Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Review – Classic Duels Reborn

(image credit: Digital Eclipse)

Classic Games for a Nostalgic Duel

Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection brings back the games that brought so many into the world of card dueling. With 14 classics in one bundle, it’s a throwback for longtime fans and a chance for new players to see where it all began.

Released between 1998 and 2004 on Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance, these games capture Yu-Gi-Oh! in its formative years, right when the card game and its fandom were taking shape. Players from that era will remember the rush of uncovering new cards, building decks, and clashing in pixelated duels with quirky rules and all. Imperfect but beloved, these games return in Early Days Collection exactly as they were, flaws and charm intact.

(image credit: Digital Eclipse)

Relive Classics, Discover Lost Legends, and Duel Through Chaos

For longtime fans, Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection showcases the classics that defined the series’ digital roots. Titles like Duel Monsters, The Eternal Duelist Soul, The Sacred Cards, and World Championship Tournament 2004 introduced players to the art of deck-building, the thrill of hunting rare cards, and the rush of battling AI duelists straight out of the anime. For many, these games were the connection to the real life TCG and their return feels like flipping through an old deck of cards packed with memories.

One of the biggest draws of this collection is the addition of Japan-exclusive titles that never made it west. Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories and Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists are finally playable for international fans with no emulators and fan translations. For collectors and preservationists, this is a major win, opening the door to a crucial chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh! history. These games took risks, experimented with mechanics, and shaped the series in ways many outside Japan have never seen before.

However, this recreation of the originals doesn't come without its challenges. Each game while remaining largely untouched, preserves their strengths but also quirks such as outdated mechanics and occasional clunky designs. Some of these titles predate the standardized rules of the official Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game. The result are card effects, AI behavior, and balance issues that feel out of place compared to modern Yu-Gi-Oh! games. This is part of the charm for purists, but for newcomers, these mechanics may feel counterintuitive.

(image credit: Digital Eclipse)

Modern Touches for a Smoother Duel

While Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection remains true to its original games, Digital Eclipse has wisely introduced a number of quality-of-life improvements to make the experience more enjoyable and accessible. These enhancements don’t alter the core gameplay, but instead, help smooth out some of the rough edges that come with revisiting older, clunky, and slow paced games.

• Save States & Rewind: You can spare yourself the frustration of starting over after a tough loss because now you can save anytime. Stuck in a duel with no good cards? No problem. And if you misplay or the AI pulls a surprising move, the rewind function lets you try again. These games weren’t the most forgiving, but with these features, even the toughest duels feel less punishing and more fun.

• Fast-Forward Function: Early Yu-Gi-Oh! games weren’t known for their speed. Slow animations, lengthy text boxes, and repetitive duel sequences could make battles sluggish, especially in games where deck-building involved a lot of trial and error. The fast-forward option accelerates gameplay, cutting down on the time spent navigating menus and waiting on AI opponents. This is a huge improvement, especially in titles like World Championship Tournament 2004, where earning new cards required dozens of repetitive duels.

• Visual Enhancements: Because these classics were built for low-res handhelds, blowing them up on modern screens could have turned them into a blurry mess. Digital Eclipse solves that with customizable filters and borders, keeping the pixel-perfect nostalgia intact while sharpening things up for the Switch. From the crisp upgrade to the raw, old-school look, you control how the games appear.

• Cheat Options: Some of these older games required endless hours of playing to unlock the best cards, which isn't conducive to modern gaming. Recognizing this, Early Days Collection includes cheat options, allowing players to unlock all cards or bypass traditional deck-building restrictions. This means you can jump into the fun, testing powerful strategies and classic deck archetypes without the tedious farming for rare cards. For those who just want to relive their favorite duels or experiment with deck-building, this feature adds a layer of convenience.

(image credit: Digital Eclipse)

Multiplayer and Localization is a Mixed Bag

For a series built on epic duels and smart strategy, the lack of full online multiplayer in Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection feels like a huge miss. Right now, only Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists has online play, and while Konami promises more, there’s no telling when, or if, that’ll actually happen. It stings even more knowing these games originally let friends battle and trade with link cables, which was a huge part of the experience back in the day.

Without real online play, Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection just isn’t the same. Half the fun of these games was testing your deck against real opponents, and while the AI can put up a fight, it’ll never match the excitement of a true duel. Even local wireless battles would have helped bring back that classic experience, but most games don’t even offer that. If you were hoping to finally take on old rivals or have the duels you never got as a kid, this one hurts.

The upside? Konami is finally making these games playable for more people. A bunch of them never left Japan or had barely any language options, but now they’ve got Spanish, French, and German. For longtime fans who’ve been dying to play Duel Monsters II and Duel Monsters 4 without digging up fan translations, this is a win that’s been a long time coming.

Final Verdict

Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is a nod to the franchise’s earliest digital years, packing 14 classics into one bundle. For longtime fans, it’s a blast from the past, bringing back the thrill of pixelated duels, deck-building, and even overdue Japan-exclusive titles. Digital Eclipse’s smart upgrades like save states, rewind, fast-forward, and cheat options make revisiting these games far less punishing than before.

The collection sticks to its roots, for better or worse, keeping the charm and the clunky mechanics, unpredictable AI, and rough card rulings that may throw off modern players. The biggest miss? No real online multiplayer, leaving the competitive spark of these classics out of reach.

For die-hard fans and collectors, this is a nostalgic goldmine. But if you were hoping for a polished, modernized way to battle friends, you might be left wishing for more.

Ready to relive the golden days with Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection? This collection is your gateway to the origins of the franchise. Don’t miss out and grab your copy through my Amazon Affiliate Link!