Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection

“Bringing back classic handheld entries into one convenient bundle, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection enhances each game with new modification options, fresh translations for many, and online play for one title in particular. Some of the selection feels like more of a historical novelty than solid games in their own right, and a lack of proper tutorials in any of them make that barrier of entry somewhat prohibitive, but new players willing to persevere will find a robust group of titles waiting for them.”

“Thankfully, the games do the talking here, and I find some of these games are absolutely worth everyone’s time. If you happen to click with one of the GBA simulators and want more of that action? Well, there’s only around several more games mandating you win a hundred duels each to go through, so you’ll be kept well busy for a long, long time.”

“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.”

“Sure, you’d have a rush of nostalgic delight loading up the GBA game that you spent months playing back in the day, but it would only take one or two matches to realise that nostalgia has a habit of warping memories and not all classic video games are timeless. Some are. Konami’s Castlevania collections show that. I fully expect the impending Suikoden collection to be a similar story. These, however, are not.”

“There isn't a lot of heart in the cards with the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection.”

“It’s a good collection, but it could be even better. It could be great.”

“Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is for a very specific type of Yu-Gi-Oh! player who favors battles against the CPU instead of real people. That player also knows all of the rules of the game, wants a fixed set of cards, and doesn't want further updates from new cards. For them, most of the games in the compilation will be fine if they can get over each title's shortcomings. For everyone else, especially newcomers, the games are cumbersome and unintuitive, so only those with an immense amount of patience would want to give the titles a shot.”

“Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection may just do the "homework," but it does it well. If you want to duel like they used to, you've come to the right place”

“The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is an incredibly robust collection that is sure to please long-time fans, but may be a bit too archaic for some newcomers.”

“At the end of the day, if you are looking to play the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection to just relive or experience some of the beloved early games then it is worth picking up. If you are looking to battle against other duelists, then it might be better to hold off on picking up this collection until there are more multiplayer options.”

“Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is the definitive compilation of classic handheld titles from its reign over card games. These are simple, unbalanced games, but charming and highly addictive. It doesn't seek to reinvent itself or compete within the genre, but rather to offer fans a gift that will relive a fun-filled era.”

“For older fans wanting a hit of nostalgia, plenty of these games don’t hold up to revisits almost 25 years later. With none of the usual gubbins we’ve come to expect from retro anthologies, all you’re getting out of Early Days Collection is having your rose-tinted glasses stamped on.”

“The card games in Duel Monsters aren't differentiated by many factors, but alternatives like dice and capsules are perfect for a change of pace. Titles with RPG touches also have their appeal. Improvements like the ability to activate a sort of "trick" to save significant amounts of grinding fit just as well as Dark Magician in Yugi's deck. Players of the Spanish versions of the games should be warned of a few translation errors.”

“It could've been fun to explore this with a friend, but as only one game would support online play I'd find it hard to recommend to even the most dedicated of Yu-Gi-Oh! players. But lowering your expectations and going in blind, especially for some of the more unusual titles in the collection, could still be fun. Just know that there is a high likelihood that by the end you'll be happy that you've moved past those early days.”

“The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection stays true to its sources and brings a little piece of history into the modern age. Unfortunately, dull mechanics and often unwieldy UI plague many of the games in the collection just as they did on first release, although amidst 14 titles, it would be impossible not to have a couple of winners.For us, Monster Capsule and the two World Championship Tournament titles shone through beautifully. Although the included games are certainly imperfect, we recognise the intentionality behind the collection's curation and feel that it's an excellent time capsule of the origins of the iconic Yu-Gi-Oh! Series.”

“Collector difficult to recommend to all gamers. Excellent for nostalgics, less so for those approaching Yu-Gi-Oh for the first time”

“If you want to complete 16 legendary installmentsof the Yugi saga, this is your opportunity to review its history and learn why it became a mass success. Also, if Konami sees interest in sales, they may now want to move to the PlayStation era.”