Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Review – Yu-Gi-Uh-Oh

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Review
It’s almost painful to write, but after dozens of hours with the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection, I have to admit that I’ve been left with an overall feeling of disappointment towards it. Sure, it’s been fun reliving a few of the games I have fond childhood memories of. But as a bundle of games meant to celebrate the now quarter-century old Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, the Early Days Collection commits a series of blunders that make recommending its purchase difficult.

The Early Days Collection packs 14 games spanning Yu-Gi-Oh!’s initial six years, starting with 1998’s (Japan-exclusive) Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters and ending with 2004’s World Championship Tournament iteration. To be clear, I love the idea of dedicating an entire release to this bygone era of Yu-Gi-Oh!. However, one of developer Digital Eclipse’s most egregious mistakes with the Early Days Collection is its baffling choice of included games.

Old School
It’s neat to play the original Duel Monsters to see where everything began, but it’s horrendously archaic. The ruleset in Duel Monsters is eons behind what the TCG demands today, but it was already ancient by the time Yu-Gi-Oh! started to hit the Gameboy Advance. Monsters are summoned at will, and magic and trap cards are nearly nonexistent. As such, the card-based games appearing before 2001’s Eternal Duelist Soul feel like novelty inclusions. They are brutally mundane, and I legitimately can’t imagine anyone playing the earliest Gameboy games for more than five minutes. Bear in mind, those make up a third of the Early Days Collection.

However, once you get into the Eternal Duelist Soul and beyond, the Early Days Collection picks up some steam. The Sacred Cards and Reshef of Destruction perfectly scratch that nostalgia-itch. And the World Championship Tournament games remain competent simulations of the early TCG games that are still perfectly playable and quite enjoyable. But it must be said that even though the 2004 GBA games are much improved over their predecessors, none of the 14 games within the Early Days Collection have aged remarkably well, specifically regarding card management.

The other games that aren’t based around cards are a nice touch, though, not all of them are worth your time. Dungeon Dice Monsters and Monster Capsule are still good. Destiny Board Traveler? Not so much. It’s incredibly disappointing that the Early Days Collection features so many titles that, quite frankly, aren’t worth five seconds of your time, especially when fan favorites like Forbidden Memories and Duelists of the Roses remain nowhere to be seen.

I could forgive many of these issues if the Early Days Collection had a more robust multiplayer mode. Instead, its lack of multiplayer options is the most heartbreaking misstep. If you were expecting to play your favorite games from this era against your friends, you’re out of luck. The Early Days Collection allows multiplayer battles with a single game – Duel Monsters 4, another of the aforementioned games that barely resembles Yu-Gi-Oh!, and is nearly unplayable.

Rose-Colored Glasses
With all of that being said, the truth is, I’ve probably enjoyed the Early Days Collection more than I should have. Of course, this is strictly due to playing it through rose-colored nostalgia glasses. Yu-Gi-Oh! players involved with the game from 2008 and beyond probably won’t find much to enjoy about it. After all, even the newest games in the Early Days Collection are a shell of what the card game looks like today. For someone like myself, however, that stopped playing Yu-Gi-Oh! around 2005, the Early Days Collection is a fun trip down memory lane. Regardless of the glaring flaws and ancient mechanics, I’ve had a pleasant time with these games that I haven’t laid eyes on in 20 years.

It’s clear that Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection will only appeal to a tiny, very niche audience. It just so happens that I fall into that group. Poor choice of included games, an almost disrespectful lack of multiplayer, and no effort put into modernizing mechanics doesn’t exactly make for an enjoyable, user-friendly experience. Despite all of this, I’ve still had fun with it. It’s not great, but damnit, I kinda, sorta, like it.

***Nintendo Switch code provided for this review***

Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.

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The Good

Nostalgic fun
Save/rewind features
Cheat options

60

The Bad

Frustrating lack of multiplayer
Most games feel useless
Many games struggle with ancient mechanics
Does nothing for new players