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Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection
2025 video game compilation

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is a video game compilation developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Konami, released in commemoration of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game's 25th anniversary. It contains emulated versions of the first 14 handheld games based on the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, originally released between 1998 and 2004. Several of the included games were localized and released outside of Japan for the first time as part of the collection.

Early Days Collection was released worldwide on February 27, 2025 for Nintendo Switch and Windows. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the collection's preservational aspects and amount of content, but criticized the games themselves for their slow gameplay and lack of tutorials.

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Features

All games in the compilation are playable in Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, including those which had not previously been localized, with the exception of Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2, which is only available in Japanese.23 In each game, players can remap the button layout, create save states, and fast forward or rewind gameplay.45 Online multiplayer is supported for Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists, and is planned to be added to other games after launch.6 An "enhancements" menu allows the player to apply special modifiers to each game; examples include unlocking all cards, removing deck point limits for player decks, enabling cards normally banned from play, or activating hidden characters and cards that could originally only be accessed through special means.78 An in-game gallery includes digital scans of the games' original box art and instruction manuals.9

Games included

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection includes 14 games originally released for the Game Boy (GB), Game Boy Color (GBC), and Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld systems, all featuring characters and cards from the original Yu-Gi-Oh series.10 While the included games are primarily digital collectible card games, Monster Capsule is instead a real-time strategy game, while Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler are based around board game mechanics.11 All three versions of Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists—Yugi Deck, Kaiba Deck, and Joey Deck—are available for play in the compilation.12

Development and release

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection was announced on February 5, 2024, at a Konami event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.13 The announcement revealed two of the included games, with the remaining entries confirmed gradually over the course of the year; the final list of included games was published in December 2024.14 The compilation marks the first international release of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories, Monster Capsule, Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists, and Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2.1516 The game was released on February 27, 2025 for Nintendo Switch and Windows via Steam; physical copies of the Nintendo Switch version included one of two limited edition Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards.17

Reception

ReceptionAggregate scores
AggregatorScore
Metacritic68/100 (NS)181965/100 (PC)2021
OpenCritic69%2223
Review scores
PublicationScore
Hardcore Gamer2.5/524
MeriStation7/1025
Nintendo Life7/1026
Nintendo World Report6.5/1027
The Games Machine (Italy)6.5/1028

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection received "mixed or average" reception according to review aggregator Metacritic.2930

Notes

References

  1. Japanese: 遊☆戯☆王 アーリーデイズコレクション, Hepburn: Yū Gi Ō Ārī Deizu Korekushon /wiki/Japanese_language ↩

  2. Biordi, Jordan (February 24, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection (Nintendo Switch) Review". CGMagazine. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.cgmagonline.com/review/game/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/ ↩

  3. Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2 was later modified and released internationally as Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel, which is also included in Early Days Collection.[2][3] /wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_Worldwide_Edition:_Stairway_to_the_Destined_Duel ↩

  4. Broadwell, Josh (December 11, 2024). "Yu-Gi-Oh Early Days Collection brings together more than a dozen YGO Game Boy games from over 20 years ago". Video Games On SI. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://www.si.com/videogames/news/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-game-list-game-boy-games ↩

  5. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 24, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection's Introduction Trailer Streamed". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2025-01-24/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-introduction-trailer-streamed/.220411 ↩

  6. Doolan, Liam (January 26, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Trailer Introduces Online Play And Other New Features". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/01/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-trailer-introduces-online-play-and-other-new-features ↩

  7. Biordi, Jordan (February 24, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection (Nintendo Switch) Review". CGMagazine. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.cgmagonline.com/review/game/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/ ↩

  8. Tu, Trumann (December 14, 2024). "Yu-Gi-Oh: Early Days Collection Confirms Important Quality-Of-Life Features and Online Play". Game Rant. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://gamerant.com/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-quality-of-life-features-online-play/ ↩

  9. Doolan, Liam (January 26, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Trailer Introduces Online Play And Other New Features". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/01/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-trailer-introduces-online-play-and-other-new-features ↩

  10. Doolan, Liam (January 26, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Trailer Introduces Online Play And Other New Features". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/01/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-trailer-introduces-online-play-and-other-new-features ↩

  11. Hilhorst, Willem (February 24, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved February 24, 2025. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/70092/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-switch-review ↩

  12. Garcia, Carley (December 12, 2024). "Full Yu-Gi-Oh: Early Days Collection Game List Revealed". Game Rant. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://gamerant.com/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-full-game-list/ ↩

  13. Stewart, Marcus (February 5, 2024). "Yu-Gi-Oh Early Days Collection Bundles The TCG's Earliest Video Games Into One Package". Game Informer. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024. https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/02/05/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-bundles-the-tcgs-earliest-video-games-into-one-package ↩

  14. Romano, Sal (December 11, 2024). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection full games list announced". Gematsu. Archived from the original on January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/12/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-full-games-list-announced ↩

  15. Ignacchitti, Ivanir (October 17, 2024). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Revives Nostalgic TCG Videogames in February 2025". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on December 10, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://hardcoregamer.com/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-revives-nostalgic-tcg-videogames-in-february-2025/ ↩

  16. Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2 was later modified and released internationally as Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel, which is also included in Early Days Collection.[2][3] /wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_Worldwide_Edition:_Stairway_to_the_Destined_Duel ↩

  17. Petite, Steven (December 11, 2024). "Yu-Gi-Oh Early Days Collection". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2025. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-all-14-games-revealed-switch-edition-includes-rare-card/1100-6526344/ ↩

  18. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection critic reviews (Nintendo Switch)". Metacritic. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.metacritic.com/game/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-switch ↩

  19. Based on 23 reviews ↩

  20. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.metacritic.com/game/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/critic-reviews/?platform=pc ↩

  21. Based on 11 reviews ↩

  22. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Reviews". OpenCritic. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://opencritic.com/game/18160/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection ↩

  23. Based on 36 reviews ↩

  24. Penwell, Chris (February 25, 2025). "Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved February 26, 2025. https://hardcoregamer.com/review/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/ ↩

  25. Martínez, Rubén (2025-02-24). "Análisis de Yu-Gi-Oh! EARLY DAYS COLLECTION para Switch y Steam: Duelos con sabor añejo". Meristation (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-02-24. https://as.com/meristation/analisis/analisis-de-yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-para-switch-y-steam-duelos-con-sabor-anejo-n/ ↩

  26. Reed, Jess Elizabeth (February 24, 2025). "Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection ↩

  27. Hilhorst, Willem (February 24, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved February 24, 2025. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/70092/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection-switch-review ↩

  28. Barducci, Gabriele (February 24, 2025). "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection". The Games Machine (in Italian). Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.thegamesmachine.it/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/recensione/ ↩

  29. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection critic reviews (Nintendo Switch)". Metacritic. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.metacritic.com/game/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-switch ↩

  30. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.metacritic.com/game/yu-gi-oh-early-days-collection/critic-reviews/?platform=pc ↩