the Game Boy era, a mix that includes some gems never released beyond Japan’s borders. Among them are standout successes that once dominated playground chatter and quieter releases that slipped into the shadows over time. Together, they trace an intriguing arc—showing how Yu-Gi-Oh! morphed from a basic digital spin-off of the manga into a virtual mirror of the tangible trading card game that gripped so many.
Still, nostalgia has its limits, and I couldn’t help but wonder if these games could weather the years. The great news is the titles hold their own, offering bursts of genuine enjoyment that feel timeless in their way. The collection bridges the time gap with thoughtful touches like customizable options, save states, and digital manuals, which soften some of the rough edges. So, does this bundle deserve a spot in today’s gaming lineup, or is it better left as a fond memory Let’s unpack it and see where these relics land in today's modern world.
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection largely sidesteps elaborate storytelling, honing in on the raw essence of dueling. In most of its games, the rhythm is simple yet relentless: face an opponent, claim your cards, and press forward. The focus stays tight, almost minimalist, prioritizing the clash of strategies over winding narratives. Yet, nestled within this lineup, a couple of titles dare to stretch beyond the card table, weaving in layers that elevate them above the pack.
Take The Sacred Cards and Reshef of Destruction—these two weave RPG threads into the fabric of Yu-Gi-Oh!, inviting you to roam a pixelated world rather than just shuffle decks. Here, you wander through Domino City, brushing shoulders with characters plucked from the anime’s Battle City arc, their familiar faces sparking a quiet thrill. Conversations unfold, streets hum with tension, and duels erupt in a way that feels alive, breaking free from the tournament treadmill that defines the collection’s other entries. It’s a shift that pulls you deeper into the experience, though Reshef of Destruction tempers that allure with a punishing edge. Its duels lean toward the merciless, stacking the odds against you and demanding a grind that tests patience as much as skill.
Outside these RPG-flavored outliers, the collection settles back into its familiar groove—duel, triumph, repeat. For those craving a Yu-Gi-Oh! experience with a pulse of story, The Sacred Cards and Reshef of Destruction stand apart, offering the richest taste of narrative in a lineup otherwise content to let the cards do the talking.
At its heart, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection thrives on the pulse of dueling, a thread that ties together its 14 games. Spanning the evolution from the original Game Boy to the Game Boy Advance, these titles cling to a core loop: confront rivals, outwit them in battle, snag new cards, and refine your deck. Yet, across this timeline, the gameplay twists and shifts, offering a spectrum of experiences that range from primitive to polished.
The earliest entries, like Duel Monsters II, feel like distant cousins to the Yu-Gi-Oh! we recognize today. Matches hinge on obscure alignment weaknesses, where a single monster’s trait could tip the scales in an instant—a system more cryptic than strategic. Fast forward to later games like Eternal Duelist Soul and World Championship Tournament 2004, and the shift is striking. These titles mirror the real-world trading card game with a finesse that invites true deck-building artistry, shedding the guesswork of their predecessors for something sharper and more deliberate.
The collection doesn’t stop at duels, though—it ventures into odder territory. Monster Capsule dips into tactical simplicity, Dungeon Dice Monsters spins a board game hybrid, and Destiny Board Traveler tosses Yu-Gi-Oh! into a frenetic, Mario Party-esque blender. Each comes with a catch: no tutorials, just dense manuals or raw experimentation to decode their quirks. To ease the friction, the compilation sprinkles in modern comforts—unlocked deck limits, disabled restrictions, even a cheat menu—though the absence of a fast-forward option drags out some battles.
From classic duels to these curious detours, there’s a wealth to unearth here. Not every title shines under today’s lens, and some demand a reservoir of patience, but the journey through Yu-Gi-Oh!’s past is nothing if not compelling.
Given that the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection pulls together titles from the Game Boy era, stepping into it means embracing a world of chunky sprites, bare-bones animations, and card art that sits still as stone. Digital Eclipse hasn’t polished these visuals with sweeping upgrades, opting instead to keep the aesthetic locked in its original form—warts and all. They’ve tossed in a few thoughtful tweaks, though: customizable screen borders, display filters that soften the edges, and options to nudge the screen size to your liking. It’s a nod to the past, faithfully unrefined, whether that charms or chafes.
The game selection menu catches you off guard in the best way. Rather than a dry, functional list, you’re met with a rotating carousel of titles, each framed by its vintage box art. Scrolling through feels like running your fingers along a row of weathered game boxes on a store shelf, stirring a warm pang of nostalgia before you’ve even drawn a card. Another clever addition is the inclusion of each game’s original instruction manual—digitized, yes, but brimming with that old-school charm, letting you flip through rulebooks as they were meant to be read.
Not every visual holds up gracefully. Some Game Boy entries splash animated backgrounds behind their duels, a flourish that sounds appealing until it starts to grate—or worse, strain your eyes after a long stretch. Destiny Board Traveler stumbles with text that clashes against its backdrop, turning dialogue into a squinting chore. These quirks don’t ruin the experience, but they snag your attention when you’re hopping between games in a marathon session.
What’s missing stings a bit more: no widescreen support, no spruced-up assets, no hint of a modernized interface. Unlike other retro collections that reimagine their classics with fresh paint, this one delivers the early 2000s unfiltered—blocky pixels and all. That choice won’t win over everyone, but there’s something admirable in the stubborn preservation. The blend of manual scans, iconic box art, and a menu that feels like a love letter to the era wraps the package in a time-capsule glow. It’s less about dazzling your eyes and more about tugging you back to a simpler, scrappier moment in gaming history.
The Verdict
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection serves as a captivating window into the franchise’s fledgling steps in the video game realm, pulling together 14 titles that stretch across several handheld generations. For devoted fans and those with a collector’s itch, it’s a treasure chest brimming with hours of play. One of its brightest draws is the chance to dive into Japan-exclusive games that never crossed borders until now—a rare treat that feels like unearthing hidden chapters of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s legacy. Toss in some clever customization options, and these aging titles shed a bit of their dust, becoming easier to pick up and tinker with than they were in their heyday. Whether you’re chasing: a trip down memory lane or want to feel the rush of duelling, this Collection has you covered.Final Score: 7.5/10 - Good
Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection details
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PCDeveloper: Digital Eclipse
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Strategy, Role-Playing
Modes: Single-player, Multiplauer
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
A key was provided by the publisher.